Monday, October 28, 2013

Baby Wearing At Its Thriftiest.

Everyone is really big into baby wearing these days. I find that a really odd term to be honest; it sounds like you wear your childlike a piece of clothing. Finding the right carrier/wrap is almost as difficult as finding the cloth diaper that works best. Some carrier/wraps work for you and baby, some don't.  My first carrier was and ergo soft structure carrier. I still love this carrier, especially after I made the heart to heart insert for it so that my baby actually fits in it. but it's bulky, the type of bulky that gets in the way of trying to do work while cuddling. I also had a ring sling. I could not figure this thing out to save my life. I probably watched 25 different you tube videos showing detailed instructions on how to use a ring sling, but for some unknown reason to me, it wasn't working. I also have a Little Star sling that I found at a garage sale. I still haven't quite figured this one out either,but I don't dislike it as much as my ring sling. 
I really loved the idea of the Moby, but oh my...so much fabric and it seems so complicated. Then I discovered the K'tan baby wrap/carrier: 2 loops and a sash, as simple as that. The K'tan is about $60 on line, but I like to make things for my self, so when I stumbled upon this great chunk of leftover fabric in the good ol' VV boutique (Value Village), I went for it and made my own K'tan style wrap,and it works great. it's comfortable for both myself and little Hans. In fact, he's asleep in it as I type. The wrap cost me a total of $1.50 and maybe an hour of work...but work that I enjoy.
for the loops, I measured the length from my shoulder to my hip X2, finished the edges of the fabric and sewed the narrow (20 inch wide) ends together and connected the two loops with a smaller loop. Then I made a sash which I did out of three one yard pieces of fabric, gradually narrowing the ends after I sewed all three pieces together. I also had a bit of left over fabric so I made a bag to hold the wrap when not in use. 
Here are some pictures, selfies in a mirror to be exact (at least it's not a bathroom mirror, give me some credit!)



                                                                                                                           

I also started my family photo wall. I don't think I really need to describe it. Here's what it looks like so far: