Sooo, my sister in law has found that the only way to get her 7 month old son to sleep is in a wearable blanket. The problem is, that, like all her children, he is an Amazon. The wearable blankets available are all too short.

My mother-in-law and I are going to attempt to make a few wearable blankets for him, but I cannot seem to find a pattern that isn't....ridiculous. It is not likely that he will be the future king of England, so we're not needing an overly grandiose robe, just a simple, wearable blanket. We're going to try to make our own pattern, but I thought I'd reach out and see if anyone had any experience in this field and what kind of tips I could get.

No, it's not a quilt. Yes, I understand that I may have to work with *gag* fleece. But I'm willing to sacrifice some of my dignity because little Ben is just such a little sweetheart. Any tips you have would be greatly appreciated :)

Look for a sleep sack pattern...it is easy to alter to make longer. I made a couple for my GD.

Find a sweatshirt pattern that will fit him, than elongate it to cover his feet and than some and add a zipper down the front. Clear as mud?

I've not made one, but my son did.
I know he took the measurement from shoulder to feet, then added a few inches for growing room (his were for almost teenagers) to determine the length. I didn't really look that closely at it since it was on a 'moving target' Christmas morning!

What about a footie pajama pattern?
You could start to alter it just under the arms, making it as wide as you would like all the way down to the toes.
The zipper placement could be the same as the pattern or you could place it down the center.
You could add the ribbing or use binding instead around the neck and wrists. :D:D:D

I made these in the early 1980's for my twins. Ribbing for neckline and cuffs. Center front l*o*n*g zipper and growth room built in for length of body and sleeves. Use a boxy (not tight) raglan sleeve sweatshirt pattern.

Growth room to me means folds of fabric about 1 inch high, sewn on outside of garment. Having it outside the garment made it easy to "let out" when necessary, didn't rub against the skin of the child, and the color of this strip was the same as the rest of the fabric. Letting out the growth strip equals two inch gain in length.

One growth room strip for each sleeve just above the ribbed cuff. Two separates growth strips on the lower portion of the "bag" in the area of the shin to ankle. Please be sure to box out the bottom of the blanket sleeper with a rectangular piece of material so the child has extra room to move his feet and kick a little.....think of this as a tote bag bottom.

These are easy to make. I made two/three for each of my
twins and they slept like logs. This translates to Mom sleeping through the night. Hurray!

I wish I was nearby to help you in person. They are easy, easy, easy to make. You are angels:)

Are you looking for blanket sleepers? I found them one sale today at Sears. $7.00 for two of them. Can't make them for that. Had sized from 6-9 months up to a size 10!

I have also made a sleep sack, which may be more what you are looking for. I had a pattern, similar to KwikSew 3089.

I've even found sleeveless sleepsacks both summer and winter weight online. I believe they went up to size 3T.

The sleep sack is much much closer to what I'm looking for than the wearable blanket patterns I found online. We're going to mix pattern + the one he's outgrown. Hopefully pics will come soon!

What a wonderful sister-in-law! This board is very helpful, great idea to ask!