Make Your Baby's Sleepers Last Longer

Babies grow so fast that it isn't uncommon for them to outgrow their adorable little sleepers after wearing them only once or twice. While you can certainly gift the sleepers or sell them on Ebay, why not just make them last a little bit longer?

The first thing you need to check is where the sleeper no longer fits. If the body of the garment is too short, you won't be able to adjust it with our method. However, if the legs are too short, then you have a pretty easy fix on your hands.

Not sure how to tell which part of the sleeper is too small? Put it on your baby and see. If it is difficult to get the shoulders into the sleeper, with the crotch pulling, you have a short-bodied sleeper. Go ahead and give it away. However, if your baby has room in the crotch and shoulders, but her little legs are kept in a semi-bent position by the feet of the sleeper, you have a leg issue and this is fixable.

Next, you need a heavy pair of scissors. Just cut the feet right off the sleepers. That's right, cut them off. You do need to be careful when doing this to leave a straight edge, though. Spread the leg out flat and make sure there are no wrinkles. Lift the foot carefully, keeping the leg part of the sleeper flat and cut straight across, right above any little seams that form the foot.

The final step is to finish the cut edge and make it look nice . . . after all you saved the sleeper because it was one you liked, right? To do this, you'll need bias tape in the same color as the edging on the neck or sleeves. Take the sleeper to the fabric store with you so you can get a good match in colors. Buy the same color thread as well.

Now you just need to tuck the raw edge of the leg into the bias tape fold and pin it securely. Then use your sewing machine to sew around the leg, making sure that the edge is firmly secured inside the bias tape and doesn't slip out by accident.

That's it. You now have a footless sleeper that your growing little one can wear until her body is too long to fit comfortably. If you are worried about her little feet getting chilly at night, you can add socks for a more versatile version of footies.