Newborn Wrap Shirt

My mother is now retired, but for most of my life she was the head designer and co-owner of a children’s wear company called Sweet Potatoes. Growing up I would occasionally find some of the very first clothes she made for me carefully tucked away in a trunk. I always marveled at how tiny the newborn sleep sacks, jackets, and dresses were. I couldn’t believe I had ever been that small!

Inspired by one such sleep sack, edged in bias tape and made for me thirty-three years ago, I designed this Newborn Wrap Shirt for my own little one who, as I write this, is due very soon (but who may have been born by the time you read it!). I realize that newborn clothing doesn’t fit fast-growing babies for very long, but I love the idea of showing her just how little she was!

For the body of the Wrap Shirt, I used natural Essex Linen which has a beautiful, timeless heirloom quality. And for the binding, I used Nani Iro’s adorable new Bias Tape. I love its subtle but playful polka dots, especially because I think they work equally well for a baby boy or girl. The Wrap’s construction is very simple but with attention to important details, so it doesn’t take long to sew, but it will last a lifetime! -Molly
P.S. In case you all are wondering, YES, Molly had her baby! Guadalupe Raquel was born on June 17, 2012. Both Mom and Baby are doing great! Congratulations Molly! -Purl Bee
NOTE: We renamed this project after originally calling it the Newborn Kimono Wrap. We are very sorry for our error in judgement in using “Kimono” inaccurately and insensitively and for exploiting Japanese culture by taking what is not ours to take. If you’re reading this and are confused about the issues, please consider downloading and reading the Think Before You Culturally Appropriate Guide from IPinchH, a research project on the subject. They have nothing to do with this post or with Purl Soho, but we think they do a great job of explaining where we went wrong!
Materials
To make one newborn-sized Wrap Shirt:
- 1/2-yard of Essex Wide in Flax
- 2 yards of Nani Iro Bias Tape (This particular product is no longer available, but please check out all of our bias tape for some great alternatives!)
- Sew on Snaps in Size 1
- One ball of Valdani Pearl Cotton in color 4
- A Newborn Wrap Shirt Pattern, available for free download here, printed and cut out
You will also need:
- A water soluble fabric marker or a sharp pencil
Pattern
Cutting
Following the directions on the pattern (which is available for free download here) cut out one back panel and two front panels. If you are using a fabric that has a right side and a wrong side make sure to cut the front panels in different directions as instructed on the pattern. Press the pieces flat.
Sewing the Shoulders
Note: The shoulder seams of this piece are French seams which means that they are sewn right side out at first and then sewn again wrong sides out to completely encase the seam. It can be a bit confusing to start sewing with the right sides of the garment out but it will make sense shortly. Pin the two front panels to the back panels along the shoulder seams with the fabric’s right sides facing out. (The shirt is now right side out even if your fabric doesn’t have a clear right side and wrong side as in the example.) The front panels should be facing different directions and overlapping in the center of the shirt as shown above. Sew the pieces together along these pinned edges with a 1/4-inch seam allowance, backstitching at the beginning and end of each seam.
Open up the pieces along the sewn seams.
Then press the piece flat into a shirt shape, right sides together, so that the the piece is wrong side out. Press the shoulder seams flat and pin them together along the top.
Sew the pinned shoulder seams together again a 1/2-inch from the top fold thus encasing the previously sewn 1/4-inch seam.
Open up the piece again so that the back and front are separate keeping the wrong sides of the fabric facing up.
Press the shoulder seams towards the back panel and pin them down.
Edgestitch the seams down towards the back panel, backstitching at the beginning and end of the seam.
Sewing the Side Seams
Encase the raw edges of the sleeves with the bias tape. Leave an inch or so of overhang along each side.
Edgestitch the bias tape on and then trim the overhang.
Keeping the wrong side facing out, press front back together and pin the raw side edges together. The sewn down shoulder seam should be facing towards the back panel.
Sew these sides seams with a 1/4-inch seam allowance, backstitching at the beginning and end of the seams. Snip a notch into the seam at the underarm at each side.
Zig zag stitch along the raw edges of this seam in two sections, before and after the notch.
Turn the shirt right sides out and press it flat with the side seams pressed towards the back panel.
Attaching the Bias Tape
Open up the shirt from the front panels making sure to keep the side seams pressed towards the back panel.
With the right side of the shirt facing out and starting in the middle of the bottom of the back panel pin the bias tape over the bottom raw edge. Leave a 3-inch tail of bias tape at the beginning.
Keep pinning along the bottom until you reach the corner. To create a mitered corner open up the bias tape and fold the bottom of it into a 45-degree triangle as shown above.
Then fold the bias tape back on itself to create a neat corner as shown above.
Since this is bias tape it has some stretch and give. When you get to the curve of the front panels pull it along the curve so that there are no folds or creases.
Stretch it again as you pin it along the curve of the neck. Use as many pins as you need to get it to go smoothly around the curves.
Pin the bias tape on in this fashion all the way around the raw edges until it meets back up with itself at the bottom of the back panel.
Leave a 3-inch gap unpinned at this bottom edge and trim the end of the bias tape to have a 3-inch tail. Edge stitch the bias tape onto the shirt. Make sure that you catch both sides of the tape and the fabric at every point paying special attention to the neck curve. Backstitch at the beginning and end of this seam.
Trim the tails to 2-inches. Lay one side of the tail down along the raw side. Finger press the end of the second side 1/4-inch toward the wrong side.
Then pin the folded side over the first side.
Edge stitch along this section of the tape.
Attaching the Snaps
So now the shirt should have no raw edges and look neat and finished along all the edges. Press it flat. You’ll need to decide which way the shirt will close. I liked the way the (wearer’s) left side of the bias tape looked so I had mine close with the left side on top. This is traditionally the boy direction to button a shirt. I’m making it for a girl but I didn’t think it really mattered. However, if you’d like to make a “girls” version you’ll want the wearer’s right side to lay on top.
Place the male halves of the snaps on top of the piece perpendicular to the curve of the front panel as shown above. Make sure they are straight.
Using your fabric marker mark the 4 open holes of the snaps as small points. Then remove the snaps (as shown above) and make sure the markings look straight.
Sew the male halves of the snaps to the top front panel with the embroidery thread and a tripled cross stitch. Use the markings as your guide.
Mark the opposite front panel at the points directly across from the male halves of the snaps. Sew the female halves on at these points using the embroidery thread. You don’t have to use a cross stitch for these halves since the sewing won’t be seen. Instead, sew them on according to the directions on the snap package. Snap the shirt closed and make sure it lies flat and you’re all done!
Update 2024: You can explore our current collection of beautiful fabrics and supplies on our page of Sewing Tools + Notions!
beautiful! heading straight to the top of my make-for-baby list! I really appreciate the bias tape images — clearest explanation I've seen. Thanks and congratulations on the little one!
What a blessed baby to have you as her mommy!! Congratulations!!!
Merciiiii !!
Thank you soooo much for this detailed article ! All these images, it's so usefull !
I love the pattern. How do you think it would work with knit fabric and bias trim?
Victoria… I think it would be just lovely with a knit fabric. Let us know how it goes!! -Laura
Congratulations on the baby! I used to dress my daughters (now 30 and 26) in Sweet Potato clothes. I loved them and their factory outlet sales were my favorites.
Thank you for this sweet pattern! I think I will make a set of three…
This is just the cutest thing ever! A friend made one for my sweet little nephew and now I can't wait to make one for my friend's new baby… I'm just a little worried about the sizing (want to make sure it still fits by the time they get it!), any tips or tricks for enlarging the pattern? Thanks!
Hi Amanda-
You can just blow the pattern up on a copy machine by 20% or however much you like.
Thank you for your question and please let me know how it goes!
Molly
Thank you for the pattern. I love it very much. Ii had som trouble with the French seam, but it looks perfect.
I made also a nice trouser in combination with the skirt.
Lovely!!
Thank you for this nice and useful pattern. Beautiful for my two new grandchildren (one in sept. and the other in nov.) I always make 10 presents for the first 10 days of a new grandchild in a giftbasket. And this pattern is nice to use for it. Thank you.
Ooh, I like this idea! I'm going to have to make one for my not-yet-arrived baby. Perhaps out of flannel…
I am teaching myself to sew, and I made this for my mom-to-be friend. Thank you very much for the simple to follow instructions.
This is a must make, in fact I can hardly wait to get started but as it is 2am I guess I better try to get to sleep and be fresh to do it.
Thank you so much for this wonderful free pattern for me to make for my first grandchild due in a couple of months.
Thank you for the lovely little pattern and the beautifully-written tutorial. I'm planning to make a stack of these from cotton, cotton knit, and flannel to send to a birthing centre in the Philippines, where destitute mothers have nothing at all in which to dress their babies. I have about 3 weeks, and I can't wait to get started! Thank you for your help with my project!
I'm super late to this party! Wonderful pattern though, thank you so much for sharing. I love how mine turned out.
http://imgur.com/zryXaOq
Thank you so much for this adorable simple unisex pattern! It’s exactly what I was looking for, for a baby shower coming up! I’m hoping to make it out of fleece. fingers Crossed for me!
I’m excited to make this! Are the seam allowances included in the pattern, or do I need to add them when I’m cutting it out?
Hi iFarmer-
The seam allowances are included in the pattern.
Thanks for getting in touch!
Molly
Hi!
Lovely pattern that I will try to make for the little one I’m expecting in march.
When I tried to print out the pattern (setting actual size on printer) the front panel didn’t fit on the paper. Is it a little to big for a A4 paper?
Hi Linnea-
It should fit on A4 paper alright. If you look at the print preview here: https://www.purlsoho.com/create/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/newborn_kimono_template-1.pdf
You can see how it should line up with the edges of the paper. Make sure that your printer is printing at 100% and if that doesn’t work maybe you can try printing it at a copy store?
Thanks for your question and good luck with the project!
Best-
Molly
Thank you so much for sharing this pattern. My third grandchild is due July 2015 and my daughter sent this pattern to me. I will be making it with short and long sleeves, and short and long length. With the long length, I will sew across the bottom and about half way up the front to make it like a sleeping sack for the fall. I guess I can enlarge the pattern to make larger sleeping sacks for winter. Again, thank you.
I love the idea of this kimeno for newborns and plan on trying it out for my friend’s sweet baby boy! Can I basically use any kind of fabrics (also Jersey? Fleece for winter?)
How would I make it for my 1 year old daughter? Any tipps on enlarging the pattern to the right size?
I just love it and can’t wait to start sewing :-))
Hi Vicky-
I’m not sure about jersey, since it might get stretched out as you try to sew on the binding, but any woven fabric or polar fleece will work!
I’m afraid I can’t be too helpful in the sizing up department. Newborns have such different bodies than 1 year olds so I don’t think you can just blow this up for a bigger size. However, once you sew one of these you’ll have a better idea about how it’s constructed and you can certainly use the same construction to make something for an older baby. I’m sorry I can’t be of more help on this point!
Thank you so much for getting in touch and good luck with the project!
Molly
Beautiful pattern, and so easy! Thank you! I accidentally discovered a tip: my printer wasn’t working and I was unable to print the pattern. So I opened the pdf and placed a sheet of printing paper over the monitor screen. The light shone through the paper and I was able to trace the pattern (lightly, of course) with a pencil. Perfect! I was also able to enlarge the pattern by zooming in.
I make my own bias binding. Do you know how long it needs to be to do the kimono?
Hi Star X-
You’ll need 2 yards. Thanks so much for getting in touch with this question. I have edited the pattern to make the amount of bias tape needed more clear.
Best-
Molly
Such a beautiful, elegant design. Would you please advise me how wide your bias tape is in the picture?
Hi Lynn-
This bias tape was 3/4-inches before folding but almost any standard pre-folded bias tape would work, they are usually around the same size.
Thanks so much for getting in touch!
Molly
Forgot to add…
Thank you for the lovely pattern
This is what I was looking for! Thank you!
Hi – do you need to use a fabric that is Wide in order to accommodate the pattern, or would regular width fabric (like the regular Essex fabric, not wide) fit the pattern too? Thank you!
Hi Sara,
Thanks for writing in! While we do carry a selection of fabrics that are wide or extra wide, this sweet little kimono will work with standard width fabrics. We used the wide Essex here due to the color available but you will be able to use the shorter Essex bolts or any other standard (~42″) bolt.
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
Hi,
I printed my pattern “actual size” (no scaling) and for some reason the front and back do not match up 🙁 The back sleeves are a bit longer than the front, and the underarm seams don’t match up. Is it supposed to be like this? There is no test square included for me to know if it printed properly. Thanks!
Hi Amanda,
Thanks for writing in! We printed up the pattern here in the store and it matched up well. I would suggest printing it up again. If you are still experiencing difficulties please do let us know!
Best,
Cassy
Thank you for this lovely free pattern. When attaching the bias tape are there any special tutorials that you can recommend? I am confused on whether I just need to attach it by opening up the bias tape, inserting the fabric, pinning it, and sewing it, or if I should attach it as a bias binding (like you would do to a sleeveless shirt armhole). It looks simple, but I think I’m making it harder for myself. Thanks for any help.
Hi Neeli,
Thanks for writing in and for your kind words! While we do not have a tutorial on how to attach double fold bias tape, we do have an explanation contained in another project. In the Attach the Pocket section of the Wrap Pocket Tote, you will find instructions and illustrations that I think could be helpful for you here!
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
Hi,
I was wondering if any advice can be given on making full length sleeves? I’m due at the end of the month and would like to make a warmer version of this kimono top with long sleeves. Looking forward to trying!
Thanks for your time
Hi Mareli,
Congratulations! How exciting! We do have a pattern for a similar little shirt with full length sleeves. The pattern also includes some bloomers and a onsie. It can be found here: https://www.purlsoho.com/sewn-layette-set.html
Best,
Cassy
Very neat stitching. Excellent
I’m making this now, in the process of attaching bias ~ which Ive not done before. And Ive already made your lined version which turned out beautifully in “winceyette” lined with cotton lawn. Its reversible!! Excellent patterns and Tutorials, thanks so much! xx
I cannot see the page with the drawing of the back. Please guide. Thanks. God bless
Hello Sangeeta,
Thank you for reaching out! Are you having issues with the photos coming up? I would suggest downloading the pdf. If you’re on a desktop version of the site, you will find a “print” icon in the right column just below the date and tags. If you’re on a mobile version of the site, you will find a “print” icon below the pattern and above the comments.
Follow the easy on-screen instructions to delete whichever parts of the pattern you don’t want to print or save. For example, you may decide to shorten the pattern by omitting certain images or the list of materials. To remove images, click the drop down next to the image icon and change from 100% to 0%.
I hope this helps!
-Marilla
Merci encore de partager vos bonnes idées. Voici ma version de votre patron de kimono bébé réalisé cet après midi. Très cordialement. Mart.
Has anyone made this with long sleeves? How many inches of length did you add?
Thanks!
Hi Katie,
Thanks for writing in! Although we haven’t tried it ourselves, I would probably make the sleeve a total of 4 or 5 inches long. You may find some inspiration in our Sewn Layette pattern, which includes both long and short sleeves!
Best,
Julianna
Could you please tell me how wide is the bias tape you used on the Newborn Kimono shirt? Thank you.
Hi Kathy,
Thank you for reaching out, and I apologize for the delay! This bias tape was 3/4-inches before folding but almost any standard pre-folded bias tape would work. They are usually around the same size, and slight variations in width won’t matter when you are finishing adges in this manner.
I hope that helps!
Julianna
Could you please tell me what size approximately the kimono is? Is it rather for small newborns or does it also fit bigger ones? Thank you!
Hi Lena,
Thanks for reaching out! While the pattern is intended for the littlest of babies, it could be sized up a bit by using a copier and printing it 20% larger, or however much larger you’d like it!
Happy Crafting!
Cassandra
This is so cute. How about doing it in Liberty fabric and lining it with jersey? Similar to your felted wool baby jacket, but keeping the bias binding and construction like here? I think I might try it. Do you think I will need to enlarge the pattern to accommodate the 2 layers, or not since Liberty is so thin anyway?
Hi Jennifer,
Thanks for reaching out! That sounds like a great idea! I think you should be able to make it without adjustments since Liberty is such a thin material!
Please let us know how this turns out!
Warmly,
Gianna
I tried it and the Jersey was super thick with the seam allowances stuffed in the sleeves. I ended up lining it with Cambridge lawn instead. It came out super cute. Thanks for the pattern!