Make your own baby ring sling

Luke and Leila- sling time!

At any given time I have a lot of sewing projects going- either physically or in my head :) I am always looking for cool things to make for my girls. When Sofia was little I made a crappy, totally unsafe ring sling and then I wondered why I didn't like it too much. I worked it out this time, though, and I am happy with the result.
If you have a little one or are expecting, you should definitely consider wearing your baby. What do I mean by this, you ask? Well, chances are, you are going to spend a lot of time holding your child. If you already have children, this could be a little more tricky. Why not use something to help you support you and your child during those times... and maybe even give you a little more freedom with your hands? The ring sling is very versatile and you can wear your baby in it for a long time- even then he/she is a toddler if you want.

Here are some ways to carry baby in a ring sling:

To make my ring sling I first sourced fabric and safe rings. I ended up with a light-weight woven fabric, no stretch, from Jo-Anns. It is important to think about when and where you will be using your sling most and purchase fabric accordingly. I knew that I would be outside a lot and I wanted it for summer time so I went with something lightweight and breathable. I sourced by rings from http://www.slingrings.com/. They have a ton of colors and are very reasonably priced. The pricing is per ring set and you can choose from different sizes of rings as well.

Next I decided how I wanted to pattern the shoulder. This was a big mistake with my first try- I didn't think about the shoulder at all. I decided I would go with some close knife pleats (pleating in one direction all the way across).

Before I began to stitch anything I played around with the length and width. I ended up going with 2 1/4 yards for the length (which was more than enough) and 34 inches wide (32-33 inches after hemming).

Here is roughly what I did:

1: Measured and cut appropriate length and width

2: Double-folded 1/4 inch and hemmed sides and one short end.

3: Pleated unhemmed short edge until it was 6 inches across. I pinned each pleat in place and basted near the raw edge and then approximately 7 inches from it. Basting is just a long stitch that hold stuff in place.

4: Threaded the pleats through both rings. This is a little tricky to explain but.... next, I folded the raw edge under about 1/2 inch and folded it up to meet the other basted stitch. I stitched that in place with a standard straight stitch. Then I stitched it again about a sewing foot width apart. Lastly, I added a decorative stitch in between.

5. The final step is to thread it. I folded the free end up accordion style and looped it up through both rings from underneath. Then I folded it over the first ring and back down under the second. From this point you can adjust as needed. The sides of a sling are known as "rails." When you place your child in the ring sling, one rail will be under the child's bottom and legs and the other up over their back.

There are several  websites on how to use a ring sling and or baby wearing in general . These are a couple of my favorite!

http://zolowear.com/Wearing.aspx
http://www.wikihow.com/Wear-Your-Baby