Come sew your own!

Mark you calendars!  Monday October 10 from 6:30 to 9pm at the Rigby Library we will be hosting a Make it Monday sewing lab to celebrate International Babywearing Week!  If you have some sewing skills and a sewing machine, you are invited to come sew with us!  We are requesting a $2 donation to help cover the cost of the library space.

Kimber, who created the Ball Baby mei tai, will have pre-cut Ball Baby kits available at the event.  A kit will be $10. It is JUST the fabric all pre cut and in a bundle.  They will be available that evening.  You might want to bring a few different colors of thread, or something neutral.



A BBO mei tai in action


So you've never made a carrier before?  That's okay!  There are lots of FREE patterns for pouches, mei tais, ring slings, wraps, and even soft structure carriers at Sleeping Baby Productions.  (PLEASE keep in mind that these are patterns offered for free for PERSONAL USE.  No selling, please!)

pouch, stretchy wrap, ring sling, stretchy wrap, pouch.

The single most important factor in a baby carrier is SAFETY.  And the two most important things for you to do are find a safe pattern and buy the right fabric and other supplies (like thread or rings).  Quilting fabric is NOT appropriate for the weight bearing parts of the carrier.  Canvas or a sturdy twill is what you need for straps and body fabric of a mei tai.  A sturdy linen or similar fabric is lovely for ring slings.  If you want to make your carrier a pretty one, you can buy that pretty fabric and use it to accent your carrier.  Also, we recommend you pre-wash and dry the fabric.  That way you can wash your carrier without worrying that it will shrink and get all funky.

Locally the best place to find awesome canvas is Home Fabrics in Idaho Falls (solids are in the back).  You can also find decent fabric at Walmart and Jo-Ann's.

If you are making a ring sling, don't go to Jo-Ann's or any other craft store and get craft rings.  You MUST buy rings that are specifically made for baby carriers.  You can find those here at slingrings.com.  They are super reasonably priced and safety tested, etc. Lots of manufacturers use these exact rings and they come in MANY colors. (And we can't in good conscience let you use un-safe rings!)

Ring sling

What you need to bring:
--The printed pattern you plan to use
--Fabric, rings, padding, etc. necessary for your particular pattern
--Sewing machine in good working order
--Iron and ironing board or pad
--Thread (Good thread!)
--Scissors
--Other notions that are necessary for sewing
--$2 donation to cover the cost of the space

What we will do:
--Help you make sure your carrier is safe
--Answer questions you may have along the way
--Provide some yummy snacks

We know that you probably have kids and all, but we do ask that you only bring non-mobile babies.  There are lots of sharp things involved in sewing and we would really hate to see a baby get hurt!

Come join us for a fun evening out!  (And if you have any questions, email Heidi--mrs_donnelly at hotmail dot com)