Making your own sling for a big baby

[forshelby]

I've dabbled in making a few slings for my DS. All of them have turned out wonderfully, but I'd like to make one using my powers of crochet. My only concern is the tension of the fabric it creates. Has anyone ever created a sling in this way? I'd like to wear him on my hip in what I call the 'side saddle' position. It's really just to take his weight off my arm as he's well over 10kg now. (at a guestimate, I'd say 12-13kg) Does anyone know of a good way to reinforce the fabric? I was thinking of working on the back side with some very tightly woven double crochets in every second stitch, therefore decreasing the spacing and the amount of stretch. ITMS.

I'm also interested in exploring different styles of slings. Would a ring sling be safe to use in a side-saddle fashion? Keeping this little guy in his pram/stroller is still very difficult, and I'd like to eliminate the struggle of carrying him everywhere I go. He just wants to be on mamas hip. Can't blame him, I distinctly remember repeatedly asking my own mama to 'pick me up! pick me up! pick me up! pick me up!' when I was a preschooler. New respect for my mum right here... she would carry me as much as she could! lol.

Any advice or tales of your own experience would be much appreciated!

[LimeSlice]

Never made one...nor ever crocheted! So can't help there I am afraid, except to suggest that at over 10kg you really don't want *any* stretch in the fabric at all, it needs to be solid to give you the support - and bubs the support - you both need to wear comfortably and safely. Like I said, I've never crocheted, but not sure if a crocheted carrier will give you that support at his age and weight now.

But yes, a ring sling is perfect for hip carries.

[HotI]

post some pics of your slings!

if you are looking for a ready made hip sling (or pattern ideas), check out the "scootababy".

[forshelby]

My latest one is woolen, I made it a smaller size to counteract the stretchability. I haven't trialled it yet. I've reinforced the bottom part, so it sits snugly against my hip, and need to reinforce the top part so that it hugs him close. It looks kinda pouchy, but very cute. Will try to post some pics of my latest one when I have time. Which probably won't be any time soon. :/

How would I go about making a ring sling? I wonder if using a thicker wool would be useful, you know the ones which are like a 12ply and look like mini-rope. That stuff is pretty strong. I made one out of that in the past but unravelled it as I wasn't 100% satisfied. Now it's a seatcover for the rocking chair

[onthefly]

At that weight, I'd avoid wool, too. The stretch is the issue. Crocheted, it probably wouldn't stretch so much, but what you really want is something with diagonal stretch, but no stretch in the other directions. That way you've got a bit of give for comfort, support and snugness, but without the danger that baby could fall out. You'd also have a hard time threading wool through ring slings, I'd think.

I was actually talking to someone recently who experimented with wool slings. They were great for little babies, but quickly stretched too much and were unsafe.

If you're after cheaper options, you could find some bottom-weight fabric from spotlight or somesuch, with some diagonal stretch, and sew that up.

2nd ring slings are not that expensive, if you have a look around. They are perfect for hip carries, yes.

[k4t]

I think crocheted fabric would have too much stretch to work safely no matter how you reinforce it, but I'm no expert. If you do try I would suggest a yarn with as little stretch as possible - cotton or even hemp if you can get it?