 A child wearing a blanket sleeper. A blanket sleeper is a style of sleeping garment commonly worn in the United States and Canada, primarily by infants and young children, but sometimes also (in decreasing order of frequency) by school-age children, teens, and adults. Although there is no hard definition, a blanket sleeper can be identified by the following characteristic features: Pink Blanket Sleeper This is a copyrighted promotional photo with a known source. ...
Nightwear, also called sleepwear, nightclothes, or nightdress, is clothing designed to be worn while sleeping. ...
- One-piece construction with long sleeves and legs.
- Permanently attached bootees enclosing the wearer's feet.
- Composition from relatively thick, heavy fabric for warmth.
Although any sleeping garment with these characteristics could be called a blanket sleeper, the term is most commonly associated with a particular range of styles that deviates relatively little from the same basic design. Although footed, once-piece garments in a variety of fabrics and styles are used throughout the world as infant sleepwear, the specific style 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; elsewhere, the term with a meaning closest to that of "blanket sleeper" is sleepsuit. A one-piece garment is a garment that forms a complete outfit in one piece. ...
In scuba diving a bootee is a garment like a thick sock made of wetsuit material, to keep the feet warm underwater. ...
Basic design
Standard features of the blanket sleeper include: - Loose fitting. On smaller sizes, the hip area may be made especially loose to accommodate a diaper. The crotch is usually cut especially low.
- 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 screen-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. Occasionally stripes are seen.
- Soles of the feet made from a (usually white) vinyl fabric lined with 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 may instead run 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 protect the wearer's chin from irritation caused by contact with the zipper slider.
- Optional decorative applique on one side of the chest (usually the left).
Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ...
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Raglan sleeves are a type of shirt sleeve tailored for increased mobility. ...
Screen-printing, also known as silkscreening or serigraphy, is a printmaking technique that creates a sharp-edged single-color image using a stencil and a porous fabric. ...
Vinyl products (such as these records) come in many colors. ...
Generally, a collar is something which goes around the neck. ...
A cuff is the lower edge of a sleeve turned back to show an ornamental border, or with an addition of lace or trimming; now used chiefly of the stiff bands of linen worn under the coat sleeve either loose or attached to the shirt. ...
Closeup of the zipper on a pair of jeans This article is about the fastening device called zipper zip, zipper, or the acronym ZIP, see zip (disambiguation). ...
Snap fastener (male and female discs) A snap fastener is a pair of interlocking discs commonly used in place of buttons to fasten clothing. ...
Lace appliqué and bow at the bust-line of a soft nylon nightgown. ...
Advantages of wearing The design of the blanket sleeper is intended to make it a very practical garment, serving the particular needs of infants and young children at night, especially in colder weather. In particular, the heavy fabric, complete coverage of the body except for the head and hands, and other features serve to keep the wearer warm in the absence of blankets or other bed coverings. This is important for infants, for whom blankets may pose a suffocation risk, and can also be of benefit for older children, who may 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", or recommend the use of their garments for children who are prone to "kick off the covers at night". This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...
The one-piece design of the blanket sleeper helps prevent it from being kicked off, ensures that there are no gaps at the waist or ankles through which skin could be exposed, and has the additional benefit that there are no detachable pieces that could be misplaced. The non-detachable feet are also of benefit to children who may be 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. The snug neck and wrists, and the use of a zipper closure rather than buttons or snap fasteners, further contribute to the warmth of the wearer by eliminating drafts. A pair of open-heeled slippers. ...
A small flat button Metal, plastic, and leather shank buttons. ...
Decorative features such as appliques or printed designs usually follow juvenile themes, and are designed to make the garments more desirable to the children who wear them.
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. Although a blanket sleeper is usually warm enough to be used as the only covering, children who are old enough to do so safely may sleep under a blanket or other bed covers as well, or not, according to preference. Look up Pajamas in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
In addition to purely pragmatic considerations related to warmth and comfort, the minimization of skin exposure afforded by the blanket sleeper may also appeal (or may have previously appealed) to cultural mores relating to body modesty, particularly as these apply (or have historically applied) to children. This can especially be a consideration for parents when siblings share the same room and/or bed. The term mores (IPA ) as used in sociology is a plural noun. ...
Modesty comprises a set of culturally or religiously determined values that relate to the presentation of the self to others. ...
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 Angleman 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. Angelman syndrome (AS) is a neurological disorder in which severe learning difficulties are associated with a characteristic facial appearance and behavior. ...
A piece of transparent duct tape, left, and of silver duct tape, right. ...
Sizes and availability In the United States and Canada, blanket sleepers for both boys and girls up to size 4T are quite common, and can be readily found in nearly any department store. Larger sizes are progressively less common, being found in only some stores, and usually only seasonally (peaking around October or November). Although blanket sleepers are more popular in regions with colder climates, availability within the US does not appear to be limited by geography, as they can be found in stores even in parts of the country where it doesn't get cold in the winter. The interior of a typical Macys department store. ...
In decreasing order of frequency, mass-produced blanket sleepers can be found in department stores in sizes for: Mass production is the production of large amounts of standardised products on production lines. ...
- Boys and girls up to size 4T
- Boys and girls up to size 6 (or 6X)
- Boys and girls up to size 8
- Girls up to size 14 (or, less commonly, 16)
- Boys up to size 14 or 16.
- Adult women
- Adult men
Blanket sleepers for adult women are uncommon, but in most years can be found in at least one major department store chain. These can also often be found, both new and used, on Internet auction sites.
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 sewing pattern 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. 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 (sometimes called paper patterns). ...
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Domestic system. ...
The blanket sleeper is a common subject of fetishistic interest, particularly among paraphilic infantilists. Much of the demand for blanket sleepers in adult (especially men's) sizes likely derives from this source, and many of the small businesses that sell blanket sleepers on the Internet specifically cater to it. Sexual fetishism is a form of paraphilia where the object of affection is a specific inanimate object or part of a persons body. ...
Paraphilic infantilism is the desire to wear diapers and be treated as a helpless infant. ...
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 "sleepers" worn by infants in warmer weather, and the heavier "blanket" sleepers worn by both infants and older children, primarily in colder weather. Similarly, a distinction is sometimes made between one-piece "blanket" sleepers, and two-piece "sleepers" made in separate top and bottom pieces that meet at the waist.
The terms blanket sleeper and footed pajamas may be used interchangeably. (This reflects the North American usage of referring to nearly any sleeping garment as "pajamas", as blanket sleepers bear very little resemblance to the jacket and trouser combination, originating in India, that the term pajamas originally referred to.) Alternatively, blanket sleeper may 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. Look up Pajamas in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
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.
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.
Other terms that are used more-or-less interchangeably with blanket sleeper include:
- footed sleeper
- footed pj's
- feeted pajamas
- feety pajamas
- footy pajamas
- footsie pajamas
- feetsie pajamas
- feet pajamas
- pajamas with feet
- pajamas with the feet
- padded feet pajamas
- one-piece pajamas
- zip-up pajamas
- sleeper suit
- sleeper blanket
- walking blanket
- walking sleeper
- sleeper walker
- oversleeper
- coverlet sleeper
- bunny suit
- bunny pajamas
- bunny feet pajamas
- dormer
Also, a number of commercial brand names have been adopted as generic terms for the garment. The best known of these is "Dr. Denton's", but also common are "Trundle Bundle" and "Jama-Blanket".
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 "bunting", "sleeping bag", or "gro bag".
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".
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 middle of the 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 1950's, 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 1950's were usually made from knitted natural fabrics, either cotton, wool (especially merino), or a mixure of both. Commonly used fabrics included outing flannel and flannelette. 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 hemmed, and the sleeper usually closed with buttons, either in the front or in the back. An unshorn merino sheep. ...
Flannel is a light-to-medium weight woven cloth that is commonly used to make clothing and bedsheets. ...
For a place in France, see Hem, France For the band, see Hem (band) To hem a piece of cloth, the cut edges are folded up, folded up again, and then sewed down. ...
A small flat button Metal, plastic, and leather shank buttons. ...
Natural fabrics were largely abandoned after the Flammable Fabrics Act of 1953, which imposed strict flammability requirements on children's sleepwear sold in the United States, up to size 14. From the 1950's to the 1970's, commonly used materials included polyester, acrylic, and modacrylic. Flammability requirements were tightened further in the early 1970's, and in 1977 the flame-retarding additive TRIS was discovered to be carcinogenic, forcing a recall and causing a children's sleepwear shortage. Following these events, polyester became essentially the only material used for blanket sleepers. Unfortunately this can have a negative impact on comfort for many wearers. A symbol for flammable chemicals Flammability is the ease with which a substance will ignite, causing fire or combustion. ...
Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ...
Acrylic fibers are synthetic fibers made from a polymer with a weight average molecular weight of ~100,000. ...
Modacrylic, also called modified acrylic, Is a medium-weight fiber with fair strength and abrasion resistance. ...
Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ...
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 (or butt flap) is an opening in the buttocks area, traditionally closing with buttons, designed to allow the user to use the toilet without removing the sleeper. Drop seats were very common on sleepers made before the 1950's, but today they are rather rare.
Snap legs Sleepers for infants sometimes have an opening, closing with snap fasteners, along the inside seams of both legs and through the crotch, designed to give access for diaper changes. Sleepers in this design usually also close down the front with snaps.
Snap waist Two-piece sleepers often fasten around the waist with a row of snap fasteners. On sleepers with this feature, it is also common for the top piece to close with buttons in the back. Sleepers in this design are mostly limited to toddler sizes, and are usually made of lighter material than one-piece sleepers.
Two-piece sleepers made before the 1950's often fastened similarly around the waist with buttons.
Side zipper An 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 disrupting the image.
An even rarer variation is to have zippers on both sides.
Zipper on two-piece sleepers Rarely, two-piece sleepers for older boys have featured a front zipper on the top piece, running from the neck opening to a point a few inches above the waist.
Back zipper Although back closings using buttons were common on sleepers made before the 1950's, zippers in the back are extremely rare. At least one mainstream brand, "Wear-A-Blanket", did feature them briefly in the early 1950's, however.
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 women or older girls.
Bound feet On sleepers made since the 1980's, the soles of the feet usually attach to the upper foot pieces with an inside-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 foot", and was intended both to improve durability, and to improve comfort by eliminating a potential source of irritation.
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.
Convertable feet Another variation replaces the permanently enclosed feet with "convertable" foot coverings resembling tube socks, that close at the ends with velcro, and can be rolled back to expose the feet when desired. SOCKS is an Internet protocol that allows client-server applications to transparently use the services of a network firewall. ...
Velcro is a brand name of fabric hook-and-loop fasteners used for connecting objects. ...
Hood Attached hoods were occasionally seen on sleepers made before the 1920's, and as late as the 1940's 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 women and older girls. A hood is a kind of headgear. ...
Drawstring cuffs A common feature on sleepers until about the 1930's was turn-back cuffs closing at the ends with drawstrings, 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. These were mostly found on smaller sizes, but have been known to appear on Dr. Denton brand sleepers in sizes for children as old as 10 years. Thumb sucking is the act of putting your thumb in your mouth for a prolonged duration. ...
Quilted fabric Sleepers are occasionally made from a quilted fabric, incorporating a thin layer of polyester fiberfill batting for increased warmth. Quilted sleepers using polyester foam as insulation were also made for a brief period in the late 1950's by Carter's, Inc. Quilting is a method of sewing or tying two layers of cloth with a layer of insulating batting in between. ...
Batting has several meanings: In baseball, batting is the act of attempting to hit the ball thrown by the pitcher, in order to score runs. ...
Foam The most general definition of foam is a substance that is formed by trapping many gas bubbles in a liquid or solid. ...
Costume sleepers Occasionally garments are made that are designed to serve a dual function, as both blanket sleeper and fancy dress costume (similar to the ones worn by American children on Halloween). Animal costume sleepers are the most common, often featuring hoods with costume ears, and/or hand covers resembling paws. Other motifs such as superheroes or clowns are also sometimes seen. Yarkand ladies summer fashions. ...
To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...
Batman and Superman, two of the most recognizable and iconic superheroes. ...
The use of the terms "bunny suit" and "bunny pajamas" as a synonym for blanket sleeper references the persistant cultural meme of a blanket sleeper fashioned as a (usually pink) bunny costume, with a hood, long ears, and puffy tail, as seen for example in the movie "A Christmas Story". The term meme (IPA: ), coined in 1976 by Richard Dawkins, refers to a replicator of cultural information that one mind transmits (verbally or by demonstration) to another mind. ...
Tagline: Peace, Harmony, Comfort and Joy. ...
Blanket sleepers as fetishwear The blanket sleeper can hold a special interest for people with certain sexual paraphilias. The most prominent association is with paraphilic infantilism and other forms of ageplay, but other contexts are possible, including being a simple variation on the common lingerie fetish. The blanket sleeper can play a role in fantasies involving humiliation (due to perceived age-inappropriateness) or light bondage, and can appeal to people with an interest in body-encasing garments, such as catsuits or zentai. Another possibility is that a blanket sleeper fetish might develop simply from imprinting during childhood. An attraction to footed garments may be related to foot fetishism, and blanket sleepers with drop seats are popular with spanking enthusiasts. There can also be a cross-over interest between blanket sleepers and fursuits. In psychology and sexology, paraphilia (in Greek para παÏά = besides and -philia φιλία = love) is a term that describes a family of philias that reference sexual arousal in response to sexual objects or situations which may interfere with the capacity for reciprocal affectionate sexual activity. ...
Paraphilic infantilism is the desire to wear diapers and be treated as a helpless infant. ...
Ageplay is a type of sexual roleplaying or BDSM in which a person pretends to be an infant, child or adolescent. ...
Lingerie is a term, derived from the French language, for womens undergarments. ...
Erotic humiliation is the consensual use of psychological humiliation in a sexual context, whereby one person gains arousal or erotic excitement from the mixed and powerful emotions of being humiliated and demeaned. ...
A model in bondage cuffs with a leg spreader In the context of BDSM, bondage involves people being tied up or otherwise restrained for pleasure. ...
Woman in red Catsuit A catsuit is a skin-tight one-piece garment with sleeves and long legs, and sometimes with feet or gloves, sometimes with a hood. ...
A full body zentai suit made from shiny Nylon-Lycra fabric Skin tight suits that cover the entire body are commonly called zentai (from the Japanese ゼンタイ). This is likely a contraction of zenshin taitsu (全身タイツ) or full-body tights. Zentai is most commonly made using nylon/spandex blends, but other materials...
Sexual fetishism is a form of paraphilia where the object of affection is a specific inanimate object or part of a persons body. ...
Imprinting is the term used in psychology and ethology to describe any kind of phase-sensitive learning (learning occurring at a particular age or a particular life stage) that is rapid and apparently independent of the consequences of behavior. ...
Foot fetishism is a pronounced fetishistic sexual interest in human feet. ...
Erotic spanking often goes hand in hand with other fetishes, such as for erotic clothes or sexual humiliation. ...
Photo of the host at the Iron Artist competition at Further Confusion 2002. ...
Blanket sleepers designed specifically as fetishwear may include features that could be considered esoteric or even extreme, such as hoods (possibly enclosing the face), attached mittens, back zippers, locking zippers, extremely thick fabric, straitjacket sleeves, or fastenings that can be attached to a bed harness. Fetish clothing includes any type of clothing and clothing materials which is commonly fetishized. ...
A Posey seen from the rear (with some added restraints) A leather straitjacket A straitjacket is a garment shaped like a jacket with overlong sleeves. ...
Brands Prominent blanket sleeper brand names from past and present, in approximate chronological order, include: - Dr. Denton (Denton Sleeping Garment Mills)
- Brighton-Carlsbad
- Minneapolis Knitting Works
- Hanes Merrichild
- Nitey Nite (Glendale Knitting Corp.)
- Body Gard
- Trundle Bundle
- Nazareth
- Jama-Blanket (Carter's, Inc.)
- Wear-A-Blanket
- Kud-L-Nap (Knitmode/Pindyck)
- Winnie-the-Pooh (Sears Roebuck)
- Toddletime (J.C. Penney)
- Sesame Street (J.C. Penney)
- Kleinert's
- Riegel
- Sterncraft
- Gerber
- Circo (Target)
- GaggoHaas, Switzerland
Web businesses Several small businesses manufacture blanket sleepers on a small scale, and market them on the web. A list of these follows.
References to blanket sleepers in popular culture - In the stage play "Peter Pan", the actor playing Michael traditionally wears a blanket sleeper. The role is often played by an actor considerably older than the child character, and the sleeper helps to enhance the illusion of youth.
- In the movie "A Christmas Story", Ralphie (played by Peter Billingsley) is given a pink bunny costume sleeper by his aunt as a Christmas present, and is forced by his mother to model it for the family, to his considerable embarrassment.
- In the syndicated comic strip "Dennis the Menace", the main character is often seen wearing a pre-1950's style sleeper with a drop seat, with one corner of the drop seat hanging open.
Peter Pan is a fictional character created by British novelist and playwright, James Matthew Barrie (1860–1937), as well as the title of a stage play and novel based on the character. ...
Tagline: Peace, Harmony, Comfort and Joy. ...
Peter Billingsley (born April 16, 1972 in New York City), is an American actor probably best known for his role as Ralphie in the 1983 movie A Christmas Story, whose requests for a genuine Red Ryder B-B gun were repeatedly greeted with Youll shoot your eye out! He...
Christmas is a Christian holiday held on December 25 which celebrates the birth of Jesus. ...
Dennis the Menace is a comic strip (single panel on weekdays, full strip on Sundays) originally created by Hank Ketcham. ...
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