Wear your baby! Links for making your own ring sling!

My husband "wearing" our daughter Sarah in our homemade ring sling.

If you asked me what the single most important baby accessory we owned was I would tell you our ring sling. If you asked me what baby accessory has started the most conversations with random strangers, I would have to again tell you our ring sling. When I registered for my baby shower I had high hopes for an expensive name brand baby carrier; while I got it, it didn't live up to my expectations. I read rather obsessively about the benefits of baby wearing when I realized that I had a high-need infant on my hands. Not being in the position to spend $60+ on a store-bought variety I did research on making my own. I headed to the fabric store and browsed the red-tag section. I purchased two and a half yards of fabric and some heavy duty thread. It was my first sewing project in years and the one that got me interested in sewing for a hobby. Here are the links that I used to create my ring sling. Obviously safety is a very important consideration and you need to use common sense and make sure you have created a well-constructed sling and that you know how to use it properly. I highly recommend going to a La Leche League meeting or a local birth center baby-wearing class to get hands on help. I personally used on-line videos to learn how to use the sling and practiced with a doll and then with Sarah while leaning over a bed.

We started using our sling when Sarah was 4 months old and I wish I had made it earlier. She is now 21 months old and we still use it. I recently made a Mai Tai wrap based on a fabulous blog tutorial that I will write about later, but Sarah still prefers her ring sling. It has gotten me through cross-country traveling, cooking dinner, running errands, and as a bonus she has slept through a wedding reception in it (while I danced!), and has promoted so much bonding and happy memories for both my husband and I. I can't say enough good things about wearing Sarah. The tightness of the fabric is said to replicate the feeling of the womb and being close to our heartbeat is very calming for her.

Materials:


Rings! Do not use macrame rings or any other rings not specifically designed for the purpose of baby wearing, breakage and serious injury or death could occur. http://SlingRings.com has a great selection of rings engineered for the purpose of baby-wearing and tested for safety. I like the sleek look of the aluminum rings for everyday wearing but if I were to be in a position again where I was again a frequent flyer I would make one with nylon rings as well because the aluminum did set off the security machines at the airport.


Instructions:

I fell in love with the Maya wrap company for sharing instructions on sewing your own sling. They obviously promote baby-wearing above and beyond their own profit. This page includes their instructions: www.mayawrap.com/n_sewsling.php
If you do not wish to sew your own they have affordable options and super affordable options in their clearance section.


Alternate Shoulder Styles:

Because not one size/style fits all I've included a directory of styles that I found helpful. As a beginner on my sewing machine I selected to do the "hot dog shoulder style."



http://crafts.sleepingbaby.net/shoulders.html




Happy Sewing! Make your baby one of the lucky ones that get to be worn :-)

Mei Tai Baby Carrier

I made my first home-made baby carrier when Sarah was a little over 2 months old. My utilitarian ring-sling has carried Sarah many miles, soothed her to sleep on countless fussy nights, and served as the ultimate "don't touch my baby" contraption during flu season. (Store patrons pause before reaching for your baby when she is nestled closely to your chest :-). Alas babies grow. I used our ring sling was at my husband's mountain bike race in the early fall and I will admit, for the first time I was sore the next day after carting her around. The ring sling does distribute weight across your back but not enough for her as she got bigger. Lucky for me I ran across this tutorial: http://scandiute.blogspot.com

The Mei Tai is an Asian inspired carrier that is supposed to work wonderful for carrying toddlers. Mothers in my sewing group have mentioned wearing their toddler on their back while pregnant and how it is awsome for "balancing them out."

When I made my ring sling I was going for cheap cheap cheap. I didn't know if I would like weawring my baby so I checked out the red-tag fabric at Jo-Ann's. I made my ring sling for a grand total of $12 (If I remember correctly :-). This time I wanted to have some fun with fabric. A Mei Tai will set you back between $75-$125+++ if you purchase one so I gave myself a small fabric allowance. My total fabric purchase came to about 20 dollars after utilizing my coupons. I purchased chocolate duck cloth for straps and the inner "strong" layer. I then choose two coordinating home decor fabrics one chocolate, teal, lime poka-dots, and the opposite a green and brown floral. After I made my purchase it lived in a bag on my sewing table for at least 3 months. **I already had a large piece of fleece at home that I used for my strap padding.**

Fast-forward from the mountain bike race through a few teething nights and I wanted it done stat. Several nights at my kitchen table later a beautiful "octopus" of sling emerged. I didn't have the opportunity to use the sling until the new year when Sarah was closer to 26 pounds and I was pregnant again. It took a bit of a learning curve to put it on ( and unfortunately Sarah also fought it at first, not being as familiar as her old ring-sling). The end result however, was great!

Modifications to pattern: I omitted the hood. I made the carrier a bit bigger (following the author's suggestions for making a toddler sling). I opted to make the sling reversible. The pictures are of my husband wearing Sarah while we went snowshoeing in the winter of 2011!

Made By Rae "Buttercup Bag"

My sister is a beautiful blond who loves orange and pink and anything bright and fun. She is outrageously vibrant and though I wasn't out shopping with her in mind, when I saw this fabric I knew I needed to make her a handbag. Her college graduation party was coming up in two weeks and this was a perfect gift for her.

I have been tucking away blog tutorials and online patterns for just such an occasion and digging back through my favorites I came across this awesome and FREE pattern on the "Made By Rae" blog. It is her "Buttercup Bag." She asks that you use her pattern only for personal use. If you'd like to craft her bag for resale or would like a larger size she has a pattern available for $10 that gives you the opportunity to do both. Her blog is: http://www.made-by-rae.com/

Rae's step by step instructions and photo tutorial made this project a breeze! I love the pleats and inside pocket. The size of the purse is perfect for a wallet, keys, and a compact or two.

Bottom line, this project is beautiful and can be quite thrifty. Using red-tag fabric for the outer, scraps for the inner, a hand-me-down button and a new magnetic closure I estimate the bag cost me approximately $1.40 + time and talent ;-) I'm giving it to her today and figured I'd be safe to post as she is probably on the road by now!