Comments on: Making a Baby Sling

By: Jan Andrea

Jan Andrea — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 16:27:57 +0000

Just wanted to add to Shannon’s post. Thinner is not *necessarily* less safe, but you really do have to be more cautious when using a thin material. Gauze, for example, does not hold a seam well. It can tear along a sewn seam much easier than a denser material. Standard chain-store quilting calicos wear out quickly, so while you can use them for a sling, you really have to be careful about wear, and if they start to look the least bit threadbare, stop using the sling, as those worn patches can tear easily. Jersey knit is usually fine because knits don’t generally tear like wovens do, so it’s sort of an exception to the rule; however, because of the stretch, most wearers find that stretchy knit slings aren’t useful for as long — a heavy baby causes them to stretch out or bounce too much during wearing, and that’s not comfortable in the long term.

The other problem with thin materials is that they tend to cause major pressure points during wearing, simply because of the weave or weight. This leads to discomfort, and is why many slings made of lightweight materials are padded — it’s just much harder to get a comfortable light-weight sling that isn’t padded.

Obviously you don’t want to use really heavy or thick materials, like jeans-weight denim or heavy twill. However, there is usually a fine selection of mid-weight materials that are safe and easy to sew. Cotton sateens (including cotton/lycra stretch sateens)are very popular, and light-weight denim and twill are great, since they have enough “give” without making pressure points. Most light bottomweights will be fine for a sling — these would include mid-weight linen, as well as the ones I’ve already mentioned. I really have to reiterate that very lightweight fabrics simply are not strong enough, in general, for a sling that will be used continuously.

By: Shannon

Shannon — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 14:54:14 +0000

I am also highly in praise of slings and would only like to add that contrary to some people’s belief almost any material can be used to make a sling and thinner and stretchier is not less safe, but rather more convenient. For instance, jersey knit has been fabulous for me and it is super cheap. Heavy and thick materials, like denim, are very difficult to adjust and requires a high quality machine to sew. Happy baby wearing!

By: Candace

Candace — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 15:55:55 +0000

Hi K, Rob sent me here via Jason because I am in high praise of slings.

I made many when my kids were small for myself and as gifts. I had some mods of my own:

- because rings were hard to come by back then I experimented with a loop at the end where rings would go and passing the tail through there. Tie with a knot. Not as fast to adjust as rings, but if you’re the only one wearing it, it’s not such a big dea.

- leaving a long tail - long enough for a toddler to hang on to. I couldn’t always hold a hand (paying a clerk, fumbling car keys) so this kept the toddler nearby and occupied.

For kiddie slings I sewed elastic through the upper and lower rails. This helped kids adjust dolly’s position and kept the dolly from falling out the bottom. It makes it really pouch-like.

I really liked being able to flip my sling right-to-left shoulder. Depending on who I was carrying I might want to adjust their position (sitting up, reclinging, facing in/out, on my back) or if my back got sore I could switch shoulders and give my posture more balance. Nursing on both sides was easier if I could switch too.

Now so many people use slings, it’s so great. I never heard of them or saw one until my daughter was over a year. Until then I used a front pack and it was very hard on the back once she was over 20lbs. I wish I’d had one from birth. With my other kids I used one non-stop, indoors and out from birth. I think my youngest was around 3 the last time I used it.

Good luck with your experiments - sounds like fun.