When E turned 1, I made him a special onesie to wear when he did his smash cake. Since Baby R’s 1st birthday party was this past weekend, I wanted to do the same thing for him. Imagine my surprise when I went to the craft store to buy an iron-on decal and the only 1st birthday decals they had were pink princess ones!
What? Don’t boys celebrate first birthdays?
So, once again it was time for me to get crafty! Baby R was having a jungle themed party and since I couldn’t find any first birthday decals, I decided to make him a custom jungle smash cake onesie.
What you need:
- RIT Fabric Dye
- Iron-on Decal
- Onesie
- Basin
- Iron
I chose a giraffe iron-on decal because I not only thought it was cute, but also because it fit the theme of the party. I didn’t want to just slap it on a plain white onesie. I wanted something a little more unique.
I knew both the sheet cake and the smash cake would have orange and yellow icing on the edges. I decided to dye a plain white onesie orange in order to coordinate with the yellow giraffe and also the decorations.
I decided to dye the onesie using the bucket (or sink) method. To do this, fill a sink or bucket with enough hot water for the fabric to move freely. Use 1 package of powder or 1/2 bottle of dye to three gallons of water. Wet fabric in hot water and then uncrumple and submerge in the dye bath. 
Stir constantly for 10 to 30 minutes or until desired color is achieved. Rinse in warm warm and then gradually cooler water until the water runs clear.
After rinsing out all of the dye out of the shirt, I ran it through the washing machine just to make sure that there was nothing left that could irritate R’s skin. After, thoroughly washing the onesie I put it in the dryer until it was thoroughly dried.
After drying the onesie, I ran an iron over it real quick to make sure I had a smooth surface to work with.
You might want to use a bandana or handkerchief as a pressing cloth so you don’t get any of the decal adhesive on your iron. Place the pressing cloth over the decal and iron it for the amount of time indicated.
Then, turn the onesie inside out and iron the other side of the decal.
Now, all that’s left is to put in on your baby and let him or her enjoy the smash cake!
Afterwards, you can even keep the onesie to put it in a memory frame. These would also make a really cute baby shower project or gift.
Want to see more? Check out more of my craft projects!
