This week, I’m doing a little throw-back of toddler sleeping bags I made for my boys last year.  I wasn’t a blogger then and figured I’d write a post in honor of our annual trip to the lake.  We brought these puppies along for each of our sons and I couldn’t help take some fun new photos along beautiful Lake Leelanau in Northern Michigan.

My boys are at a fun age when we can now have little sleepovers in the family room.  This adorable sleeping bag was exactly what I wanted for each of my kids to have their own.  I LOVE the idea of having the sides snap so that you can pull them apart and have a great throw blanket!  Duel-purpose items are key!  The pattern and tutorial can be found on The Sewing Rabbit’s blog.

For the fabric, I used some fun outdoor-inspired designs from the Camp-A-Lot collection by Bo Bunny for Riley Blake Designs.  Unfortunately, all of the fabrics are out of print (OOP) but you can still find certain patterns online.  I used quilt weight Firewood in chocolate for the border, Tracks in green for the center and then Main in green flannel for the backing.

My boys are still young and I wanted fun patterns for them that weren’t too mature.  They are already growing up too fast!  Plus, I just loved the flannel backing. It makes for an awesome “I Spy” game…bonus!!!  These sleeping bags should last them awhile for indoor fun, but I know we’ll have to get them “real” outdoor ones soon enough.

Luckily, I’m a very loyal fan of KAM Snaps.  If there is a reason to use them, I do!  I was so happy to see them in this tutorial because I have a ton of colors in my craft stash.  They hold well, but are easy enough for little hands to fasten together. There is spacing in between that allows air to come through on the bad, but remember, these are not intended for outdoor use….so I’m perfectly happy to use them!

The only modifications I made to the tutorial were increasing the width between quilted lines to about 4″ apart.  As you know, I’m not a fan of actual quilting, so this made for light work!   I also added appliqué letters to personalize each bag.  As a mom, I know how important it is to avoid any fights and keeping each boy accountable for their own stuff helps!  And yes, monograms are also super cute and special 🙂 To attached the appliqué letters, I used a tight zig-zag stitch to cover the edges and to mimic embroidery.  This process takes awhile but the results are worth the extra time!

I hope you are all enjoying your summer (northern hemisphere, peeps!) and get to make a special little person one of these sleeping bags!  Back to some family fun for me…

Hugs and Stitches,

Cristy