Friday, January 2, 2009

A DIY Child's Pouch Sling

One of the most frequently asked questions from this blog is "how do you make the child's pouch sling?" I've always felt like I wasn't explaining it very well, so my mom and I decided to do a tutorial. I hope it makes sense :)

1) I cut a pattern from newspaper. The pattern is 18.5 inches long and 11 inches wide. It has a curve on one end. I pinned the pattern to a folded piece of fabric and cut around the pattern.




2)Use this pattern to cut 2 pieces of fabric. They will end up being 37 inches long with a curve at each end.




3) Pin the pieces together right side to right side and sew around the edges leaving a small opening for turning at one end.




4) Turn the sling right side out and iron it well.


5) Top stitch all around the edges (you will sew your hole closed at this point). I'm still not very good at top stitching, so Guh-guh took over at this point :)




6) Fold one end up to the other end approximately 1/2 inch down from top as shown in the picture. Stitch across the curve to connect the pieces together. Be sure to back-stitch well at both ends.




7) Fold the bottom piece over the piece you just stitched. There will be some fullness that you will need to work in - to produce a rounded end. Be sure to back-stitch on both ends.




8) You're done! Give the sling to a sweet child and enjoy :)



O loves this sling since it's blue :)
Just in case you noticed...yes, she is wearing Halloween pajamas even though it is January, and she's trying out my Annie headband from 1985. My mom saved everything!
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18 comments:

  1. Ms MuffinJanuary 4, 2009 at 4:18 PM

    Thanks you so much for this!!! I will definitely try it - and let you know about the result. (Might take a while though.) I am sure my daughter will love it!

    Ulli

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  2. *Jess*January 4, 2009 at 5:39 PM

    I love it! I'll let my mom try to make it, though, since I am not the sewer in the family! My mom made me a mei tai carrier for my dolls when I was little and now my 6 year old loves it.

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  3. Amber D.January 4, 2009 at 6:23 PM

    I didn't notice the pjs or the headband until you said it, but I had to go back up and check them out. The Annie headband ROCKS! I was such an Annie fan- okay, still am!

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  4. DavidJanuary 4, 2009 at 8:05 PM

    oh fun :) thanks for sharing! i admire you doing a tutorial, i'm too lazy!! (but it is something i want to do more!)

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  5. AnonymousJanuary 4, 2009 at 8:07 PM

    ooops!! I am SO embaressed! the above comment i posted upder my husbands blogname.. HA! sorry!

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  6. JennyJanuary 4, 2009 at 9:31 PM

    Thank you so much for posting this!!

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  7. jubileeJanuary 5, 2009 at 1:18 PM

    Thank you for sharing this! I need a lot of hand holding so:

    What type of fabric did you use? Is it 100% cotton? Cotton/poly blend? It looks like a soft cotton. Thank you for the details!

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  8. MelissaJanuary 5, 2009 at 3:35 PM

    jubilee- I *think* it's 100% cotton, but I'm not sure :)

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  9. eeshJanuary 5, 2009 at 11:57 PM

    Lovely! Wherever did you get that doll? It's so cute!

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  10. Pauline PerhJanuary 6, 2009 at 10:52 AM

    Thank you for the tutorial, O looks so sweet with her baby in her arms. :)

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  11. Rather Be WhistlingJanuary 6, 2009 at 12:22 PM

    Thanks for sharing your tutorial. It looks like lots of fun!

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  12. AnonymousJanuary 11, 2009 at 8:14 PM

    Thanks soo much for this. I just made one as a late xmas gift for my friends little girl. I think it went pretty well for a first attempt. I plan on making one for my son too, just hope it turns out better.

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  13. ann.eJanuary 25, 2009 at 12:09 AM

    hi... i've never commented before [i don't think] but have been reading your wonderful blog for a couple months!

    I starred this one a while back and am going to attempt it as a gift for my friend's little girl. I'm wondering about the sizing... is your little one petite? the little one i'm thinking of is almost 2 but really tall/big for her age - should i adjust or keep it how you did? it'll be my first project on my new sewing machine :)

    thanks :)

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  14. MelissaJanuary 25, 2009 at 11:15 AM

    Anne- O is skinny, but tall. The first sling we made for O (about a year ago) was too big, so we just pinned it using safety pins, and it worked fine. We made this one a little shorter and it works for her. Although, it could be shorter and still work :) HOpe that helps!

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  15. Ms MuffinMarch 1, 2009 at 3:27 PM

    I finally managed to try this. :-) It turned out nice - however, much too small for my daughter. I put a picture on my blog and also put a link to your post. http://muffinsnmore.blogspot.com/2009/02/childs-pouch-sling.html
    Well, I should have measured her ... But I will give this one away and make a second, bigger one.
    Thanks so much again for sharing the instruction!!!

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  16. UnknownJune 18, 2009 at 10:46 AM

    PARABÉNS PELA INICIATIVA DE NOS AJUDAR COM ESSE PASSO A PASSO. ESTAVA A PROCURA DE UMA AULA DESSAS HÁ MUITO TEMPO, GRAÇAS A DEUS QUE ENCONTREI O SEU BLOG. MUITO OBRIGADA. É DE PESSOAS ASSIM QUE O MUNDO PRECISA. FIQUE COM DEUS, BEIJOCAS!!!!!

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  17. MegApril 5, 2010 at 10:54 PM

    Thanks, this was superfast and I think it will fit great when we try it tomorrow! Good instructions!

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  18. SRWSeptember 13, 2013 at 6:14 PM

    Going to make - what happened to the photos for steps 6 and 7? You kind of lose me there...

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