Anyone Ever Sewn Their Own Sling?

There was just a huge conversation on my babycenter message board. Everyone seems to love the Hotsling. I just got one too. It looks awesome. It can hold up to 35 lbs. Your toddler can sit on your hip or on your back. It comes with instructions on the different ways to hold your baby. You can breast feed with it too. They have a ton of different patterns (really cool ones) and they have this mesh one for the summer and the water. It protects baby from the sun too since you cant put sunblock on an infant. Check it out. http://www.hotslings.com/

Hi M.,
As far as a hip-carry sling, I use the kangaroo korner slings www.kangarookorner.com, I would not be confident to make one of these type of slings. I do breastfeed in it though.

Making slings, I have made a moby-type wrap and LOVE IT. I have a 14 month old who I still carry in it. You can carry on your back or front and they are upright. I wear it on long walks even in the summer. It is also easy to make. You need 5-6 yards of fabric that is at least 25 inches wide for a back carry. I used a solid cotton that I folded in width and just hemmed! I also found the center and embroidered his feet so that I know where the center is! Again, you CAN breastfeed in these type of wraps. Directions for how to wrap you can find on the internet at the moby website. There is a learning curve, but once you figure it out, it is EASY!

Also, if you enjoy sewing as much as I do, I have some fun blanket patterns if you would be interested.

Do you have any patterns you could share with me???

I havent made my own sling. Byut the sling i used for both my children was Baby Nojo or something like that. It was the one recommended by Dr. William Sears, author of "The baby Book". That was my baby bible. LOL. This was able to be worn from birth until my daughter was 2 and at 2 she was almost 30 lbs i beleive plus i was pregnant a second time. I loved it. For a 6 months old I would wear him outwards on the front. You would just tuck his legs in the sling and they lvoed it. I didnt use the hip position until they were almost 1.

The slings that goes across one shoulder was easiest for me with breastfeeding. Plus you can place them upright when they get older. If your child is very active, a Mayan wrap might be safer although it might be more complicated to learn the wrap techniques at first. It also allows you to wear them on your back. If you want to save money, you can just take an old king size flat sheet, cut it in half and show it together to make a long sheet for a Mayan wrap. Older kids usually fight more in the sling, especially if they didn't start out in one at birth. You can play games on them like skipping around like a horsey to keep them entertain for a little bit just to get them used to it.

Good luck.

Y.

Hi, I've made a couple of slings--the only trouble is, you want to try one out before you go the trouble, cuz I made one that I HATED!!!

If you live near the Pittsburgh area, there are monthly "baby-wearer" meetings where you can try out different slings--check out http://www.pittsburghnino.com/--there's also a link to search for other babywearer groups if you are not in pittsburgh.

also, http://www.thebabywearer.com/ has info about the different types of slings etc.

I got all my patterns following links from http://www.sleepingbaby.net/jan/Baby/index.html#kids and http://www.thebabywearer.com/lists/Sewing.htm

they are easy to make and WAAAAAAAY cheaper than buying them, and my son LOVED to be carried in his sling.

Good Luck--and if you live near Pittsburgh, let me know if you are going to a NINO meeting--

R.

I have used the pattern at mayawrap.com to sew slings before. They are rather easy to make. I could still carry my 31 lb 3 year old in it if she was willing. My children prefered to be carried facing me upright once they were able. (sit him indian style an put him in the sling either facing you or facing out.) you can also carry him on your hip in this type of sling. (put him in the sling straddling your hips and tighten the sling around him) Once my kids were able to sit that way, that is the only way they would let me carry them.
I did have a padded sling too. I think the extra padding made it hard to breastfeed.