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Mykayah's Things™Attachment ~ Baby Wearing |
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Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate. ~ Psalm 127:3-5
All of our children lived in a sling/baby carrier for their first year. I didn't slow down much, but my babies go everywhere and do everything with me. It made for happy babies and happy mama. It was also truly a God-send for my sad colic-y baby before we found his problem.
I've tried just about all the baby carrier styles available over my 30+ years of mothering. (except the new expensive fancy ones.) A sling type carrier is probably the most common, and very easy to use. You can find many brands, with just slight differences. They are also very easy to make. I've made several different ones. The Pouch-Sling ended up being our favorite, as it is fit to you and has no adjusting to do. We like it best in a soft slightly stretchy cotton knit.
The pouch sling is a fast and easy sling - to make and to wear. Our other favorite baby carrier is even easier to make, but not quite as quick and easy to get on. It is more secure though, and even more comfortable. It is a wrap and tie type.
Below are instructions for making a Pouch-type Baby Sling. At this link are instructions for wearing a wrap-and-tie type baby carrier. The one shown is the Moby Wrap, but all are worn the same.
We are offering these instructions for free. Feel free to share them with others, as long as proper credit is given to Me and My House ministries/Lisa Hodgen, with our website and copyright info given. http://frommeandmyhouse.com Please do NOT post them on the internet or include in any other type of publication. (But feel free to share the link to this page.)
These are not difficult to sew. Just follow directions, step by step. Draw yourself little pictures if you need to.
I'm finally posting a picture. It isn't the best, but it's all I have. This is our daughter carrying her baby brother. 2 things you'll notice, why this isn't the best picture, the sling is not out at the ball of her shoulder, and the baby is pretty low on her. It is my sling and it rode lower on her than me, but when it was out on her shoulder it made the baby ride higher also. If she had been carrying him with the shoulder piece that close to her neck for very long, she would have gotten a sore neck and back. She didn't (just in the pic was like that). We were at the zoo and she carried him most of the day. I will try to get a better pic - her with her own newborn now!
You will need:
100% cotton knit fabric (just a little bit of stretch, not too stretchy) aprox. 1 5/8 yd. long x @ least 44/45” wide (I’m 5’ 4” tall, if you are much taller you will need longer.)
1. Lay fabric out flat. On wrong side of fabric, measure ½ way down the length of the fabric on both sides -(for my 60” piece this is 30”). Connect these points (with tailor’s marker or chalk) - you will have a line running across the half way point of the length of your fabric. Measure across the width of the fabric along this line. Mark a point at exactly ½ way across.
2. You are going to make 4 darts across here. Each dart will be 3” wide (when folded) and 7” long.
To do this, measure & mark 3” up up from the line on each edge and at the point in the center of the fabric.
Also, measure & mark 3 “ down from the line on each edge and at the point in the center.
Measure in 7” along the center line from each edge and mark these 2 points. Also, measure out 7” from each side of the center point and mark these 2 points.
Fold your fabric along the line, line up your marks and sew your darts, connecting these points. There will be a dart on each side and the 2 darts in the center that form a diamond. Open fabric.
3. Fold the fabric in ½ lengthwise, right sides together. Serge or stitch down the length of fabric along the edges. Fold the 2 side/edge darts the opposite way of each other (fold the center dart over one way or the other).
3b. (optional) Shape the ends of the fabric, by cutting a triangle off each corner (Fabric is still folded in half lengthwise, stitched edge along one side, fold along other.)
To do this measure down from the top 2 corners and up from the bottom 2 corners 8” and mark. Measure in from each end corner 5” and mark. Connect those points to form a triangle in each corner and cut it off.
Serge or stitch the raw edges of the 2 layers together where you just cut.
4. Turn right side out and smooth darts (leaving the lengthwise seam on one edge).
Fold bottom to top and serge or stitch the ends together (right sides together).
If you shaped the ends (I didn’t on my first one, but have on others.) you now have a tube that kinda looks like a long stretched out stop sign.
5. Turn so the stitching you just did (across the ends) is inside. Stitch again about 3” away (if you’re 5’4”-5’5”) – forming a large “French seam”. This seam is where you will do any adjustments you need for your heighth. (If you think you will need longer, don’t make this seam until after trying on.)
Try the sling on, (over one shoulder - like a sash). (You can just bunch it up on your shoulder for now. I’ll tell you below how to make a more comfortable shoulder pad when you wear it.) Place this end on your shoulder. (It’s best to wear the sling out toward the ball of your shoulder for comfort.) The darts will be by your opposite hip. It should come down to somewhere between the top of your hip and the bottom of your rib cage, depending on how high you want to wear your baby and how stretchy your fabric is. Remember you want to wear your baby more on your chest than stomach for your back’s comfort. Older babies that you carry on your hip will ride lower, but they will also stretch the fabric more with their weight. If you already have your baby, try him/her in it. Where is comfortable for you? Do you need it shorter? Pull it up at the shoulder and mark the proper length. Then stitch again down further than the 3”. Do you need it longer? Take this stitching out and stitch down less than 3”.
6. The “French seam” stitching formed a “flap” at the top of your sling. Fold this flap to one side and stitch it to the main part of your sling – across the top of the flap and along the sides. This helps form a little padding for your shoulder.
All done!
7. To wear your sling, it will be more comfortable to: fold the sides of the shoulder (padded) end both in to the center, then fold one of these edges over to the other (you have 4 thicknesses of the sling w/flap padding about 5” wide for a nice “shoulder rest”).
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