Thursday, January 31, 2013

Tutorial: baby wrap

UPDATE ON BABY BEDTIME BAGS:
I am currently working on the pattern, and hope to get it done.  Thanks for all your interest!
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With the adjustment to three kids, I decided I needed a way to have the baby with me other than in the car seat but still allow me to have my hands free to chase the toddler.  
There are lots of different options for baby slings, carriers, or wraps so parents can wear their babies.

This was my cheap, DIY version to create a wrap for less as I didn't want to invest in a Bjorn, as great as it would be to have one!
These are also quick to make.
Mine was less than $2 and took around 15 minutes to cut and sew!

There's lots of different ways to wrap these I'm sure.
I just watched some videos online and have really enjoyed having the option to wear Isabella when she's fussy.  I tried a sling with my first baby, but he was 9.5 pounds when he was born and just got too heavy for my back.  But this little peanut is still light enough to haul around!

So to whip up your own.

So first off you need knit fabric.  
(Most knit stretches from selvage to selvage edge, so I had to piece this wrap.  Yardage below is given for knit that stretches perpendicular to the grain.
If your knit stretches with the selvage edge/ grain, you'll need 2.5 yards and cut it along the grain rather than against it as shown below.)
 I found this thicker knit for $1.00/yd.
The knit was 60" wide so this wrap only needed 1 2/3 yards making it less than $2.00 which was pretty great.
But if your knit is 42" wide, you'll need 2 1/4 yards for 4 sections rather than 3.



1. Fold your knit in half and cut 3 sections 20" wide
2. Take two of the 20"x60" sections and measure 8" centered on one end.  Trim from the 8" marks to the full width of the strip.  Now you have 2 tapered ends, and one center section that's 20" wide.
3. To connect the three sections, sew french seams, hiding any raw edge and securing the seam down flat.
4.  Finish the edge either by hemming, leaving it raw as it won't fray, or I just serged around the wrap and didn't even take time to change the thread to match.

Make them for yourself or for a baby shower gift!

24 comments:

  1. Thank you for this! I've read my mind!

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  2. How to you put the baby in, and wrap it around yourself? It's too cute!!! I can't wait to make your baby bags!

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    1. You wrap it around and tie it first, then put the baby in. I just googled ways to wrap your baby and there are a lot of different options. The one I've like the best crosses in front and back to help distribute the weight across the back. There's also ways to wrap an older toddler on your hip and things.

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  3. Where did you find $1/yd knit!?!!!!

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    1. ha ha, Walmart actually. They randomly get tons of fabric in for $1 or $2/yd. Some is total trash as you can imagine, but they do have knit that I look through for little projects like this. Sometimes there's something pretty great like sweatshirt fleece or corduroy. Worth looking through the trash to find a few useful things!

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  4. Jess: I can't believe how awesome you look! Oh, and the project is great too, naturally.

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    1. oh thanks Erin, I think the wrap helps. I was thinking it's kind of like a corset for the post-baby jello guts!

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  5. Those are amazing and so quick. Great job, and you and baby look amazing!

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  6. You are so pretty, Jess. I have a moby wrap and LOVED using it to wrap up my little ones. Great tutorial!

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  7. O wauw, fantastic!! I did also with my third child. She's now 3,5 years old and I'm still wearing her in a wrap on my back. Because it 's a wrap you can wrap her ergonomic for you and her.
    Happy babywearing :-)

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    1. You should be using a woven wrap if you wear her on your back. A kid can push away from you, and because the knit stretches, she can fall out backwards - Moby brand wraps no longer give instructions for back wraps because kids have fallen and been seriously injured. For safety reasons, please switch to a woven wrap if you haven't already.

      Additionally, the blogger should do a little research and see why seamed wraps are not recommended. Making your own is fine, all of mine are homemade. None are seamed. wearyourbaby.org is a little disorganized, but hits all the high points. If you're interested in learning new ways to wear your little one, join the forums at thebabywearer.com!

      Happy and safe babywearing!

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  8. thank you so so much for this!!!!

    http://rukodelkimollymj.blogspot.ru/

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  9. Yay!!!! I "slung" my last two babies once I found out about wraps like this. I fell in love with Kari Me wraps which are also stretchy but don't have the seams. My sister made me a lovely one too - with a felted heart at the centre to sit right on the front :) These type of wraps are much better for babies backs and hips than the Baby Bjorn types (I had one of those for my first baby but like you, couldn't use it after about six months because my shoulder hurt so much under the weight of him!)
    I used my stretchy wraps for a whole year. I say WRAPS... I had quite a few in the end! I found that they lost their stretchy-ness after a few wears and while I washed one to get it back into shape, I'd wear another.
    I also figured out how to breastfeed in it, but I'm not sure I should be saying that from a health and safety point of view ... It worked for me though. I wore a low fronted top and fed over the top.
    Enjoy :)

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  10. LOVE!!! I love wearing babies!! If you haven't checked it out yet, I'd check out thebabywearer.com! It's an amazing site with a full forum about babywearing basics, how to wrap, and how to make carriers!! Using wra[s is so much better for you and baby than using a "crotch-dangler". :) Thank you for the tutorial!

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    1. Thanks for that resource on how to wrap! Still laughing about the "crotch-dangler" comment!

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  11. Cute! I made something similar out of woven fabric sometime last year, and although it didn't get a whole lot of use it was nice to have when my little one really needed to be held.
    I like the contrasting serger thread. =)

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  12. I don't have a baby to "wear" as I'm a grandmother to 3 the youngest being 4, but I just had to comment. You look so great to have had a recent baby and she is so precious. The photos of the two of you melted my heart.

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  13. looks great, and your baby girl is adorable

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  14. It looks fabulous, Jessica! I have a wrap like this one (wish I'd had your tutorial before I bought it!) and it's very comfortable. Love yours!

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  15. How do you have time or energy to make all this cute stuff when you just had a baby? Love your baby sacks! And your wrap! I made a moby wrap with one of my babies, but I like your pattern better. You look amazing for just having a baby, but you really should be sleeping :)

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  16. Congratulations on your beautiful baby! Your tutorial is just in time. I had a new grandson arrive on January 29th and a wrap like this was on my daughter-in-laws wish list. She is homeschooling, and with four kids 6 and under she needs to be hands free. Thank you!

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  17. Yo también me cosí un fular elástico... la diferencia de precio es enorme... y lo hice como yo quise. Además me encantan este tipo de fulares para recién nacidos.
    Enhorabuena por su maternidad

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  18. Definitely going to be my next project! We included this in our round up of things to sew with knit fabric: http://skirtfixation.com/2014/06/20-things-sew-knit-fabric/

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  19. Thank you for sharing information. it is new and useful to me.baby wrap

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