Project 2: Ring sling

So I selected and pre-washed my cute flannel fabric and now I was ready to sew. I’m still not very confident with the machine. I’m especially not confident working with patterns or, worse yet, descriptions, so a friend of mine offered to help. She had some rings left over from when she made slings for her own baby (now not such a baby anymore) and the knowledge that comes from having used them. I, on the other hand, had never worn a baby sling before and really had no idea what I was looking for.

The first thing I did was fold the selvedges over and hem them down the long sides. I then used my friend’s circle cutter and mat (note to self: get a set of those) to straighten the edges. The fabric had convenient stripes made of dots so it was easier to follow a straight line. We chose to do a zig zag stitch on the tail end and leave room for it to fray. The other end I folded over (using the instructions for hot dog pleats from Jan’s site) and attached to the rings. I secured this end with four rows of zig zag stitches.

Let me just point out here that sewing through the flannel when it had been folded several times was challenging. My first attempt wouldn’t fit under the foot so I couldn’t sew it. I unfolded it once and tried again, but I didn’t get far before I bent my friend’s sewing machine needle. She replaced it and generously let me try again. This time I was able to get all four rows of stitches done. They’re not perfect, but they’re done.

All that was left was to thread the tail end through the rings and try carrying the baby.