How to Make a DIY Baby Sling

I must say that I got this idea from a website called mayawrap.com, they sell pre-made baby sling and wraps on this site, and for the quality, they have a very reasonable cost. They also have instructions for making these slings.

I wanted to make my Baby Sling, and these slings work very well at keeping the baby close while letting you get your work done. The biggest problem I found with the wrap was finding strong 3” rings. If the rings are too small the wrap won’t work correctly, and if they are not strong enough down will come baby, sling and all…

How to Make a DIY Baby Sling

Material

• 2.5 yards of fabric (if the fabric is 36 – 45′ wide you will not need to hem it. If you use more than 45” wide fabric it will bee too big when folded to fit in the rings. Also both sides of the cloth will show so if you use a fabric with a pattern make sure its printed on both sides.
• Two 3” metal rings (if they are too thin one ring may pop through the other. I got mine at the hardware store after LOTS of searching)

Procedure

• First, hem, or surge one of the cut edges of the fabric. This will be the tail of your sling.
• Next. fold the remaining un-hemmed (or un-surged) edge of fabric like a fan. Make the folds 4″ or 6″ wide (4 inch works best for petite individuals, if you have larger shoulders the 6” is more comfortable). Do not need to make these folds the entire length of the fabric, 10-12″ down from the top will suffice.
• Then, surge or zigzag through all thicknesses of the folded fabric. Note: if you use a serger for this step, be sure that your serger can handle all of the thicknesses.
• Put this folded end through the rings and pull it through 3 – 4 inches. Fold the fabric over the rings back onto itself. Pin in place, but do not catch Panel 1.
• Finally, fold Panel 1 out of the way. Stitch through all thicknesses 1/4″-1/2″ from cut edge, making sure not to sew through Panel 1**. This seam will take a lot of stress so it is important that it is a strong seam and that it is back-stitched on both ends. It is recommended that you make two lines of stitching. Consider using upholstery thread and a heavy duty needle for this step.

When we made our Baby Sling a lot of comments were made about the quality of the ring.  Moms were mad because it was not a special ring.  I know what it looked like, but that wasn’t a cheap sewing novelty ring, it was made for tying up horses and was strong enough to hold my weight, so I was not concerned about it breaking with an infant.