The blanket sleeper (also known by many other synonyms and trade names) is a type of especially warm sleeping garment worn primarily during the winter in the United States and Canada. The garment is worn especially by infants and young children.
Typically, but not always, the blanket sleeper consists of a loose-fitting, one-piece garment of blanket-like material, enclosing the entire body except for the head and hands. It represents an intermediate step between regular pajamas, and bag-like coverings for infants such as buntings or infant sleeping bags (Terminology and Variations sections below). Like bag-like coverings, the blanket sleeper is designed to be sufficiently warm as to make regular blankets or other bed covers unnecessary, even in colder weather. Unlike such coverings, the blanket sleeper has bifurcated legs to allow unhindered walking (or crawling).
While no single feature is universal (see Terminology), distinguishing a blanket sleeper from regular pajamas usually include:
- One-piece construction with long sleeves and legs.
- Attached bootees enclosing the wearer's feet.
- Composition from relatively thick, heavy fabric.
Although any sleeping garment with some or all of these characteristics could be called a blanket sleeper , the term is most commonly applied to a range of styles that deviate relatively little from the same basic design. (The features of this design are described in the Features section, below.)
Although widely thought of as something worn only by the very young, blanket sleepers are also sometimes worn (in decreasing order of frequency) by school-age children, teens, and even adults. (See Sizes, gender differences, and availability , below.)
Although footed, one-piece garments in a variety of fabrics and styles are used in many countries as infant sleepwear, the specific range of styles with which the term blanket sleeper is usually associated, the term itself, and the phenomenon of children older than infancy wearing footed, one-piece sleeping garments, are all largely unique to North America.
Features
Features of the typical blanket sleeper include:
- Composition from a napped synthetic fabric, such as polyester polar fleece organic cotton sherpa
- Loose fit. On smaller sizes, the hip area may be made especially loose to accommodate a diaper. The crotch is usually cut especially low.
- Raglan sleeves.
- Snug rib-knit organic cotton sherpa collar and wrist cuffs.
- Organic: organic cotton rib knit, organic cotton sherpa, similar to fleece without the use of synthetic polyester.
- Usually made in one or more solid, bright colors, or screen-printed with graphic designs. There may be a front panel with a single, elaborate printed design, either covering the chest, or forming the entire front portion of the torso and legs. The sleeves may be a different color from the rest of the garment. Stripes are sometimes seen, most commonly on the collar and cuffs.
- Soles of the feet made from a (usually white) vinyl fabric lined with (synthetic) felt, for improved durability and slip-resistance. This can be solid vinyl with a rough textured surface, or a vinyl-dotted fabric such as Jiffy Grip.
- Optional toe caps , made from the same fabric as the soles of the feet, and covering the top front portion of the foot, for improved durability.
- Elastic to make the leg portions snug around the ankles.
- A zipper running vertically down the front of the garment, from the neck opening to the inside or front ankle of one of the legs (usually the left), designed to make it easy to put on and take off. On teen and adult sizes, the zipper usually instead runs from the neck to the crotch.
- Optional snap tab where the zipper meets the neck opening. This is a small tab of fabric sewed to the garment on one side of the zipper (usually the right), and fastening to the other side with a snap fastener, designed to prevent discomfort from the zipper slider coming into contact with the wearer's chin.
- Optional decorative applique on one side of the chest (usually the left).
Design considerations
Blanket sleeper are usually intended as practical garments, worn mostly by younger children and only in the home. Style and fashion thus tend not to be important in its design, and the basic design of the typical blanket sleeper has changed little over the years. Although updated organic cotton versions have been added to the market in recent years.
The sleeper serves mainly to keep the wearer warm at night, even in the absence of blankets and bed covers. The sleeper covers the entire body except for the heads and hands, where it is snug at the neck and wrists. The use of a zipper closure in place of buttons or snap fasteners also further retains warmth by eliminating drafts. This is especially important for infants, for whom loose blankets may pose a safety hazard (including increasing the risk of SIDS), and possibly for older children, who may still be too young to be relied upon to keep their own sleepwear or bed covers adjusted so as to prevent exposure to the air of bare skin. This is reflected in advertisements by blanket sleeper manufacturers, which often emphasize that their garments "can't be kicked off", or that "no other covers are needed". The permanently attached feet can also be a beneficial feature for children who are prone to get out of bed in the morning before their parents are awake, and are too young to be relied upon to put on slippers or other footwear to keep their feet warm. Blanket sleepers without feet allow more room for growth and reduce the possibility of slipping. Also, children with larger or smaller feet find a better fit.
The blanket sleeper is designed so that it can be worn either by itself as a standalone garment, or as a second layer worn over regular pajamas or other sleepwear. The one-piece design is simple to launder and has no detachable pieces that could be individually misplaced.
The range of materials used for mass-produced blanket sleepers for children is severely limited, as a result of stringent U.S. government-imposed flammability requirements. Essentially the only materials used since the 1950s are polyester, acrylic, and modacrylic, with polyester dominating. Unfortunately, this can have a negative impact on comfort for many wearers, particularly children with eczema. In 2009, Snug Organics created a snug-fitting sleeper was made in organic cotton sherpa without the use of flame retardants.
Adult-size sleepers, especially those sold by small Internet businesses, can be found in a wider range of materials, including natural fabrics such as cotton flannel. Some web businesses also offer sleepers in natural fabrics for children, but only outside the U.S. In particular, special eczema sleepsuits for children, made of cotton and with built-in mitts designed to prevent scratching, are available from specialty stores in the UK.
The fabrics used in most blanket sleepers have a strong tendency to pill. Although this does not adversely affect the garment's functional utility, it has the effect that a used garment can be clearly, visually distinguished from a new one after only a small number of wearings or washings.
Decorative features such as appliques or printed designs usually follow juvenile themes, and are designed to make the garments more attractive to the children who wear them. Dye-less, natural, organic versions attract parents looking for a chemical-free option.
Blanket sleepers may also appeal to cultural mores relating to body modesty. This can, for example, be a consideration for some parents when siblings sleep in the same room and/or bed.
Yet another potential benefit of the blanket sleeper is that it may help prevent infants from removing or interfering with their diapers during the night. This can also apply to older children with certain developmental disabilities, such as Angelman syndrome. In particular, parents of Angelman children have been known to take such additional measures as cutting the feet off the sleeper and putting it on backwards, and/or covering the zipper with duct tape. Several U.S. states have passed laws prohibiting parents and others from placing a blanket sleeper or similar garment on with the zipper in back, unless advised to do so by a physician. This practice, which prevents children from using the bathroom without assistance, has been considered abusive. Some specialty locking clothing and other adaptive clothing purveyors offer blanket sleepers, with or without feet, for adults with dementia or other disabilities, for similar reasons.
Sizes, gender differences, and availability
In the United States and Canada, mass-produced blanket sleepers for both boys and girls up to size 4 (see US standard clothing sizes) are quite common, and can be found in nearly any department store and online. Sizes larger than 4 are progressively less common, being found in only some stores and online, and usually only seasonally (peaking around October or November). The availability of larger-size sleepers in department stores also varies from year to year.
Alternative sources for larger-size, mass-produced sleepers include Internet auction sites, such as eBay, and certain mail order clothing retailers, such as Lands' End Snug Organics.
Individual blanket sleepers can be
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