Toddler Rompers are Awesome! Don’t you wish YOU could wear rompers all day… Everyday! I do! So comfy and cute! Well, in this tutorial I’ll help you DIY your own Toddler Romper so that you can make a whole wardrobe of them, to keep your little one stylish and comfy all summer long. And maybe you can figure out how to modify it to make one for yourself too! haha. Maybe I’ll do that one day!
So I think that my Ivy Lynnkins has lots of super cute outfits, however, there is one in particular that gets a ton more compliments than the rest. It’s the Toddler romper in the photo above. She wore it on the day that she met a mermaid!!! I know!! A real mermaid!!! So now its just that more special! I also have a whole post filled with photos of the romper called “Hoof Prints Barnyard Adventure.” Everyone comments on how cute she is in it, and since it doesn’t look that hard to make I’m going to attempt to take you along on a creating journey to learn how to make one too!
I found the super cute toddler romper on amazon.ca for around $6.50. I know… WHAT! So cute and cheap too… I posted a link to buy the Toddler Romper at the bottom of this post, but if you are the creative type or want to create this romper in any colour or print that you desire, follow along… its super easy!
Since the weather is starting to cool down I don’t know how many more times Ivy will have the opportunity to wear this romper, but that being said it gives you all fall and winter to sew a bunch of these up for the next season!
Onto The Tutorial!
Supplies Needed to Recreate a Simple Toddler Romper:
- Toddler Romper – Little Girls Kids Halter Romper
- Approximately a yard of Cotton Knit Fabric (you could use an awesome large/X-large old t-shirt)
- 1/4 inch width Braided Elastic (about 6 inches)
- Chalk
- Scissors
- Coordinating thread
- Sewing machine (the sewing machine I use is linked at the bottom of this post)
Method:
Step 1: Find a toddler romper that you already own that is super cute and looks simple to replicate (if you are in love with Ivy’s Toddler Romper in my “Hoof Prints Barnyard Adventure” post you can find it at the bottom of this post to purchase). Things that would make it simple to recreate would be only one solid piece of fabric for the front and no more than 2 pieces of fabric for the back, simple cuffs, and no sleeves…
Also find some fabric to recreate the romper with, such as an old awesome large or X-large t-shirt, sweat shirt, or possibly an old dress. You can also purchase new knit fabric online or at your local fabric shop. I bought this striped knit fabric in the discount section of FabricLand for less than $3 a yard.
Step 2: lay out your fabric on a large flat surface. I use the floor because that’s how I do… Then turn your super cute romper that you want to replicate inside out, and lay it on top of your knit fabric as flat as possible.
Step 3: Outline the romper onto your knit fabric with chalk about 1/2 inch away from the edge of the romper. I extended the legs because it’s going to be fall soon and I wanted more leg coverage, however, I’m still making it backless so my logic here may be off a bit… Anyways I made the legs longer because that is what the look I was going for in the new romper. And she’s growing so hopefully the new romper will last her longer.
For the top portion of the romper since the neck is cinched I stretched out the fabric on each side and made my outlines 1/2 inch away from where the edge of the romper landed. NOTE!!! Provide extra fabric at the top (neck line) of the romper, about 2 inches to create a collar later in the tutorial!
Step 4: Cut out this pattern that you created.
NOTE: This romper does come with pockets, but Ivy doesn’t yet know how to use pockets so I will be omitting that step from this tutorial. I’m hopping that by omitting them from the romper this tutorial will become a lot more attainable for new sewers. I’ll make a whole tutorial another time, on how to make simple pockets. I did cut them out so the pieces of fabric to make the pockets are in the photos but they are not actually used. Sorry for the confusion!!
Step 5: This romper has 2 pieces of fabric that make up the back legs of the romper so I folded the romper in half and traced the outline just like in step 3. Again I pulled the cinched back out at the sides to revel it’s true size and traced it 1/2 inch away from that point.
Step 6: Cut out this one side of the back of the romper, and lay it flat on another section of knit fabric to trace and cut out as well. Like this…
Step 7: The last piece of fabric that you will need for this romper will be the draw string that will work as a halter top string around the toddlers neck.
Lay the length of the drawstring on your knit fabric and cut it about 1 1/2 – 2 inches wide.
After cutting out your pattern pieces you will have something like this… minus the semicircle pockets that are in the next photo.
Step 8: The first stitches you will make to create this toddler romper will be to sew the 2 butt pieces together. Lay both of your back putt pieces with the face sides together and stitch together the seam that will be on your toddlers bum.
NOTE: Stitching with thin knits can be frustrating because of the stretch of the fabric it can easily be sucked into your sewing machine, which may drive you mad!! lol. I found that the best stitch for avoiding such suckage is just a straight stitch, however, if your fabric is thick enough that the suckage is less common I would suggest doing a zigzag stitch to provide for more stretch of the garment.
Step 9: Next stitches are made to the inseam of the legs. lay your front and back pieces of the romper with their face sides together and starting from the crotch of the inseam sew down one leg, and then repeat on the other leg starting from the crotch. Make sure to back stitch a few times in the crotch area to provide a strong seam that wont easily be ripped.
Step 10: Stitch both outer leg seams up from the cuff of the pant legs.
Step 11: Measure out your braided elastic to the size of your already made super cute romper. Like this…
Step 12: Sew one end of your braided elastic to the seam allowance of the side seam where the front and back of your romper meets. Like so…
Step 13: Fold the top back edge of your romper over the elastic and sew down to finish off this edge. Do not sew on the elastic, just fold the fabric past the elastic and sew down.
Step 14: Pull elastic through the back “tunnel” that you created and sew the end of the elastic to the seam allowance of the other side where the back piece meets the front piece. Like this…
Step 15: Fold over the edges on the sides of the front top piece and sew down to create a finished edge.
Step 16: Sew the collar. I did this part in an easier way than that of the pre-made romper, because the way that the already made romper is made is hard to replicate with just a sewing machine. The method used is better suited for a surger. So… I majorly simplified it by folding the top of the romper down (backside to backside) approximately 1 inch and sewed down to create a tunnel. This tunnel is where you will feed your draw string though. both methods are super cute!
Step 17: Make a drawstring. So, I was planning on sewing the edges of the drawstring closed and then turning it right way out, but when I cut the knit fabric it curled into its self creating a string on its own, so I left it that way! You really can’t tell that it is not sewn.
Step 18: Pin a safety-pin to one end of your string and feed it through the collar tunnel you just previously made.
Step 19: Finish the ends of the string. I decided to just tie the ends of the strings with little knots. Like this…
Step 20: Almost done!!!! Finish off the ankle cuffs of the romper. On my sewing machine the front compartment can be removed to provide space for a cuff to easily wrap around the sewing machine to finish them off. It’s not necessary that you have a machine like this, however it is handy! Just turn your outfit inside out and fold up the cuff about 3/4 inch and sew down. Like this…
Step 21: NO STEP 21!!! You are done!! You made a super cute toddler romper!!! Now that you have successfully made one romper, enjoy making these super cute easy rompers in lots of different colours or patterns. Let me know if you try this method of make a romper. Id love to see how yours turns out!
And here is Miss Ivy Lynn modeling the super cute toddler romper. As you can see the torso of the romper is a bit short for her. I forgot to allow for and extra 2 inches when to make the collar. I know, I know, I too have learned from my mistakes for next time. I’ll be gifting this romper to a friend and making a new one for Ivy Lynn.
A little behind the scene action… This might or might not be how we get Ivy to do things, like model clothes for me and look happy doing it!! (sneaky parents)
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, and found it easy to follow and not intimidating. You can always rip out stitches if you make a mistake. Just try it!
I’m excited to try this style of romper with an old t-shirt. I might make it a size larger so that Ivy can wear it next year too. Until next time, enjoy making your own kids clothes, and creating beautiful things!
XO JCL
P.S. Check out my “Sewing Kids Clothes Using Clothes you Already Own as a Pattern – Series Opener Post” and guess which clothing item we will be sewing up next! Do you have any requests for a tutorial on how to make any certain clothing items? If they are simple enough to make a quick tutorial, I’d love to give it a try!
P.P.S. Here are some links to products used in this post
