Tutorial Tuesday - recycled wool big kid (or grownup!) sleep sack

At the age of 5, my child still kicks the covers off and gets cold in the night. Since they don't make big boy sleep sacks, I had to create one of my own! First you start with a wool blanket. This could also be made from a fleece blanket, but you won't get the properties of wool. Wool is the perfect material for sleep sacks. Wool is breathable, insulated, moisture wicking, moisture repelling (great as an extra barrier of protection for those still in night diapers), all natural, naturally fire retardant (firemen wear wool!), and naturally dust mite repellent (great for all, but especially those with allergies)... all the important stuff you want around your sleeping child!
The bigger the blanket, the bigger the sack. I do not recommend making these oversized sleep sacks for babies or toddlers, in case they get tangled up in all the extra material. I will be doing a baby sleep sack tutorial in the next couple of weeks. This one is just for the big kids!


The first step is to fold the length of your blanket in half. Then cut a triangle off of each corner on one end. You will want the top wide enough for your kid to slip in & out of it easily.

Now sew, right sides out, all open sides except your opening at the top... otherwise nobody can get in it ;) You will end up with something that looks like a giant hot water bottle.

Now you will need to make the band that will go around your child. You can use ribbing, or do what I did, and make your own ribbing. I took a piece of super stretchy ribbed merino, sewed the ends into a loop, and folded it over. You will want stretchy, because your sack opening will be bigger than your band.

Now place your ribbing or band in the opening with all the raw edges out, and sew them together, stretching the ribbing/band as you go.

When you are done with that, flip the whole thing inside out, and it should look something like this. Now you are done!

They can just lay in it as is...

... or you can fold back the extra length over them for extra layers!

Jack was actually excited about his new big kid sleep sack, and couldn't wait to get in it last night! I love it when my kid gets excited about stuff I make ♥. He woke up happy in his new sleep sack this morning :)