Blanket sleeper
Encyclopedia
Nightwear
Nightwear, also called "sleepwear", "sleeping suit", "nightclothes", or "nightdress", is clothing designed to be worn while sleeping. The style of nightwear worn may vary with the seasons, with eg. warmer styles being worn in colder conditions...
worn primarily during the winter in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The garment is worn especially by infant
Infant
A newborn or baby is the very young offspring of a human or other mammal. A newborn is an infant who is within hours, days, or up to a few weeks from birth. In medical contexts, newborn or neonate refers to an infant in the first 28 days after birth...
s and young child
Child
Biologically, a child is generally a human between the stages of birth and puberty. Some vernacular definitions of a child include the fetus, as being an unborn child. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority...
ren.
Typically, but not always, the blanket sleeper consists of a loose-fitting, one-piece garment of blanket
Blanket
A blanket is a type of bedding, generally speaking, a large piece of cloth, intended to keep the user warm, especially while sleeping. Blankets are distinguished from sheets by their thickness and purpose; the thickest sheet is still thinner than the lightest blanket. Blankets are generally used...
-like material, enclosing the entire body except for the head and hands. It represents an intermediate step between regular pajamas
Pajamas
Pajamas, also spelled pyjamas , can refer to several related types of clothing. The original paijama are loose, lightweight trousers fitted with drawstring waistbands and worn in South and West Asia by both sexes...
, 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
Bedding
Bedding refers to the materials laid above the mattress of a bed for hygiene, warmth, to protect the mattress, and for decorative effect. Bedding is the removable and washable portion of a human sleeping environment. It is more easily and economically replaced than the bed itself...
unnecessary, even in colder weather. Unlike such coverings, the blanket sleeper has bifurcated legs to allow unhindered walking
Walking
Walking is one of the main gaits of locomotion among legged animals, and is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults over the stiff limb or limbs with each step...
(or crawling).
While no single feature is universal (see Terminology), distinguishing a blanket sleeper from regular pajamas usually include:
- One-piece construction with long sleeveSleeveSleeve is that part of a garment which covers the arm, or through which the arm passes or slips. The pattern of the sleeve is one of the characteristics of fashion in dress, varying in every country and period...
s and legs. - Attached booteeBooteeA bootee is a short soft sock or bootlike garment used for warmth or protection. Bootees for babies are usually thick and knitted, to keep the baby's feet warm...
s enclosing the wearer's feetFootThe foot is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg made up of one or more segments or bones, generally including claws...
. - Composition from relatively thick, heavy fabricTextileA textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
.
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
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
Features
Features of the typical blanket sleeper include:- Usually made of a napNap (textile)Primarily, nap is the raised surface on certain kinds of cloth, such as velvet. Nap can refer additionally to other surfaces that look like the surface of a napped cloth, such as the surface of a felt or beaver hat....
ped syntheticSynthetic fiberSynthetic fibers are the result of extensive research by scientists to improve on naturally occurring animal and plant fibers. In general, synthetic fibers are created by forcing, usually through extrusion, fiber forming materials through holes into the air, forming a thread...
fabric, such as polyesterPolyesterPolyester is a category of polymers which contain the ester functional group in their main chain. Although there are many polyesters, the term "polyester" as a specific material most commonly refers to polyethylene terephthalate...
or polar fleecePolar fleecePolar fleece, usually referred to simply as "fleece," is a soft napped insulating synthetic fabric made from Polyethylene terephthalate or other synthetic fibers. One of the first forms was Polar Fleece created in 1979 by Malden Mills, now Polartec LLC., a new, light and strong pile fabric meant...
; however sleepers made from heavier natural fabrics such as cottonCottonCotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
are also available, they are not common in North America due to stringent regulations regarding flammability.
- Loose fit. On smaller sizes, the hip area may be made especially loose to accommodate a diaperDiaperA nappy or a diaper is a kind of pant that allows one to defecate or urinate on oneself discreetly. When diapers become soiled, they require changing; this process is often performed by a second person such as a parent or caregiver...
. The crotch is usually cut especially low.
- Raglan sleeveRaglan sleeveA raglan sleeve is a type of sleeve whose distinguishing characteristic is to extend in one piece fully to the collar, leaving a diagonal seam from underarm to collarbone. It is popular in sports- and exercise wear, and named after FitzRoy James Henry Somerset, the 1st Baron Raglan, who is said to...
s.
- Snug rib-knitRibbing (knitting)In knitting, ribbing is a pattern in which vertical stripes of stockinette stitch alternate with vertical stripes of reverse stockinette stitch...
collarCollar (clothing)In clothing, a collar is the part of a shirt, dress, coat or blouse that fastens around or frames the neck. Among clothing construction professionals, a collar is differentiated from other necklines such as revers and lapels, by being made from a separate piece of fabric, rather than a folded or...
and wrist cuffCuffA cuff is an extra layer of fabric at the lower edge of the sleeve of a garment covering the arms. In US usage the word may also refer to the end of the leg of a pair of trousers...
s.
- Usually made in one or more solid, bright colors, or screen-printedScreen-printingScreen printing is a printing technique that uses a woven mesh to support an ink-blocking stencil. The attached stencil forms open areas of mesh that transfer ink or other printable materials which can be pressed through the mesh as a sharp-edged image onto a substrate...
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) vinylVinylA vinyl compound is any organic compound that contains a vinyl group ,which are derivatives of ethene, CH2=CH2, with one hydrogen atom replaced with some other group...
fabric lined with (synthetic) feltFeltFelt is a non-woven cloth that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing woollen fibres. While some types of felt are very soft, some are tough enough to form construction materials. Felt can be of any colour, and made into any shape or size....
, 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 zipperZipperA zipper is a commonly used device for temporarily joining two edges of fabric...
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 fastenerSnap fastenerA snap fastener is a pair of interlocking discs commonly used in place of buttons to fasten clothing. A circular lip under one disc fits into a groove on the top of the other, holding them fast until a certain amount of force is applied...
, designed to prevent discomfort from the zipper slider coming into contact with the wearer's chin.
- Optional decorative appliqueAppliqueIn its broadest sense, an appliqué is a smaller ornament or device applied to another surface. In the context of ceramics, for example, an appliqué is a separate piece of clay added to the primary work, generally for the purpose of decoration...
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 fashionFashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
thus tend not to be important in its design, and the basic design of the typical blanket sleeper has changed little over the 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 (in most cases) hands, where it is snug at the neck and wrists. The use of a zipper closure in place of button
Button
In modern clothing and fashion design, a button is a small fastener, most commonly made of plastic, but also frequently of seashell, which secures two pieces of fabric together. In archaeology, a button can be a significant artifact. In the applied arts and in craft, a button can be an example of...
s or snap fastener
Snap fastener
A snap fastener is a pair of interlocking discs commonly used in place of buttons to fasten clothing. A circular lip under one disc fits into a groove on the top of the other, holding them fast until a certain amount of force is applied...
s 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
Sudden infant death syndrome
Sudden infant death syndrome is marked by the sudden death of an infant that is unexpected by medical history, and remains unexplained after a thorough forensic autopsy and a detailed death scene investigation. An infant is at the highest risk for SIDS during sleep, which is why it is sometimes...
), 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 slipper
Slipper
A slipper or houseshoe is a semi-closed type of indoor/outdoor shoe, consisting of a sole held to the wearer's foot by a strap running over the toes or instep. Slippers are soft and lightweight compared to other types of footwear. They are mostly made of soft or comforting materials that allow a...
s 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
Mass production
Mass production is the production of large amounts of standardized products, including and especially on assembly lines...
blanket sleepers for children is severely limited, as a result of stringent U.S. government-imposed flammability
Flammability
Flammability is defined as how easily something will burn or ignite, causing fire or combustion. The degree of difficulty required to cause the combustion of a substance is quantified through fire testing. Internationally, a variety of test protocols exist to quantify flammability...
requirements. Essentially the only materials used since the 1950s are polyester
Polyester
Polyester is a category of polymers which contain the ester functional group in their main chain. Although there are many polyesters, the term "polyester" as a specific material most commonly refers to polyethylene terephthalate...
, acrylic
Acrylic fiber
Acrylic fibers are synthetic fibers made from a polymer with an average molecular weight of ~100,000, about 1900 monomer units. To be called acrylic in the U.S, the polymer must contain at least 85% acrylonitrile monomer. Typical comonomers are vinyl acetate or methyl acrylate...
, and modacrylic
Modacrylic
A modacrylic is a synthetic copolymer. Modacrylics are soft, strong, resilient, and dimensionally stable. They can be easily dyed, show good press and shape retention, and are quick to dry. They have outstanding resistance to chemicals and solvents, are not attacked by moths or mildew, and are...
, with polyester dominating. Unfortunately, this can have a negative impact on comfort for many wearers, particularly children with eczema
Eczema
Eczema is a form of dermatitis, or inflammation of the epidermis . In England, an estimated 5.7 million or about one in every nine people have been diagnosed with the disease by a clinician at some point in their lives.The term eczema is broadly applied to a range of persistent skin conditions...
. A small number of sleepers are made from cotton.
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
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
flannel
Flannel
Flannel is a soft woven fabric, of various fineness. Flannel was originally made from carded wool or worsted yarn, but is now often made from either wool, cotton, or synthetic fibre. Flannel may be brushed to create extra softness or remain unbrushed. The brushing process is a mechanical process...
. 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
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
The fabrics used in most blanket sleepers have a strong tendency to pill
Pill (textile)
A pill, colloquially known as a bobble, is a small ball of fibres that forms on a piece of cloth from wear. Pill is also a verb for the formation of such balls....
. 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.
Blanket sleepers may also appeal to cultural mores
Mores
Mores, in sociology, are any given society's particular norms, virtues, or values. The word mores is a plurale tantum term borrowed from Latin, which has been used in the English language since the 1890s....
relating to body modesty
Modesty
Standards of modesty are aspects of the culture of a country or people, at a given point in time, and is a measure against which an individual in society may be judged....
. 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
Angelman syndrome
Angelman syndrome is a neuro-genetic disorder characterized by intellectual and developmental delay, sleep disturbance, seizures, jerky movements , frequent laughter or smiling, and usually a happy demeanor....
. 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
Duct tape
Duct tape, or duck tape, is cloth- or scrim-backed pressure sensitive tape often sealed with polyethylene. It is very similar to gaffer tape but differs in that gaffer tape was designed to be cleanly removed, while duct tape was not. It has a standard width of and is generally silver or black...
. Some specialty locking clothing
Locking clothing
Locking clothing is designed to prevent wearers from disrobing when doing so is inappropriate. Those who may need such clothes include older adults with old-age conditions such as Alzheimer's Disease, or younger adults and children with disorders from birth....
and other adaptive clothing
Adaptive clothing
Adaptive clothing is clothing designed for people with physical disabilities, the elderly, and the infirm who may experience difficulty dressing themselves due to an inability to manipulate closures, such as buttons and zippers, or due to a lack of a full range of motion required for self-dressing...
purveyors offer blanket sleepers, with or without feet, for adults with dementia
Dementia
Dementia is a serious loss of cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging...
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 sizeUS standard clothing size
US standard clothing sizes were developed from statistical data in the 1940s-1950s. They were similar in concept to the EN 13402 European clothing size standard....
s) are quite common, and can be found in nearly any department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
and online
ONLINE
ONLINE is a magazine for information systems first published in 1977. The publisher Online, Inc. was founded the year before. In May 2002, Information Today, Inc. acquired the assets of Online Inc....
. 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
Online auction business model
The online auction business model is one in which participants bid for products and services over the Internet. The functionality of buying and selling in an auction format is made possible through auction software which regulates the various processes involved.Several types of online auctions are...
, such as eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
, and certain mail order
Mail order
Mail order is a term which describes the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote method such as through a telephone call or web site. Then, the products are delivered to the customer...
clothing retailers, such as Lands' End
Lands' End
Lands' End is a clothing retailer based in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, that specializes in casual clothing, luggage, and home furnishings. The majority of Lands' End's business is conducted through mail order and Internet sales, but the company also runs more than a dozen retail operations, primarily in...
.
Individual blanket sleepers can be marketed either as a unisex
Gender-blind
Gender-blind is a term describing activities undertaken and services provided without regard to the gender of those who participate.- Choice of words :Unisex is an older term, and a misnomer meaning "one sex"....
garment, or as a garment intended for one gender. Even in the latter case, however, there is often no difference stylistically between sleepers marketed specifically for boys, and ones marketed specifically for girls. (The size numbers are also consistent, as, although there are slight differences in the meanings of size numbers between boys and girls in the U.S. standard clothing size system, these are too small to matter in the case of a garment as loose-fitting as a blanket sleeper.) Occasionally, however, sleepers marketed for girls may include effeminate decorative features such as lacy
Lace
Lace is an openwork fabric, patterned with open holes in the work, made by machine or by hand. The holes can be formed via removal of threads or cloth from a previously woven fabric, but more often open spaces are created as part of the lace fabric. Lace-making is an ancient craft. True lace was...
frills, and sleepers with screen-printed front panels may feature images of media characters appealing primarily to children of one gender. Also, the ranges of colors available may be different between the genders. (In particular, pink sleepers are rarely worn by boys, due to a cultural association of that color with femininity.) Unisex designs and colors offer a more sustainable option allowing the most use over time.
In smaller sizes, there is little or no difference in the availability of sleepers for boys and for girls. However, the culturally-perceived age-appropriateness of the blanket sleeper falls off more rapidly for boys than for girls, and sleepers for older boys are correspondingly less common than those for older girls, with the gap in availability increasing as the size increases. (For older girls, much of the appeal of wearing blanket sleepers may be based on the playful norm-flouting quality of wearing a garment traditionally worn only by younger children; for boys of the same age, this would tend to be considered less culturally acceptable.) Nevertheless, sleepers for both boys and girls continue to have a reasonable degree of availability in department stores (and Internet auction sites) up to about size 14-16.
Blanket sleepers for adult women are uncommon, but in most years can be found in at least one major department store chain.
Mass-produced blanket sleepers for adult men are extremely rare, and when they do appear are usually two-piece, and/or have detachable feet. However, major home sewing pattern
Pattern (sewing)
In sewing and fashion design, a pattern is an original garment from which other garments of a similar style are copied, or the paper or cardboard templates from which the parts of a garment are traced onto fabric before cutting out and assembling .Patternmaking, pattern making or pattern cutting is...
publishers sometimes offer patterns for conventionally-styled blanket sleepers in men's sizes, and in the Internet Age a cottage industry has developed, with several websites offering blanket sleepers manufactured on a small scale for men as well as women and children. Also, mass-produced, unisex-styled blanket sleepers marketed for women are sometimes purchased and worn by men, although the difference in the size ranges between men and women means that this option is available only to men of smaller stature.
The blanket sleeper can be a subject of interest, particularly among the AB/DL community. A large portion of the demand for blanket sleepers in adult sizes likely derives from this source, and many of the small businesses that sell blanket sleepers on the Internet are willing to cater to it.
Terminology
The terminology relating to blanket sleepers can be confusing, and inconsistent between different speakers.The terms sleeper and blanket sleeper are sometimes used interchangeably. Alternatively, a distinction may be made between the lighter-weight (footed, one-piece) sleepers worn by infants in warmer weather, and the heavier blanket sleepers worn by both infants and older children, primarily in colder weather. (In the loosest usage, sleeper by itself can mean any infant sleeping garment, regardless of form or features.) Similarly, some people consider a blanket sleeper to be one-piece by definition, whereas a sleeper could be made either in one piece, or in two pieces meeting at the waist.
When blanket is omitted, either the singular form sleeper or the plural form sleepers may be used to refer to a single garment. When blanket is included, however, a single garment is usually referred to using the singular form.
The terms (blanket) sleeper and footed pajamas may be used interchangeably. (This reflects the North American practice of referring to nearly any sleeping garment as pajamas
Pajamas
Pajamas, also spelled pyjamas , can refer to several related types of clothing. The original paijama are loose, lightweight trousers fitted with drawstring waistbands and worn in South and West Asia by both sexes...
, as blanket sleepers bear little resemblance to the jacket and trouser combination, originating in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, that the term pajamas originally referred to.) Alternatively, sleeper may instead be used more narrowly than footed pajamas, to exclude footed sleeping garments that are lighter-weight and/or two-piece, such as footed "ski" style pajamas.
Also, while many people consider built-in feet to be part of the definition of sleeper, garments otherwise meeting the definition but lacking feet are sometimes marketed as footless blanket sleepers.
The term grow sleeper is sometimes used to refer to a two-piece footed sleeping garment with features designed to compensate for growth in the wearer, such as turn-back cuffs, or a double row of snap fasteners at the waist.
Other terms that are used more-or-less interchangeably with blanket sleeper include:
- footed sleeper
- footed pj's
- feeted/feety/footy/footsie/feetsie/feet pajamas
- footies
- nighties
- onesie
- pajamas with feet
- pajamas with the feet in them
- padded feet pajamas
- pajama blanket
- one-piece pajamas
- zip-up pajamas
- sleeper/sleeping suit
- sleeper blanket
- sherpa sleeper
- walking blanket
- walking sleeper
- sleeper walker
- oversleeper (used in advertisements by J. C. PenneyJ. C. Penney-External links:*...
) - bunny suit
- bunny pajamas
- bunny feet pajamas
- potato mashers
- dormer (older girls' and women's sizes only)
Also, a number of commercial brand names have been adopted as genericized trademark
Genericized trademark
A genericized trademark is a trademark or brand name that has become the colloquial or generic description for, or synonymous with, a general class of product or service, rather than as an indicator of source or affiliation as intended by the trademark's holder...
s. The best known of these is Dr. Denton
Dr. Denton
Dr. Denton or Dr. Denton's is a well-known American brand of blanket sleepers, formerly manufactured by the Dr. Denton Sleeping Garment Mills of Centreville, Michigan...
s, but others used include "Big Feet", Trundle Bundle (common usage on the Southside of Chicago), and Jama-Blanket.
Formerly used, obsolete terms include:
- night drawers
- sleeping drawers
- sleeping garment
- coverlet sleeper
- pajunion (used in advertisements by Brighton-Carlsbad)
In British English
British English
British English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...
, the term with a meaning closest to that of blanket sleeper is sleepsuit, but it is also known as a romper suit.
Infants' garments similar to blanket sleepers, but with the bottom portion constructed like a bag, without separate leg enclosures, are usually not considered sleepers, but rather are referred to by other terms such as baby sleep bag, bunting, sleeping bag, go go bag, sleep sack, or grow bag.
Infants' garments similar to blanket sleepers, but designed for use as outerwear rather than sleepwear (and usually featuring hoods and hand covers), are referred to by other terms such as pram suit
Pram suit
A pram suit is a one-piece garment for infants, designed as cold-weather outerwear, and typically enclosing the entire body except for the face. Usual features include bifurcated legs with attached bootees, sleeves ending in removable hand covers, and an attached hood....
or carriage suit.
Infants' garments similar to blanket sleepers, but designed for dual use as both sleepwear and playwear, are sometimes known as sleep 'n' play suits.
History
The origins of the blanket sleeper can be traced at least as far back as the late 19th Century, to footed, one-piece sleeping garments for children, then known as night drawers. However, the blanket sleeper first took something closely resembling its present form in the early 1950s, when many of the most recognizable features were first adopted, including the use of synthetic fabrics, slip-resistant soles, toe caps, rib-knit collar and cuffs, zipper closure, snap tab, and applique. The term blanket sleeper also first came into common use at this time, although sleeper by itself appeared considerably earlier.Sleepers made before the 1950s were usually made from knitted natural fabrics, either cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
, wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
(especially merino
Merino
The Merino is an economically influential breed of sheep prized for its wool. Merinos are regarded as having some of the finest and softest wool of any sheep...
), or a mixture of both. Commonly used fabrics included outing flannel
Flannel
Flannel is a soft woven fabric, of various fineness. Flannel was originally made from carded wool or worsted yarn, but is now often made from either wool, cotton, or synthetic fibre. Flannel may be brushed to create extra softness or remain unbrushed. The brushing process is a mechanical process...
and flannelette. (Home-made sleepers were typically made out of fabric pieces cut from actual blankets.) The soles of the feet were usually made from the same material as the rest of the sleeper, though sometimes two layers were used for improved durability. The collar and cuffs were usually hem
Hem
To hem a piece of cloth is to sew a cut edge in such a way as to prevent unraveling of the fabric.There are many different styles of hems of varying complexities. The most common hem...
med, and the sleeper usually closed with button
Button
In modern clothing and fashion design, a button is a small fastener, most commonly made of plastic, but also frequently of seashell, which secures two pieces of fabric together. In archaeology, a button can be a significant artifact. In the applied arts and in craft, a button can be an example of...
s, either in the front or in the back.
Natural fabrics were largely abandoned after the Flammable Fabrics Act of 1953, which imposed strict flammability
Flammability
Flammability is defined as how easily something will burn or ignite, causing fire or combustion. The degree of difficulty required to cause the combustion of a substance is quantified through fire testing. Internationally, a variety of test protocols exist to quantify flammability...
requirements on children's sleepwear sold in the United States, up to size 14. Flammability requirements were tightened further in the early 1970s, and in 1977 the flame-retarding additive TRIS
Tris
Tris is an abbreviation of the organic compound known as trisaminomethane, with the formula 3CNH2. Tris is extensively used in biochemistry and molecular biology. In biochemistry, tris is widely used as a component of buffer solutions, such as in TAE and TBE buffer, especially for solutions of...
was discovered to be carcinogenic, prompting a recall, and leading to the abandonment of such additives and the materials that depended on them for their flame-resistance.
The popularity of blanket sleepers for older children got a boost in the 1970s and early 1980s due to the energy crises
Energy crisis
An energy crisis is any great bottleneck in the supply of energy resources to an economy. In popular literature though, it often refers to one of the energy sources used at a certain time and place, particularly those that supply national electricity grids or serve as fuel for vehicles...
of 1973 and 1979
1979 energy crisis
The 1979 oil crisis in the United States occurred in the wake of the Iranian Revolution. Amid massive protests, the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, fled his country in early 1979 and the Ayatollah Khomeini soon became the new leader of Iran. Protests severely disrupted the Iranian oil...
. Advertisements from this period often emphasized that thermostats could be set lower at night when children slept in blanket sleepers.
Variations
Blanket sleepers sometimes depart from the standard design by incorporating unusual or uncommon features. An incomplete list of these follows.Drop seat : One of the features most commonly associated with blanket sleepers in the public imagination, the drop seat (also known as a trap door or butt flap) is an opening in the buttocks area, traditionally closing with buttons, designed to allow the wearer to use the toilet without removing the sleeper. Drop seats were very common on sleepers made before the 1950s, but today they are rather rare. (Similar drop seats were also a common feature on the traditional union suit
Union suit
A union suit is a type of one-piece long underwear. Created in Utica, New York, United States, it originated as women's wear during the 19th-century United States clothing reform efforts, as an alternative to constricting garments, and soon gained popularity among men as well...
.)
- Modern versions of the drop seat often replace the buttons with snap fasteners.
Snap front/legs : Some sleepers, especially in infant sizes, replace the usual front zipper with a front opening closing with snap fasteners. In infant sizes, this opening usually forks at the crotch, and extends down the insides of both legs to the ankles, in order to give access for diaper changes. This design tends to be less effective at eliminating drafts than the zipper closure, and is most often seen on lighter-weight sleepers designed for warmer weather.
- Some infant-size blanket sleepers made in the 1960s featured an ankle-to-ankle zipper through the crotch, serving a similar function.
Snap waist/back : Two-piece sleepers sometimes fasten around the waist with snap fasteners. This is most often seen on so-called grow sleepers, made mainly in toddler sizes, with features designed to extend the useful life of the garment by compensating for growth in the wearer. These are usually made in lighter material than one-piece sleepers, with an especially high waist, two rows of snaps on the top piece, a back opening
Back closure
A back closure is a means for fastening a garment at the rear, such as with a zipper, hooks-and-eyes or buttons. Back closures were once common on Western female clothing, but have recently become less so, especially on female casual and business attire...
on the top piece also closing with snaps, and turn-back cuffs.
- Two-piece sleepers made before the 1950s often fastened similarly around the waist with buttons.
Drawstring cuffs : A common feature on sleepers until about the 1930s was turn-back cuffs closing at the ends with drawstring
Drawstring
A drawstring is a string, cord, or rope used to "draw" or tie closed an opening in fabric or other material...
s, designed to fully enclose the wearer's hands. According to advertisements, these were intended both to keep the wearer's hands warm, and to discourage thumb or finger sucking
Thumb sucking
Thumb sucking is a behavior found in humans, chimpanzees, captive Ring-tailed Lemurs, and other primates. It usually involves placing the thumb into the mouth and rhythmically repeating sucking contact for a prolonged duration...
. (These were mostly found on smaller sizes, but have appeared on Dr. Denton brand sleepers in sizes for children as old as 10 years.)
Costume sleepers : Occasionally garments are made that are designed to serve a dual function, as both blanket sleeper and fancy dress costume
Costume
The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or period. Costume may also refer to the artistic arrangement of accessories in a picture, statue, poem, or play, appropriate to the time, place, or other circumstances...
(similar to the ones worn by American children on Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
). Animal costume sleepers are the most common, often featuring hoods with costume ears, tails, and/or hand covers resembling paws. Other motifs such as superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
es or clowns are also sometimes seen.
- The use of the terms bunny suit and bunny pajamas as synonyms for blanket sleeper references the persistent cultural memeMemeA meme is "an idea, behaviour or style that spreads from person to person within a culture."A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena...
of a blanket sleeper fashioned as a (usually pink) bunny costume, with a hood, long ears, and puffy tail. - A related phenomenon in JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, of footless, lighter-weight, hooded, one-piece animal costume pajamas, is known there as disguise pajama or kigurumiKigurumiis the Japanese name for costumed performers who represent cartoon characters, often animals. The name comes from the Japanese verb and noun . These performers appear at shopping malls, theme parks, and anime conventions...
(although the latter term can also refer to costumes that are not intended as sleepwear).
Minor variations
Side zipper : A rare alternative to the center front zipper is the "side zipper", running from the neckline near one shoulder (usually the left) to the outside or front ankle. This is most commonly found on sleepers with an elaborate printed design on the front, in which case it serves to avoid disruption of the image.- An even rarer variation is to have zippers on both sides.
Back zipper : Although back closings using buttons were common on sleepers made before the 1950s, zippers in the back are extremely rare in regular children's sleepers. A back zipper makes it difficult for the wearer to remove the sleeper for bathroom use. However a number of examples in regular sleepers existed in the 1950s and 1960s. Back zippers can however often be found on sleepers for some disabled wearers where it is an advantage to prevent the wearer removing their sleeper, especially those who wear diapers and have a tendency to remove them.
Self-fabric feet : Sleepers made in sizes for infants who are too young to walk often omit the slip-resistant soles on the feet, instead having soles made from the same fabric as the rest of the sleeper. This is also occasionally seen on sleepers for older girls or women.
Bound feet : On sleepers made since the 1980s, the soles of the feet usually attach to the upper foot pieces with an inward-facing seam. In preceding years, it was more common for the seam to face outward, and to be covered with a narrow strip of material, forming a kind of ridge around the perimeter of the sole. This design was referred to in advertisements as a bound edge or bound foot, and was intended both to improve durability, and to improve comfort by eliminating a potential source of irritation.
Molded plastic feet : Around 1970, some sleepers were made with foot bottoms made from three-dimensional molded plastic. This feature proved unpopular, and was quickly abandoned.
Detachable feet : Occasionally, rather than having permanently attached feet, sleepers will come with separate feet, similar to slippers. This is more common on adult sizes.
Convertible feet : Another variation replaces the permanently enclosed feet with "convertible" foot coverings resembling tube sock
Sock
A sock is an item of clothing worn on the feet. The foot is among the heaviest producers of sweat in the body, as it is able to produce over of perspiration per day. Socks help to absorb this sweat and draw it to areas where air can evaporate the perspiration. In cold environments, socks decrease...
s, that close at the ends with velcro
Velcro
Velcro is the brand name of the first commercially marketed fabric hook-and-loop fastener, invented in 1948 by the Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral...
, and can be rolled back to expose the feet when desired.
Hood : Attached hoods
Hood (headgear)
A hood is a kind of headgear that covers most of the head and neck and sometimes the face. They may be worn for protection from the environment, for fashion, as a form of traditional dress or uniform, to prevent the wearer from seeing or to prevent the wearer from being identified.-History and...
were occasionally seen on sleepers made before the 1920s, and as late as the 1940s the company that made Dr. Denton brand sleepers offered separate "sleeping hoods", designed to be used in conjunction with their sleepers, in sizes for both children and adults. On modern sleepers attached hoods are extremely rare, found only on a handful of sleepers for older girls and women.
Quilted fabric : Sleepers are occasionally made from a quilted
Quilting
Quilting is a sewing method done to join two or more layers of material together to make a thicker padded material. A quilter is the name given to someone who works at quilting. Quilting can be done by hand, by sewing machine, or by a specialist longarm quilting system.The process of quilting uses...
fabric, incorporating a thin layer of polyester fiberfill batting
Batting (material)
Batting is a layer of insulation used in quilting between a top layer of patchwork and a bottom layer of backing material. Batting is usually made of cotton, polyester, and/or wool....
for increased warmth. Quilted sleepers using polyester foam
Foam
-Definition:A foam is a substance that is formed by trapping gas in a liquid or solid in a divided form, i.e. by forming gas regions inside liquid regions, leading to different kinds of dispersed media...
as insulation were also made in the 1950s.
Elastic back waist : Sleepers in larger sizes sometimes feature an elastic band along the rear half of the waist, designed to provide a better fit by reducing bagginess around the torso.
Related garments
- PajamasPajamasPajamas, also spelled pyjamas , can refer to several related types of clothing. The original paijama are loose, lightweight trousers fitted with drawstring waistbands and worn in South and West Asia by both sexes...
- Bunting
- Union suitUnion suitA union suit is a type of one-piece long underwear. Created in Utica, New York, United States, it originated as women's wear during the 19th-century United States clothing reform efforts, as an alternative to constricting garments, and soon gained popularity among men as well...
- Pram suitPram suitA pram suit is a one-piece garment for infants, designed as cold-weather outerwear, and typically enclosing the entire body except for the face. Usual features include bifurcated legs with attached bootees, sleeves ending in removable hand covers, and an attached hood....
- Playsuit (children's clothing)Playsuit (children's clothing)In the context of children's clothing, a playsuit is a one piece garment worn by small children. It is very similar to a one piece blanket sleeper, except that foot coverings are not usually incorporated into the garment. Some designs are quite creative, and double nicely for costumes....