Choosing fabric to make a ring sling

When I run courses I will be providing fabrics to make slings, but if you want to provide your own that's great - you get the exact sling you want, and I have more materials to help more mummies!  You can also buy a pair of rings from me and instructions to make your own sling at home.

You need to buy 2m of fabric, as your sling should be 55cm - 75cm wide and 170cm - 200cm long.  If you buy a wider fabric (look for 60" wide) then you can make two slings - one for you and one for a friend!  If you buy a narrower fabric (44") you can make two narrow slings to use together like a wrap, or just use the spare to make matching accessories - maybe a taggie, or an outfit for your child's toy, or some bunting, or even a toy sling for your older child.

Cut your fabric to the larger size and make a no sew sling to see what size works best for you.  A wider sling is more comfortable, but can swamp a newborn and is harder to adjust.  A narrower sling is quicker to slot a toddler in and out of, but harder to get a good seat.  A long tail is great for covering you up when breastfeeding, but is more fabric to carry around and get to grips with.  I usually go for 180cm x 70cm.

You can either use one layer of fabric with matching or contrasting bias binding (5m) on the seams, or two layers sewn right sides together and then turned out.

For a one layer sling, make sure your fabric doesn't have a "wrong" side.  Cotton or polycotton drill are great, as is linen, also look at menswear fabrics.  For a fancy sling you could even use silk.  If you want to do a practice sling, just use a pashmina and you don't need to worry about hems.  Pashminas make very pretty, soft slings but are not designed for carrying babies so this is not a long term option, but great for getting started, or for special occasions like weddings.

one layer of polycotton drill with different coloured bias binding to help with adjusting

For a two layer sling I usually choose one print and one plain.  Cotton or polycotton are both great for this.

 reversible sling - wool and cotton lawn

pashmina

If you want to really invest in your sling, I recommend getting a wrap, which is woven specifically for carrying babies.  You can buy a long wrap and cut it to make a ring sling and a shorter wrap.  Look out for second hand hoppediz, didymos, storchenweige.

And if in doubt - just get in touch! I'm always happy to help.