When I was very young, my favorite "lovey" toy was the sock monkey my aunt made for me.  When I wore it out, she made me another, and then another.  Now that I am a grandmother, I wanted to make sock monkeys for my grandchildren.  I made dresses for the monkeys for my granddaughters and a superhero cape for my grandson's monkey.  Here are pictures.



     Since the monkeys needed somewhere cozy to sleep, I also made sleeping bags from fleece fabric.  I had occasion at a software club meeting to put another member's American Girl(r) doll in one of the sleeping bags.  The sleeping bag was the right size for her, too.  You can adjust as needed for larger or smaller dolls, using these dimensions as a starting point.  Note that the lining is 2" wider than the mattress so that the edges of the lining can wrap around to the front.  The blanket or quilt should come to the bottom edge of the pillow.



     I embroidered my grandchildren's initials on the pillows, using the same designs I used on the garments.  The next picture shows a sock monkey slumber party.  Don't the monkeys look comfortable?



     After making these sleeping bags, I changed the construction just a little.  You will see in the next picture that the zipper is on the top surface rather than at the edge of the sleeping bag.  I think it looks nicer this way and is easier to zip and unzip.  For this sleeping bag I used my Contour Script 75 alphabet.  Any of my other alphabets would work well, too.



     The instructions, available through the link below, are for making a fleece sleeping bag.  For a fancier sleeping bag, substitute quilting cottons.  I wrote separate instructions for making a one-layer blanket and a two-layer quilt.  The quilt can also include a lightweight batting.  You can even piece the top of the quilt, as long as the finished quilt is the size required for the project.  For added "comfort" for the doll, fuse fleece to the wrong side of the mattress pattern piece.

Doll_Sleeping_Bag.pdf (54KB)