DIY Baby Sleep Sack Tutorial for Beginners

Well, I inherited a sewing machine. It's really nothing special, but to me it's a land of opportunity! I've been wanting to try my hand at sewing for awhile now, but lacked an important piece of equipment. My sweet grandma indefinitely lent me her machine and I set out on an epic sewing journey! I decided that the easiest first project was something with a zipper... A very long zipper.

You see sweet Avery Jane was growing out of her current sleep sack and winter is upon us so I thought to myself that a fleece sleep sack was the perfect first project! After finishing, I would not necessarily suggest this as a first project for people, but hey.... It was mine and it turned out ok, so why not give it a try!

What you need for a 6-12 month (approximate) sleep sack:

• 1 yard of your favorite fleece fabric
• A 20-22" separating zipper (the one in the picture is an All Purpose Zipper... That was wrong and I had to exchange it;)
• Fabric Scissors or Fabric Rotary Cutter and Mat (any scissors will work... These are just sharper) (This is what I have and it is very inexpensive and is a GREAT starter kit!)
• Push pins
• Thread and Sewing Machine 

Back piece.

To start out and make a pattern to follow, I used an old sleep sack of Avery's and traced it onto newspaper. Make sure you allow for 3/4 inch all around. I wanted it to be a next size up for her so I made it a little bigger than that all around and added about 3-4 inches on the bottom. Once I was done with this, I cut it out and pinned it to the fabric and cut out the back of the sleep sack.

Front piece.

For the front pieces, I folded the pattern in half and left 3/4" on the inside for the zipper. (**Note this step is pretty important**). Do this on both halves of the front pieces. After I cute the front pieces out, I realized the neck hole on the front pieces probably needed to be cut a little lower. I cut a little too far, so don't cut too much more out.

After this, lay your zipper out and cut a piece that is about an inch longer than the zipper on both ends and about 3-4 inches wide. You will need this to cover the inside of the zipper. (This is not a super necessary step in my opinion, but is nice to have the zipper covered on the inside).  Below are all the pieces you'll need for this project.

Next, the dreaded zipper..... Ok, I'm sure I didn't do this the "proper" way, but it worked so I'm happy.  You want to take your two front pieces and pin the zipper on the right sides of the fabric with the zipper teeth facing out towards the arm holes. **Important!! Make sure you pin them on so you will zip the sack from top down! Do this on both sides. Then put the two front pieces together right sides in and sew them together underneath where the zipper ends. Mine had about 5-6 inches I needed to sew.

If you choose to do the inside zipper cover, you want to take that extra strip of fabric we cut out and fold it in half long ways and sew the short ends. Then flip it right side in so your sewing is hiding inside the fabric. (OR you can just cut a strip that is about an inch to inch and a half wide and skip the sewing part... I did this so it wasn't so bulky and easier to sew onto the project. You can do this with fleece because it doesn't fray. Other fabrics you will want to fold and sew). Sew this piece onto where you sewed the zipper so it lays across the zipper on the INSIDE of the sleep sack. The picture below is with the two front pieces zipped together and wrong sides of fabric facing out.

We are almost done!! Now put the right sides of the fabrics of the front and back pieces together, pin them, and then sew all along the outside perimeter 3/4 inch EXCEPT the arm holes and neck holes. Hem the arm holes and neck hole and then you are done!! UNLESS you are me and realize there is a little extra fabric above the zipper in the neck area... I folded it 1/4 inch and sewed it. When you are all done with this, flip it right side out so you can see your finished product.

That's all it takes to make your own sleep sack! I was able to make one for about $9 total. The one I bought from Target was almost $30... My lines may not be straight, but hey... I saved a bunch of money and Sweet Avery Jane got a sweet new sleep sack.