My two little ones have never liked the traditional swaddlers where they are bundled up all tight! When I found the sleep sack I totally fell in love! With my oldest, I got away with just using one size before he was old enough to not need it. However my little chunky monkey #2 has outgrown her first sleep sack, so it’s DIY Sleep Sack time!
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This sleep sack was SUPER easy to make and I had a blast doing it! My grandma actually sat with me one day and talked to me {during nap time} and I had it completely done in under an hour! The greatest part of all – you can use your Serger for most of it! 😀 That made me super happy!
Okay, let’s start. Here is what you’ll need for your super cute {mine has “you are my sunshine” fabric 😀 oh it makes me smile every time I see it} DIY Sleep Sack!
Supplies
- Sewing Machine
- Serger if you have one! 😀
- Rotary blade and cutting mat
- matching thread {I just used white}
- 2 yards of fabric
- 1 zipper {I bought the longest invisible one there was}
- sew on velcro {the amount is up to your discretion, it’s up to you on how much you use. I used about 7” of it}
Cut
- fold your fabric in half and cut your front piece and back piece separately {measurements below}
- fold your fabric in half and cut your swaddle panel {this is optional, but I really like it. It gives the baby the feeling of security without restricting their arms. It wraps around the torso and just snugs them – hooked by velcro}
- Cut one panel 2 1/2″ x 30″ {this is the zipper cover}
Measurements for the Front *cut on fold
- Shoulder = 2 1/2″
- Front of neck {where zipper will be} = 2 1/4″ WIDE ; 4 1/2″ LENGTH**
- Armpit = 2 1/4″ WIDE; 3 1/2″ LENGTH**
- top of bodice: from fold to armpit = 6 1/2″ {calculated for the zipper}
- middle of bodice: from fold to waist = 7″
- bottom of bodice: from fold to toes = 10″
- length: from neck to toes = 28″
**the length was not shown in the diagram above. These measurements simply go from the top of the shoulder to the bottom of the armpit/neck respectively.
Measurements for the Back *cut on fold
- Shoulder = 2 1/2″
- Back of neck = 2 1/4″ WIDE; 1 1/2″ LENGTH**
- Armpit = 2 1/4″ WIDE; 3 1/2″ LENGTH**
- top of bodice: from fold to armpit = 6″
- middle of bodice: from fold to waist = 7″
- bottom of bodice: from fold to toes = 10″
- length: from neck to toes = 28″
**the length was not shown in the diagram above. These measurements simply go from the top of the shoulder to the bottom of the armpit/neck respectively.
Measurements for the Swaddle Panel *cut on fold **CUT TWO OF THESE**
- Width = 12″
- Length = 19″
- Width of tip = 7″
Measurements for the Zipper Cover
- Cut one piece 2 1/2″ wide by about 30″ length. The length just needs to be as long as the zipper to cover the back, and about 3″ or so more to cover the front of the zipper.
Instructions for your DIY Sleep Sack
Here is what the original sleep sack looked like that I bought from the store. My goal was to duplicate this as best as I could.
1. To begin I made my own pattern from the measurements above. I like to use the lightweight interfacing for pattern making.
2. You should have one front piece, one back piece, two panel pieces and one long piece {the long piece isn’t pictured below. that is for the zipper cover.}
3. Fold your front piece in half and slice as small as you can. This is just for the zipper. I cut 20″ even though my zipper was 22″. That left room to hide the bottom of the zipper, and also make a clean edge on the top of the zipper.
It should look like this. *NOTICE that I didn’t cut all the way down the front. Just shy of the length of the zipper. The bottom is still attached.
4. I serged my panels together first. You can serge or sew, either way put your panel pieces right sides together.
Make sure to leave an opening to turn the fabric right side out.
If you are on a serger, to end the stitch pull the fabric towards the left, then keep pulling like the pictures below
5. Take your long zipper cover piece {it should be 2 1/2″ by at least 28″ or so} fold in half with right sides together and serge all the way down the long side. It will turn into a tube. Only finish sewing/serging up one of the ends. Flip right side out.
6. Now you are going to attach the zipper. I found this to be easier before sewing the front and back piece together. Take your front piece, align the zipper and pin.
Here is a close up of the bottom.
Here is a close up of the top
It’s incredibly important that you test/make sure that the zipper will turn out before you sew it. I flipped the zipper right side up to make sure it was correct! TEST YOURS NOW!! This would not be a fun step to mess up on.
7. The rest is easy-peasy from here. Serge {or sew} the shoulders together. Always right sides together.
8. Then match your bodice pieces {right sides together, and this should be easy since you just sewed the shoulders} start your serging {or zig zag sewing} on one armpit and continue sewing all the way down the side seam, around the bottom curve, across the bottom of the toes, and back up the other side seam. You’ll meet back up at the other armpit.
9. Hem the armpit & neck holes {my preference is to serge the circle, then topstitch. If you don’t have a serger, it’s still super simple just zig zag then topstitch}.
10. Since you just topstitched your neck hole, make sure to go around the zipper too.
11. At this point you should have a working sleep sack. There are just a few steps left to make it perfect!
12. Serge {or zig zag sew} on the zipper cover. You will do this by attaching it to the zipper flap. Here is a close up.
13. Once that’s done, sew on the front of the zipper cover. I just cut a few inches, finished the seams and sewed straight on! Pretty nifty! {Don’t worry about the velcro yet, you’ll do that in just a second!}
14. Finish up your hole in your panels {the hole that you used to turn the fabric right side out}. Then attach the panels to the back of the sleep sack! I did this simply by folding the back piece in half, found the middle and put two pins. Then I folded the panel in half, found the center and matched it to the pins.
15. Topstitch the panel on
16. Last, sew on the velcro. Put a little square on the front zipper cover:
And don’t forget to sew a panel or two on the swaddle panels! I sewed mine vertically but I would highly recommend sewing the velcro horizontally! If I were to do it over, that’s the only thing I would change.
{This sleep sack turned out a tiny bit big so I actually trimmed it down to fit my little girl. I’ve adjusted the measurements to be perfect for you!}
And WAHLA!! You’ve got the best CUSTOM DIY SLEEP SACK ever!!! Great job, you!! 😀
For more details on how to serge make sure to download the Learn to Serge ebook. Click here to get all 12 comprehensive lessons at your fingertips!