Learn how to make this soft and cuddly sleep sack for your new baby or toddler. They will sleep so nice and comfy in their new soft and sweet sleep sack.
Hello, Ribbon Retreat fans! My name is Sarah, and I blog over at Craft Quickies. I am excited to share with you today the very first pattern that I ever created! Exciting! So read on to find out how to make your baby a sleep sack from soft, silky cuddle fabric!
When I was pregnant with my son a friend made him a sleep sack from brown fleece fabric with big owls on it. I wondered what in the world I would use such a contraption for, and then I started learning that I wasn’t supposed to lay blankets on top of babies due to suffocation risks. So I gave it a shot and I loved it! Wearable blankets…..genius!
Well, when I found out my second baby was going to be a little girl it flitted through my mind that I should make her a girlier sleep sack. But then I didn’t. And didn’t. And before I knew it her first birthday was creeping up and she was still in her brother’s brown owl sleep sack. So I got my booty in gear and made her a bright, girly owl sleep sack for her first birthday. I love the girly colors, and I love stroking the soft fabric when I am feeding her before bed. I am a texture junkie.
Are you familiar with cuddle fabric? Some call is minky. Regardless of what you call it, it ROCKS. The Ribbon Retreat has a nice selection of cuddle fabrics by the fabulous Shannon Fabrics, so be sure to check it out! It is soft, it is silky, it is just so dang fun to touch. I love it.
Now let’s get down to business!
Here is what you will need in order to make your sleep sack:
* Baby Sleep Sack PDF Pattern
* Cuddle Fabric
(I’m not sure exactly how much I used, but one yard should be plenty.)
* coordinating thread
* a coordinating color of zipper
(I believe I used a 20 inch zipper.)
* sewing machine, pins, scissors, etc.
This tutorial is crazy simple other than the zipper, which is only slightly tricky, so let’s get going!
* Start with the pattern. Have you ever used a PDF pattern before? It’s super easy, and I’m excited to share my first original one with you! Simply print out the pattern on regular paper, cut it out and tape it together. Viola! A pattern! Nifty, eh?
To create this pattern I used the old sack and then I made it longer and I expanded the neck hole and the armpit holes quite a bit. I always wished they were bigger on our old sack, so this was the magical moment to make changes.
* Next you are going to cut your fabric. I discovered that cutting cuddle fabric is a tad messy. It makes a little bit of a mess initially, but then it doesn’t fray after that. Strange. But worth it!
Fold your fabric in half and lay out the pattern as shown. The straight side of your pattern is along the fold of the fabric. Now cut out the pattern piece twice.
* Next you will seal the armpits and neck hole of your sleep sack by sewing a zig zag stitch along the cut edges. No need to bother hemming it unless you really want to. I believe in simplifying my life whenever possible.
* Time to deal with the zipper. This is my least favorite part. I folded the fabric and laid my zipper on top of my front piece and cut the length of it. Then I pinned it along the opening, as shown in the picture, and sewed it onto my fabric using my zipper foot.
Ok, those directions were sort of lame. Sorry. But you can see your machine’s manual for details on your zipper foot, and zippers always have instructions on their packaging as well.
* Now zip your zipper closed, lay your two pieces on top of one another right sides together, pin, and stitch around the sides of the bag and on the shoulders.
* You are DONE! Easy peasy, right?! Now go stick it on your little one and cuddle away!
Thank you Sarah! What a great idea and what an adorable little model! The fabric selection for this little sleep sack is so cute and looks so so soft and cuddly. Sarah has some fabulous ideas, and we love her sharing them, as well as her talent with us. If you want to see more of Sarah’s craftiness, visit her at Craft Quickies. Great job Sarah!
The Ribbon Retreat has so many great options of Cuddle/Minky fabric. We love how soft and cuddly this fabric is. There are so many great options for crafting with cuddle/minky fabric. Grab some for your self and craft away! Your options are endless!
Happy Creating!
7 Comments
Hello,
I really enjoyed your blog on making a baby sleep sack. Looks simple and very practical.
But I do have a question regarding the pattern. It labelled one size fits all. As my baby grow in both width and length does it need to be adjusted?
Is there an ideal age for the pattern provided?
Best regards,
Selina
Hi Selina! Thank you so much for your question. Sarah created this Sleep Sack to work for babies 3-12 or even possibly 18 months old. Sarah’s little girl wore it until she was 2, but she was a petite little thing. I hope this helps! Good Luck Selina and thank you again for your comment! Have a great day and Happy Sewing! Michelle 🙂
I want to make this for my niece who has outgrown her current sleep sack. She is two and her height is 36 inches. Will this pattern be long enough or should I modify it to make it longer?
Hi Laura! Thank you for your question! This sleep sack is so awesome…your little niece is going to love it! Sarah made this sleep sack for 3-12 possibly 18 month old babies. Her little girl wore it until she was about 2, but she was very petite. So, with that being said…you may want to adjust it a little bit just so your niece has room to grow. If your niece is close in proximity to you, you could always adjust the pattern a little bit and hold it up to your niece before cutting it out just to make sure it will fit her now and give her some growing room as well. I hope this helps answer your question. Thank you Laura and good luck! Happy Sewing and have a wonderful day! Michelle 🙂
Thank you for posting this. Great tutorial. I want to make one for my son. It seems pretty easy but wanted to see if there were any special tips I might need to know before I start. 🙂
By the way, I love the picture of your daughter with a million binkies in her bed. Reminds me of my kids. When they lose one, they can easily find another. Lol!
Hi Kate! You are so welcome! Thank YOU for your sweet comment! Sarah made these instructions super easy to understand and follow. It really is that simple. Good luck and thank you again for stopping by! I also love the picture of her little sweetie with all of those binkies. Classic and also so like my kiddos! Gotta love those binkies! Have a wonderful day! Michelle 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing this! I took it one step further in easiness for people who get nervous with zippers. I put the closed zipper face down on the back side of the fabric without cutting the piece & stitched all around the zipper with my zipper foot then split the front open & my zipper was perfect. My daughter loved it for my grandson. Truly easy & quick to do.