Make a Quick and Simple Baby Sleeping Bag

With chilly nights moving in, you may find that your baby gets too cold at night. The main problem with babies and toddlers is that they tend to kick their blankets off while asleep and then wake up from the cold. An easy way to combat this is to sew up a baby sleeping bag that will allow your little one to stay to toasty warm all night long.

All you need are some basic sewing skills, elastic and a regular sized blanket. Avoid blankets that have batting on the inside or that don't follow fire safety regulations. If you can't find a decent large blanket that fits this description, go with two baby blankets.

First, you need to cut two rectangles. These should be about a foot longer than your child's body from neck to feet. This gives her room to grow! The width is up to you, but it should be at least three or four inches wider than your child's body, more if your baby likes to move around a lot.

Now, simply place the two right sides of the blanket together and sew down one long side, across the bottom and up the other long side. If the blanket is of a fabric that tends to fray, run over the raw edges with a zigzag stitch to prevent that from happening. Make sure you clip any loose threads so your baby's toes won't get caught.

The next step is to fold the top of the blanket down one and a half inches. If it is likely to fray, roll the raw edge under so that you will be sewing on a fold. Now, sew around the top of the bag that you have made, staying just over an inch from the edge. Sew all the way around. You will now have a closed tube at the top of the sleeping bag.

Take a strip of 1" elastic and measure it around your baby's chest, from armpit to armpit. The elastic should reach comfortably around, plus another 3". Mark the point where the elastic is just across the baby's chest, under his armpits.

Measure the distance across your baby's back, from armpit and armpit. Mark this space on the back of the sleeping bag and cut a small slit into each side of the back measurement. Insert a safety pin into one end of the elastic. Push this through one slit and through the tube. Sew the first end in place with a zigzag stitch, several times, the start bunching the fabric up until you can pull the safety pin out the other side. Pull the elastic out until you can see the 3" mark. This is where you are going sew, leaving the flap of extra elastic free. As your baby grows, just pick out the stitches and resew, allowing more elastic inside the tube to make room for his growing chest.

Turn the bag right side out, remove the safety pin and you´re ready to slip your baby into his new sleeping bag. Pull it up to under his armpits and he'll sleep soundly without waking up from cold because he's kicked his blankets off again! A very handy solution to the age old dilemma.