#Satur-DIY | Sew Your own Sleep Sack!

Hello!

I am very excited about this the very first #Satur-DIY! Today I am sharing a tutorial on how to make your own baby sleep sack, or wearable blanket.

Riley can now roll over so I can't swaddle her anymore. I knew it was time to find a swaddle alternative for naps and bedtime. Enter the sleep sack. It fits the bill perfectly. Safe and warm. Here's how I made mine.

S T E P  O N E :  C R E A T E   T H E   P A T T E R N 

To draft your pattern grab three pieces of paper. On the first piece, trace the armholes and bodice of a loose-fitting onesie. On the second piece continue tracing where your first line ended and grade at an angle (see image below). For the third paper, decide how long you want the sack to be and trace to that point, rounding the corner. Mine is about 25 inches long and my baby is about 24 inches long. 

Tape your three papers together top to bottom and cut along your traced edge. The straight side of your paper (the left side in the image below) is where you will cut on the fold of the fabric.

Sorry I didn't take better pictures to explain this part, but you can get the gist I think. Let me know if you have questions, of course.

S T E P  T W O :  C U T  T H E  F A B R I C 

Fold your fabric once under your pattern, pin, and cut. I recommend using a rotary cutter and self-healing mat if those are available for use. 

Cut, cut, cut. 

Set this piece aside. This is the back of the sleep sack.

Before cutting the front piece, fold your fabric over once again and this time align the fold-edge side of your pattern a little bit (I did one inch, but recommend less than that) away from the fold of the fabric, as shown below (or less than an inch as long as it is very even and you remember the distance from the pattern). 

Pin and cut out the front piece.

Your two cut pieces should look like so:

S T E P  T H R E E :  I N S E R T  T H E  Z I P P E R

Fold the front piece in half right sides together and sew a straight line from top to bottom. Use whatever seam allowance corresponds with the distance you chose earlier (One inch in my case).

When opened up and right side facing out, your front piece should look like this:

Flip the front piece over and cut your fabric in half. Optional: you can cut your front piece in half, finish the inside edges, and then sew right sides together along the straight edge. 

Once cut, press this seam open. Lay your front piece out right side down and lay your zipper face down on the seam. Match up the zipper teeth and center of the seam as perfectly as you can. This is the key to a properly aligned zipper.

Baste the zipper in place. 

You are ready to sew the zipper. Pull out your zipper foot. 

Sew the zipper in place working down one side, pivoting and sewing across the bottom, and sewing up the other side. Still haven't figured out the best way to do this. Let me know if you have any tips!

Pull out your basting stitches.

Flip the front piece over and open up your first seam with a seam ripper. There is your perfect, little zipper!

S T E P  F O U R :  S E W  S H O U L D E R S  +  S I D E S   

T O G E T H E R

Put your front and back pieces right sides together and pin in place.

Sew the shoulders and around the sides leaving the neck and armholes open.

S T E P  F I V E :  B I N D  A R M H O L E S  +  N E C K L I N E

I kind of just got on a roll while watching a couple episodes of New Girl at this point and took zero pictures of the process. My apologies. :) So here are a few links for binding armholes and necklines.

Armholes

Necklines

Tada! You are {this close} to finishing!

Your sleep sack still needs a tab (and a snap, which will not appear in this tutorial, because I forgot to buy one).

S T E P  S I X :  M A K E  A  T A B  

For the final step, sew two piece of fabric right sides together and sew a little curve.

So cute. It looks like a ghost. I took about three minutes to wear it on my finger.

Flip the tab inside out and attach it about where the zipper starts (and in my case, where you want to hide some sloppy technique). 

Flip your tab to the opposite side and top-stitch.

Add a snap and you are done!

Here is the finished product and a baby model to boot!

Any questions? Holla at me if you try this out or if you have any suggestions for future posts! What did you do to celebrate Satur-DIY?

HAGS