I have it down to two carriers . . .

One is the Mei Tei (is it any good? anyone?) and one is the Sleepy Wrap. The Sleepy Wrap is basically a piece of fabric that you wrap and tie yourself. They are 40 dollars or 60 for organic, I think U.S. I wonder if there's a way to just buy a piece of fabric and use that? I am useless at sewing and don't even own a needle and thread so I have a feeling if I tried to hem it, I would screw it up and lose the stretch. I also would have no idea what sort of fabric to use.

Help would be hugely appreciated!

If you are after a wrap you can check out the ozebaby website - it is a whole bunch of wahms, and may of them do wrap style carriers - and they are cheap and aussie made too :)

For a DIY just go to spotlight and ask for 4.5m or 5m of Cotton Jersey.
No sewing, just cut it length ways in half so you have twp 70cm by 4.5m wraps and you are done, costs about 40 bucks.
Exactly the same as a HAB.

Mei tais are awesome but I find work better after 4 mths, for newborns I couldn't beat using the wrap.

Yep you can absolutely use a piece of fabric! As II80 said cotton jersey is the stretchy one or you can also use muslin or angliese cotton if you live in a warmer climate. No need to hem although if you know anyone with an overlocker just to run round it for you it will last a lot longer.

Make sure when you purchase your fabric that there aren't any flaws, holes etc as these may tear under the pressure. And make sure you buy the whole 5m in the one go rather than 2x 2.5 metres as the pressure on the seam can cause problems when carrying a heavy bub.

Ditto what Limeslice said - lots of WAHM make there own and some places sell the fabric already cut for you too.

Thanks for the help! I think I'll use a wrap for when bub is a newborn and get a mei tei later if it feels necessary. Having a look at ozebaby now.

If you do decide on a mai tai, etc look up Baby carriers down under they give great advice and there may even be a meet in your area.

Yep, just as ll80 said. If you're a little bigger, you can get 5m.
Buy an iron-on motive and put that in the centre to make the tying easier.
Especially now that it is getting cooler, you could use a fleece fabric, too. they don't fray at all and definitely don't need hemming. But a stretch jersey is the more flexible option.

Sasa

Ditto what everyone else has said on making a stretchy wrap. Easy peasy.

As for a mei tai - it is a generic type of carrier of which there are many different brands - some better suited for younger babies, some better suited for toddlers. Different styles also suit different shaped parents too. For example, Catbirdbaby MTs are great for petite framed, narrow shouldered people (they have a shallow shoulder angle) and for smaller babies (they have a shorter body), whereas Kozy's have a wider shoulder angle and tend to be preferred by those with larger frames. They are good for smaller babies but really come into their own with toddlers. Some of the best toddler mei-tais are a bit harder to get in Australia - the Scandinavian Taitasi and Tettitett, and the (US made I think) Bamberoo and Kindercarry are well known as toddler carriers, as are Dream Carriers.

Mei tais can be used from birth, just tuck bub's legs up into froggy position and ensure that you are wearing the mei tai apron style (so that when you tie the waist band on, the front of the body of the carrier falls against your legs and when you bring the body up to tie the shoulders it forms a pouch), and it's best to either tie behind the baby's back (rather than under the bum), or in what is called a lexi twist (google it, there are videos that show rather better than what I could explain).

I love my Mei Tai, I loved that I can use it for a bit baby and small baby, and it's super comfy. Stretchy wraps can get a bit tricky with an older heavier tot, I know some fine a woven wrap much more supportive for older bubs. If it's just for your newborn, I think either would be good. :)