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After the crib linen, one more item was high on my to-do list: a baby sleeping bag that matched the star fabric of the crib perfectly. Thanks to a clever trick with an existing sleeping bag, I was able to draw a pattern myself — and so this little adventure began.

Draw the pattern and cut the fabric

I had purchased 1 meter of blue fleece — more than enough for two sleeping bags. I copied all parts of an existing sleeping bag onto grid foil: a body, two sleeves and a sleeve cap. Drawing on fleece immediately proved to be a challenge: the fabric slides and pulls. Tips are always welcome!

Zelfgetekend patroon uitgespreid op blauwe fleece voor babyslaapzakje
All pattern parts laid out on the fleece
Close-up van mouwpatroon met maataanduidingen voor babyslaapzakje
The sleeve pattern — double cut, and mirror image!

After marking everything off, I cut out all the pieces. Note: you have to cut the second sleeve mirror-image — I learned that the hard way!

Alle geknipte fleece onderdelen van het babyslaapzakje uitgespreid op de vloer
All cut parts spread out — ready to put together

Put everything together and stitch the first stitches

Once everything was cut, I put the pieces together to make sure it was correct. Then I stitched the first sleeve — quite an achievement for someone who was just starting to sew!

Geknipte slaapzak onderdelen samengelegd om te controleren of alles past
Put together — does it fit?
Eerste losse mouw van het babyslaapzakje in blauwe fleece
The first sleeve is stitched!

Make and stitch bias tape

To finish the sleeves, I made my own bias tape from the matching star fabric — measure it nicely, fold it and press it with the iron. Sewing it turned out to be quite a job: bias tape tends to slide away. Not exactly straight everywhere, but still quite proud for the first time!

Hand houdt gevouwen biaislint in blauwe sterren-en-hartjesstof
Homemade bias tape neatly folded
Naaimachine stikt biaislint op blauwe fleece met spelden vastgezet
Sew on the bias tape — pins help
Mouw van babyslaapzakje afgewerkt met biaislint in bijpassende sterren-stof
transfer completed!

Toppings and the finishing touch

For the neck opening I made a facing of the star fabric. Then inserted the zipper — for the first time in my life! This was clearly visible because he did not walk completely straight. But it worked. The sleeping bag was almost ready, only the sleeves still needed to be inserted — you can read that in the next post.

Beleg van bijpassende sterren-stof opgespeld voor de halsopening van het slaapzakje
Facing pinned on for the neck opening
Babyslaapzakje bijna klaar — romp gesloten, mouwtjes nog apart
Almost done – still need to insert sleeves

Also read


Used sewing machine

I made this sleeping bag on my very first sewing machine, theBrother FS-40— reliable, affordable and perfect for beginners.

🛒Brother FS-40 on Amazon DE|Brother FS-40 on Amazon BE

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