Wrap around slings - has anyone made their own?

[WriggleJiggle]

dd1 is 18 months old, and dd2 has just appeared, and after the first 7 days I have come to the conclusion that life would be a lot simpler with a sling. I've looked on several websites, worked out I think a stretchy (jersey material?) sling would be best. I then priced them up and was shocked to see they sell for between £30 and £50 .

Am I missing something about these slings? As far as I can see, all they are is a very long piece of material with tapered ends. Sometimes the type of material used changes, and sometimes the length changes. How can they possibly cost so much though?

I'm very tempted to go to the market and buy some material instead.

Has anyone else successfully made there own? I've found websites that tell you how to do it. If I buy my own material how much (roughly) will it cost? Are there any disadvantages of making your own?

between 5-7metres. i had a 5metre one and was a size 22. was ok.

just hem the ends, maybe taper them. make sure its wide enough to cover all off babies back (dont have one to measure for you).

stretchy jersey cotton is best IMO.

one of these might be of some help www.mammasmilk.com/pages/makeyourown.php I tried a few, but the Maya was my fav.

I made one that was woven, not stretchy. I bought 2.5m of cotton/linen blend (cost about £15) that was 150cm wide, cut it in half lengthwise, sewed the short ends together with a really strong seam and hemmed it all around. It worked fantastically well and I love it. I'm thinking of making another one and I might taper the ends a bit because they're quite bulky.

The advantage of woven over stretchy is that it's useful for longer - stretchy fabric isn't so supportive with a heavier baby. Stretchy fabric is supposed to be easier to put the baby in and out of, but I didn't have any trouble with the woven one.

Great, sounds like its worth trying to make one myself. Now to find some material.

i have 6 metres of muslin which cost about £9. it very wide so i just fold it in half before or while i wrap it. cant see why you need to spend £50 either

go with the jersey cotton as it doesn't need hemming and it is awesome for teeny weeny newborns. aaaawwwww. i missed your birth announcement if you had one.

when they get heavier, a more sturdy 100% cotton is better and when the special woven ones come into their own as they will last from birth to 3 or 4 yrs and through many washes.

ahem, I am one of them who thinks that the £50 wraps are worth it. A didymos is actually £70 brand new for a 4.6 meter one.

they are made on traditional handlooms with organic cottons and heavy metal free dyes and are made in india where the weavers are paid a fair wage.

likewise with Storchenwiege which are woven in the former East Germany and Girasol and Ellaroo which are in Guatemala.

In addition, these weaves are not just bog standard weaves like the fabrics on sale in the fabric shops. they are woven differently which allow the fabric to 'stretch' on the diagonal so they behave like they have lycra in them when they actually don't.

If you don't want to pay Didymos prices, i think Storchenwiege are excellent as are HOppediz, Ellaroo and Girasol. the last 2 are thinner but still very supportive. It is a personal preference for a thinner or a heavier cotton.

Since they all stand up well to washes, get a second hand one if you / wehn you are ready to upgrade from your DIY one.

Thankyou, thats really helpful. I think a cheappiece o jersey cotton is the way to go initally until I see how it works and if I get on with it. I love the idea of a sling, but am concious of the fact that don't want to spend alot o money on one and then decide I hate it.

see loopymummy, this is why a good wrap can easily cost £50.

i found this which looks like you wouldn't have to cut it as it at all as it is already 27 inches wide.

i don't know what it is like so you would either order a swatch or dive in.

you can also check out the market if you live in a city with a good one. I found a beautiful cotton/linen mix fabric at the Birmingham market in the summer. It was £2 per metre.

i'll be interested to hear how you find it. keep me posted.

Thanks for the link knifewieldingtoddler. I live very close so am going to pop in and look at a few samples.