[citation needed] Typically, but not always, the blanket sleeper consists of a loose-fitting, one-piece garment of blanket-like material, usually fleece, enclosing the entire body except for the head and hands.

Although footed, one-piece garments in a variety of fabrics and styles are used in many countries as infant sleepwear, the specific range of styles with which the term blanket sleeper is usually associated, the term itself, though children older than infancy wearing footed, one-piece sleeping garments is concentrated in the Western world.

This is especially important for infants, for whom loose blankets may pose a safety hazard (including increasing the risk of SIDS), and possibly for older children, who may still be too young to be relied upon to keep their own sleepwear or bed covers adjusted so as to prevent exposure to the air of bare skin.

This is reflected in advertisements by blanket sleeper manufacturers, which often emphasize that their garments "can't be kicked off", or that "no other covers are needed".

In particular, parents of Angelman children have been known to take such additional measures as cutting the feet off the sleeper and putting it on backwards, and/or covering the zipper with duct tape.

The range of materials used for mass-produced blanket sleepers for children is severely limited, as a result of stringent U.S. government-imposed flammability requirements.

Adult-size sleepers, especially those sold by small Internet businesses, can be found in a wider range of materials, including natural fabrics such as cotton flannel.

In particular, special eczema sleepsuits for children, made of cotton and with built-in mitts designed to prevent scratching, are available from specialty stores in the UK.

Alternative sources for larger-size, mass-produced sleepers include Internet auction sites, such as eBay, and certain mail order clothing retailers, such as Lands' End.

Nevertheless, sleepers for both boys and girls continue to be available in department stores, mainly during the fall and winter seasons, and year-round on the internet up to size 16–18.

Blanket sleepers for adult women used to be relatively uncommon, but since 2010s have increased in popularity and can be found in many department stores, usually in the colder months.

However, major home sewing pattern publishers sometimes offer patterns for conventionally styled blanket sleepers in men's sizes, and in the Internet Age a cottage industry has developed, with several websites offering blanket sleepers manufactured on a small scale for men as well as women and children.

The term grow sleeper is sometimes used to refer to a two-piece footed sleeping garment with features designed to compensate for growth in the wearer, such as turn-back cuffs, or a double row of snap fasteners at the waist.

Other terms that are used more-or-less interchangeably with blanket sleeper include: Also, a number of commercial brand names have been adopted as genericized trademarks.

The origins of the blanket sleeper can be traced at least as far back as the late 19th century, to footed, one-piece sleeping garments for children, then known as night drawers.

However, the blanket sleeper first took something closely resembling its present form in the early 1950s, when many of the most recognizable features were first adopted, including the use of synthetic fabrics, slip-resistant soles, toe caps, rib-knit collar and cuffs, zipper closure, snap tab, and applique.

Advertisements from this period often emphasized that thermostats could be set lower at night when children slept in blanket sleepers.

[citation needed] Blanket sleepers sometimes depart from the standard design by incorporating unusual or uncommon features.