How to upcycle an Unisex Beatbox Romper

First things first. Head over to Ellie and Mac to get the Unisex Beatbox Romper Pattern. If you have a large print or image on the shirt, you will get more of the print/image on the larger sizes. But have fun. You can use as much or has little of the image as you want. This is the shirt that I’m using for this demo. I suggest reading the instructions before getting into this is your first time making a baby romper.

By Guest BloggerNov 17, 2018

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Hey y’all. My name is Danielle and I’m a guest blog about how to turn a t-shirt into the Ellie and Mac Beatbox Romper.

Just a little about me. I’m a Jane of all trades. I have a (very small) bookkeeping and tax office and I nanny while also occupying a seat on two boards of directors. I’m learning (very slowly) how to manage my time since I don’t have kids that would have forced me into learning that earlier. But that’s a story for another day. Let’s get into making a cute romper out of that shirt that you don’t want to throw away.

About a week ago, the mom of a set of twins that I nanny asked if could upcycle a shirt she wanted the twins to wear to Sesame Street Show. Of course, I jumped at this chance since it was right on time with me doing the guest blog. I promise this is the easiest upcycle ever. This shirt has a large image on the front and will need to be adjusted accordingly. I’ll show you how I did it. Let’s get into the supplies you need.

Supplies Needed

Desired t-shirt
Beatbox Romper pattern
Chalk marker or a marking tool of your choice (I like the chalk marker because it’s easier to get rid of the lines. You can use a marker because you are going to cut on the line)
Scissors and Serger (recommended) or sewing machine (with a stretch stitch)

Next you will want to iron the shirt to get out all the wrinkles. Depending on your shirt, you may be able to skip it. I tried to skip it with this shirt, but I ended up having to iron so it can be as flat as possible.

Fold the t-shirt in half at the shoulder seams. Be sure to line up the side seams and bottom hem. I suggest laying the shirt with the back side up and fold over gently to ensure there aren’t any wrinkles in the fold. Now lay the pattern piece on top. In my version, I had to move it about 3/4 inch from the fold to ensure that I got the whole image because that’s what the mom wanted. I ended up doing some adjustments to the cut out. This romper is for 19-month-old twins.

I’m suggesting that you trace the pattern BEFORE you cut to ensure correct placement especially if you have a large image. Use your chalk marker (or your desired tracing tool) to trace around the pattern.

Now you have the front and back. You can use the leftovers to cut out the snap placket from the sides. I’m using the leftover sleeves to make the sleeves for the romper. However the sleeves aren’t long enough for the long sleeves but that’s okay. I’m going to make it do what it does. I’m cutting the neckband, sleeve and leg cuffs from some red fabric per mom’s request. Since the original neckband is intact, you could also use that but again, I’m not. Since you will have a lot of the fabric from the shirt left over, use as much as you can. Let's use the sides of the remaining pieces of the shirt to cut two (2) of the snap plackets using the pattern piece.

The one thing I did differently with the leg cuffs. Instead of using the pattern piece, I folded over the fabric but I cut out two (2) 8” (wide) x 10 (tall)” pieces folded in half so it’s 8”x 5”. Instead of sewing the cuffs like the instructions, I found this method to be better for those with toddlers not yet potty trained. I sewed the short edges with right side of fabrics touching. Then I turned it inside out. I got ahead of myself and forgot the picture, but I think you got it. It should look like this.

After you cut out all your pieces, simply start following the instructions from the pattern. Regarding the leg cuffs, I lined up the raw edge of the cuff to the raw edge of the fabric from front side of placket, across the side seam to the back-side placket of the romper with right sides touching. Sew across. Install the snaps on the plackets. I used 6 snaps. I placed one 1.5 inches from the bottom of the leg cuff and just spaced them 3 inches apart. I basically measured the front from one to the other and divided that number by the number of snaps. Mine was 18 inches and divided by 6 to get 3 inches. Bam!