Our Little Muenster

Make a pattern. It should be several inches longer than baby, with generous width for legs, tummy, and arms. 

All you need is one half of the starfish, like so. 

 Leave a 3/4 in seam allowance along the center seam for attaching the zipper. You will cut out this pattern 3 times: twice for the front panels, and once on folded  fabric for the back.

First, let's cut the back. Fold the fabric and pin the pattern with the inner edge of the seam allowance along the fold. (leave the seam allowance hanging off the edge of the fabric) Cut out the pattern.

Next, cut the left and right front sides. Make sure you cut the pattern once right - side - up, and once upside down, so your two halves are mirror images of each other. This time, make sure you include the zipper seam allowance.

Lastly, we need an inner zipper cover piece. This is simply a long strip that is 2 inches wide and 5 inches longer than the length of your whole sleeper. Then cut  the strip to taper the last 3 inches into a point.

Prep the zipper cover (ZC) by folding it in half,  right side out. Use a edging or zigzag stitch to bind the open edges together. Then it should look like this:

Choose one of the front panels to attach the zipper and zipper cover strip. Either one will do. (In my photos, I'm using the front panel that will cover the baby's right arm. As you're looking at the baby, it will be on your left) Fold the seam allowance on the center of the front panel under, right side out. Iron this fold flat. 

Now line up the zipper so the end of the teeth are even with the top edge of the collar fabric, and the center fold just barely covers half the width of the teeth. Pin in place, from the front (outside)

Before we sew this, we need to pin on the zipper cover (zc). Line the ZC up behind the zipper with the angle portion sticking up above the collar.

Here's what the "tuck" process looks like in photographs:


That was the hard part! Now just sew the zipper onto the panel. I found it best to start at the collar and sew downward. (That way if there's any slack, it will get pushed down toward the bottom, and not mess up the collar.

 Before you sew on the other front panel, you may want to pin the zipper cover out of the way so you don't accidentally sew it to the front.
Fold back and press the seam allowance on the other front panel. Then sew the panel to the zipper.
You're almost there!
Sew a few horizontal rows across the bottom of the zipper to secure it.
If your fabric might fray, now would be a good time to finish the inside raw edges next to the zipper.

Then lay the back panel on top of the front, right sides together, and sew all the way around the border, being sure to leave the collar open.

Finish the raw edges, and flip right-side-out.

Cut a long 3/4" strip of fleece or other non-fraying fabric. This will be the collar lining.



The end!