Sling is a great helper for a young mother. He frees her hands, while the baby feels the same way as in the arms of his mother. Slings are sewn from soft natural fabrics and are suitable even for newborn children, providing a physiological and safe wearing. Despite the growing number of manufacturers of such accessories, many mothers prefer not a purchased product, but sewn on their own. From this article you will learn the features of tailoring the main types of slings with your own hands.
Main types
There are a lot of kinds of slings. But only a few of them were most widely used: sling-scarf, sling with rings, may-sling, sling-backpack (fast-sling). Each mother, going to sew such a product, of course, wants it to suit both a newborn baby and a baby runner. Sling backpack and fast-sling for newborns are not suitable, therefore their manufacture is not considered in this review.
Sling Fabric
It is important that the sling is universal both in size and in the characteristics of the fabric. For the newborn, the so-called scarf is ideal - a fabric of double diagonal, jacquard, diamond and some other types of weaving. Such a material allows you to best amortize the steps of an adult when worn, ideally pull the baby to the parent and adjust the size of the product to fit the specific child.
However, scarf fabric in an ordinary store is extremely difficult to find. It can be purchased from some sling manufacturers. You can also buy a used woven sling-scarf and create a sling with rings from it. Or a convenient May Sling.
Of course, you can sew a sling for a newborn not only from scarf fabric. You can pick up any loose material (for example, linen, silk or cotton), and this option will also be universal and all-weather. To wear a newborn, you can sew a sling-scarf from knitwear, but it should be borne in mind that such a fabric is very stretched over time and will no longer be suitable for wearing an older child.
You can sew and insulated version of the sling - from fleece. When choosing a fabric, you should be guided by your needs (wearing at home or on the street, from birth to a year or up to 2-3), as well as the characteristics of the climate in the region of residence.
Scarf Sling Size Selection
To make and sew such a sling with your own hands is quite simple. After all, it is just a long canvas. To make the scarf universal for children of different ages, its width should be 70 cm (without taking into account the hem at the edges). The length of the scarf depends on the size of the clothes and the height of the mother.
If she is of medium height (155-170 cm), the required length of the sling-scarf is equal to the size of clothes divided by 10. That is, a mother with 46 clothing sizes needs a scarf with a length of 460-470 cm, which corresponds to the 6th international size of this sling. The sizes of slings-scarves are presented in the table. Sizes 2-4 correspond to cropped scarves, but they are less versatile.
The size | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
Length cm | 270 | 320 | 370 | 420 | 470 | 520 | 570 |
If mom is tall, then you need to focus on a larger scarf. If her height is below 155, then the previous size will do.
Sewing a Sling Scarf
To sew this type of sling with your own hands, you need to cut a parallelogram from the canvas with small bevels (about 30 cm) of the required length and standard width. You can cut a scarf and another shape (rectangular, spindle-shaped).
Before cutting, it is better to wash the fabric, as it shrinks during the first wash. Now it remains only to process the edges, making a double hem of the fabric around the perimeter, and gently stitch this hem on a sewing machine. It is recommended to make a mid mark at the top and bottom of the sling in the middle of the sling - sew bright labels or embroider. This is necessary for easy and proper winding of the sling.
Features of sewing a sling with rings
To sew such a sling with your own hands, you will need a piece of fabric and a couple of rings. It is better to buy special rings: they pass serious tests for strength, hypoallergenicity and smoothness. They can be found on sale at sling manufacturers or in specialized stores. The best choice is ring size L with an inner diameter of 75 mm. Such parts may be aluminum or plastic.
There are many ways to sew a sling with rings. The main differences are in the part in which the rings are sewn (the “shoulder” of the sling). It can be a continuation of the main fabric web or can be cut separately, and a soft sealant can also be placed in this part of the sling to ease the load on the parent. Let us dwell on the simplest option - a one-piece sling with rings.
A great option is to sew such a sling out of a scarf, especially since the worn scarf fabric becomes unusually soft over time. From the selected fabric, you need to cut a rectangle about 200 cm long and 80 cm wide. If your mother has a very large clothing size, the length can be increased. Then process 3 sides (2 long and 1 short) on the machine using a hem.
After this, the untreated part must be passed through both rings and sewn with a hem with the hem of the fabric to the main part of the sling. For reliability, it is better to make a few lines. Many mothers recommend before doing this with a hand stitch or pins several folds on the fabric so that its width matches the diameter of the rings. That's all. Sling is ready to use!
May Sling: Tips for Making
May-sling is a rectangular part, called the back of the sling, with belt and shoulder straps sewn into it. If it is sewn to carry a newborn baby, it is preferable to use a scarf fabric or a previously worn scarf sling.
The May Sling pattern for a size that fits most babies has the following details: 2 parts of the back 42 × 52 cm in size, 2 waist straps 65 cm long and 20 cm wide, 2 shoulder straps 200 cm long and 25 cm wide. This length of straps is suitable for a mother of medium height and physique and can be increased or decreased. The back is recommended to be carved with a semicircular upper part - it is more convenient to maintain the neck of the child.
It is better to start processing from the lower straps. To do this, chop them with a pin with the front side inwards and sew the seams from 3 sides, leaving one unprocessed short side, and then unscrew. After that, we process the shoulder straps: we sew 3 seams with a hem, leaving one short side unprocessed.
On the raw side, you need to lay a few folds for ease of sewing in the back, securing them with a manual seam. These elements are usually sewn into the back at an angle between the top and side. Then it is necessary to chop parts of the back with the outer side inward and sew the seams on 3 sides, leaving the bottom of the back unstitched, as well as places for sewing on the straps.
After that, the back must be turned out, bent and ironed allowances for seams in the places of sewing in the straps, and then insert the straps into the openings of the back in turn and sew on the machine several times. After this, it remains only to make a seam on the lower back, and the May-Sling, sewn with your own hands, is ready.