Sew Along: Baby Footies featuring Inseam Zipper

May 23, 2022

Kristen Bunch

Skill Level: Confident Beginner (because – zippers)

It’s a VSCF Baby Shower! Anyone else have a plethora of baby showers to attend this year? Recently I attended my first of many and came prepared with (what else?) handmade baby clothing! This baby footies pattern is one of my favorite for baby showers so I wanted to share it with all of you lovely people! It features an inseam zipper for easy diaper changes and a lap neckline so that the garment can be removed from the neck in case of any accidents.

PREPARATION

Gather Supplies:

Pattern

Lullaby Line Zip Inseam Pajamas from peek-a-boo Pattern Shop

There are two neckline options for this pattern – standard neck and lap neck, the featured tutorial has the lap neck design.
There are two sleeve cuff options for this pattern – sleeve cuffs and fold-over mitts, the featured tutorial has the sleeve cuff design.
There are two leg cuff options for this pattern – standard leg cuffs and footies, the featured tutorial has the footie design.

Fabric - This pattern is designed for knit fabrics

Cotton Spandex, Athletic Knit, Bamboo Spandex or Ribbed Knit
For the featured footies, I used Cotton Spandex.

(Left Print) VSCF Minnie Magic Toss on Orange Stripes
(Right Print) VSCF Magic Castles on Cotton Candy Skies

Amount required: ½ yd – 1 yd depending on size (you will have leftover)

Note: I used some black Cotton Spandex scraps I had for the neckline, zipper facing, and wrist cuffs, however the entire pattern can be made with one print, if desired

Notions

All Purpose Zipper (I prefer to use the Coats & Clark All Purpose Plastic Zipper as they are reliable and known to be compliant)

Length of the zipper is dependent on the garment size – refer to pattern instructions for details

Cutting Mat & Rotary Cutter

If you don’t have these, that’s okay – you can use fabric scissors. A Cutting Mat and Rotary Cutter just make measuring and cutting a little faster and easier

Fabric Markers

Washable markers used to transpose spacing lines from your pattern to your fabric

Straight Pins and Quilting Clips

Used to hold your pieces together while sewing

Iron and Ironing Board/Mat

For pressing (as desired)

Sewing Machine / Serger

Used to assemble your pattern
I used a serger to assemble this garment; however, a zig zag, triple stitch, or double needle can be used on a sewing machine. These stitches are great for knit fabrics as they allow the fabrics to stretch without popping seams

Cut:

Print and assemble your pattern pieces
Cut fabrics – for these Baby Footies featuring the lap neck and standard wrist cuffs, you should have the following pieces:
Lap Neck Back
Lap Neck Front
Gusset (2)
Sleeves (2)
Lap Neck Front Neckband
Lap Neck Back Neckband
Zipper Facing
Footie Ankle (2, mirrored)
Footie Upper Foot (2)
Footie Sole (2) – Note: for walking children, a Gripper Fabric (such as Dritz Anti-Skid) is recommend for this pattern piece to reduce the risk of slipping
Note: Make sure to transfer any location markings from the pattern over to your fabric to assure proper alignment of your pattern pieces.

GUSSET

Attach the one Gusset piece at the crotch of the Lap Neck Front Piece (RST). Repeat for the Lap Neck Back Piece.

One helpful tip is to find the center of each pattern piece and pin or clip together. Next, straighten out the legs of the Front or Back piece and line up the markings transposed from the pattern piece with each end of the gusset. Then ease the rest of the fabric around the curve and pin or clip in place

ZIPPER

Fold Zipper Facing WST, long ways. Press as desired. Serge or sew along the long edge.

Unzip the zipper and place face up on top of the sewn edge of the Zipper Facing. The top edge of the zipper should align with the top edge of the Zipper Facing. Baste the zipper to the Zipper Facing

Zip the zipper back up and mark the bottom of the zipper with a fabric marker where the Zipper Facing ends

Place the zipper face down against the right side of the Lap Neck Front with the top edge of the zipper aligned with edge of leg opening. The marking on the zipper from the fabric marker should align with the leg opening at the other end of the Lap Neck Front. Pin or clip the rest of the zipper to the Lap Neck Front. Sew the zipper with a 1/8” SA from the zipper teeth

Repeat steps for the Lap Neck Back.

Topstitch Lap Neck Front and Lap Neck Back along the inseam.

Zip the zipper up and using a needle and thread sew the zipper teeth closed 5/8 above the hemline. Excess zipper can then be trimmed away.

LAP NECK

Fold the Lap Neck Front Neckband in half lengthwise WST and align the edges with the edges of the Lap Neck Front RST. Stretch band to fit and pin or clip in place. Sew neckband to neckline.

Flip neckband up, press if desired, and topstitch

Repeat with Lap Neck Back Neckband

Lay the Lap Neck Back piece on top of the Lap Neck Front piece, matching up the markings made with the fabric marker from the pattern. Neckband should go all the way to the armhole edge. Baste in place along the arm opening. Trim off excess neckband

SLEEVE

Match up the markings made with fabric marker from the pattern to attach the sleeve to the notch. Pin or clip the sleeve to the arm opening and sew together.

FOOTIES

Serge or sew hemline for each of the leg openings.

With RST, attach the Footie Upper Foot at the cutouts to the Footie Ankle pieces

Align the top edge of the Footie Ankle to the bottom of the leg opening, RST and sew together

Flip Footie Ankle piece down. Press as desired.

Attach the front and back together by sewing down from the sleeves to the ankles on both sides

For the Footie Sole, line up the fabric marker markings on the Footie Sole and the Upper Foot / Footie Ankle pieces. Pin or clip in place and sew together