Wikipedia definition for a blanket sleeper

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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.

Contents [hide]
1 Features
2 Design considerations
2.1 Materials
3 Sizes, gender differences, and availability
4 Terminology
5 History
6 Variations
6.1 Minor variations
7 References
8 See also
8.1 Related garments


[edit] FeaturesFeatures of the typical onsie sleeper include:

Usually made of a napped synthetic fabric, such as polyester or polar fleece;
however sleepers made from heavier natural fabrics such as cotton 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 diaper. The crotch is usually cut especially low.
Raglan sleeves.
Snug rib-knit collar and wrist cuffs.
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).
[edit] Design considerationsBlanket 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.

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 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.

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. 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.

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.

[edit] MaterialsThe 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. 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
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.

[edit] Sizes, gender differences, and availabilityIn 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.

Individual blanket sleepers can be marketed either as a unisex 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 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 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.[citation needed]

[edit] TerminologyThe 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, as blanket sleepers bear little resemblance to the jacket
and trouser combination, originating in India, 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. Penney)
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
trademarks. The best known of these is Dr. Dentons, 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, 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 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.

[edit] HistoryThe 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.[citation needed]

Sleepers made before the 1950s were usually made from knitted natural fabrics,
either cotton, wool (especially merino), or a mixture of both. Commonly used
fabrics included outing flannel 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 hemmed, and the sleeper usually closed with buttons, either in the
front or in the back.

Natural fabrics were largely abandoned after the Flammable Fabrics Act of
1953[citation needed], which imposed strict 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 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 of 1973 and 1979. Advertisements from
this period often emphasized that thermostats could be set lower at night when
children slept in blanket sleepers.[citation needed]

[edit] VariationsBlanket 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.)
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 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 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 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 (similar to the ones worn by
American children on Halloween). Animal costume sleepers are the most common,
often featuring hoods with costume ears, tails, and/or hand covers resembling
paws. Other motifs such as superheroes 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 meme of a blanket sleeper fashioned
as a (usually pink) bunny costume, with a hood, long ears, and puffy tail.
A related phenomenon in Japan, of footless, lighter-weight, hooded, one-piece
animal costume pajamas, is known there as disguise pajama or kigurumi (although
the latter term can also refer to costumes that are not intended as sleepwear).
[edit] Minor variationsSide 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 socks, that close at the ends with velcro, and can be
rolled back to expose the feet when desired.
Hood
Attached hoods 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 fabric, incorporating a thin layer
of polyester fiberfill batting for increased warmth. Quilted sleepers using
polyester foam 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.
[edit] References[edit] See alsoLayette
[edit] Related garmentsPajamas
Bunting
Union suit
Pram suit
Playsuit (children's clothing)