Premature Baby Patterns - Introduction - Page 1

It's taken me a long time to be able to write this series of posts, but I was nudged back into it by seeing a request on a web site before Christmas for premature baby patterns. I did so much research a few years ago, that it really is time I shared what I learned. 

40cm doll in premature baby hat

Premature babies have very specialist needs, and it's not just that they need tiny clothes. At the time it mattered most in our family, I was shocked at how unsuitable a lot of the commercially available ready-to-wear clothes were for premature babies. They were very small, granted, and often very cute - but likely to be pretty useless for an intubated baby. I saw size 000 dresses that had to be wrangled OVER THE BABY'S HEAD, and then there was a button to do up AT THE BACK! I was pretty sure the designers had never seen a premature baby. (I have to say, what is on offer now is much better, at least from the specialist web sites, and seems more reasonably priced. So I'll also briefly touch on ready to wear in the last page.)

So, five years ago, I got stuck into some research, and again, a year ago. In my pages on dressing premature babies, you can read what I learned, and find some ideas and patterns for premature baby clothes.

The needs of premature babies vary at different stages, so I've divided up the ideas into three stages. You can look at all of these, or pick the one most appropriate for you. However, if the baby is likely to have an extended stay in hospital, whatever his or her gestational age, I suggest you start in any case with the first stage.

1. Babies born before about 32 weeks' gestation, or weighing less than 1.5 kg (Page 2)
2. Babies born from about 32- 36 week's gestation, or weighing 1.5 -2.5 kg (Page 3)
3. Babies born from about 36 weeks' gestation, or preparing to be able to leave hospital, and other small babies (Page 4)

Before you head over to these pages, though, please read on for more general thoughts.

You'll find quite a few examples of patterns to make your own premature baby clothes on the internet - not all are suitable. If you want to do some of this research yourself, do be aware that a proportion of the websites with clothing and clothing patterns for premature babies are concerned mainly with little ones that sadly, didn't make it. At the time, I found that deeply upsetting. So, if you prefer, stick with my blog, which is all about happy endings.

We've now had 3 very premature babies in my family: my own grand-daughter, now a beautiful 4 and a half year old, and a niece's premature boy-and-girl twins, now a few months old. 

If you have doubts about what clothing may work for a premature baby, you may like to read this post, written soon after my grand-daughter was born.

When it came to her sister, I think we all expected another tiny baby making its appearance too soon, so I was prepared this time, with some more little clothes already made by 30 weeks. Sadly - or actually happily, they were never worn, as No. 2 went almost full term.

What all these little garments have in common, though, is that they wrap around, so you don't have to push the baby's head through a neck hole, and have no leg holes that little legs need to be pushed through. Two of the three have no armholes, either. I'll be developing those themes in these pages, and giving you more ideas.

The other requirements are that the fabric should be soft (cotton flannel is best), and there should be no lumpy things like buttons or thick seams. I found this list of Quality Standards on a Netherlands site Sew4NICU, quoted by another blogger, Sabrientje. She offers some free patterns for making for Sew4NICU.

a. Clothing and the like must be able to be washed at 60 degrees
b. There should be no sharp edges
c. There should not be thick seams
d. It must consist of cotton fabrics
e. There must be no buttons on the clothes
f. Preferably kamsnaps or press-studs at the legs
g. Velcro is allowed, provided it is firm and soft
h. No loose strings or ribbons may be present
i. Preferably do not use yellow as a base (I wasn't sure why - but I understand it's because they can often be jaundiced.)

I have to say though, that there is no universal agreement on fastenings. One NICU says definitely not Velcro, others prefer it. One says no metal press-studs / snap fasteners as they can get too hot, another prefers them as they don't break. Personally I prefer soft sew-in Velcro for premature babies, but it would be wise to check with your unit (or, if you are making for a charity, with them).

So now you are ready to go - head over to one (or all) of these pages. 

Page 2. Babies born before about 32 weeks' gestation, or weighing less than 1.5 kg
Page 3. Babies born from about 32- 36 week's gestation, or weighing 1.5 -2.5 kg
Page 4. Babies born from about 36 weeks' gestation, or preparing to be able to leave hospital