Big Sister Sewing

When it comes to my accomplishing sewing tasks, inertia really is key. I'll put off even simply sewing tasks for months but once I get the machine out and set up, I'll get on a roll and start sewing everything not nailed down. So when I had Craig carry my machine upstairs last week so I could hem our new curtains, I was pretty sure what was going to happen so I made sure to have all my supplies ready and yep, I got everything done - and more!

My goals were curtains hemed, beanbags sewed, and some baby doll diapers made. I'll show you the beanbags later but here are the diapers - aren't they cute?

I used skiptomylou's pattern but I ended up enlarging the sides and using bigger pieces of velcro so Lucy wouldn't have to be so precise. The last thing I wanted was another "baby" that needed me to attend to its diapering needs. The fabric was just scraps I had lying around - quilting cotton on the outside, flannel and knit on the inside. 

My favorites are the pinks, the inside is an old nightgown I cut up. I'm waiting to give them to her until it is closer to Dewey's arrival but its so hard because I know she will love them. After that sucess, I added another project - a kid-sized ring sling and since I haven't really seen any tutorials for this only, I thought I'd share how I did it.

The only tricky part of this is getting the rings. I happened to have about 40 metal rings from when I bought curtain clips for our living room bay window but only needed the clip part. That was last year and I kept them because I just knew I could find something to do with them and finally I did. But even if you don't have them on hand, they aren't that expensive. Target has a set for $6.39 and it doesn't say how many are included, but I'm sure there would be enough for several slings so you might even be able to find another mom to go in with you or you could do what I did and end up having so much fun you make 4 slings! (Don't worry, Lucy's only getting one, the others are going to some other little girls I know). My rings measured about 1.5 inches in diameter and that worked but a slightly larger ring would probably work even better.

 The only other thing you need is a piece of fabric 10.5 in x 45in. This is approximate too. I just estimated based on my ring sling - mine is slightly taller than me, so I made Lucy's slightly taller than her but you could probably adjust it slightly without harm (but alas, I wouldn't go down to 36 inches no matter how tempting it would be to get away with only using 1 yard of fabric, there just won't be enough of a tail). I used a quilting weight cotton but anything light weight would work. Even a knit would probably be fine since safety isn't a factor. And part of the "wrong side" will show so if you care about that, pick a fabric that has a subtle wrong side.

Start by heming the rectangle on all four sides. 

Then lay it flat, wrong side up, and slide both rings onto one end.

Fold over that edge a few inches, right sides together and sew the end down. I just followed the hem line.

And that's it! It's really easy. Perfect for walks around the house or when baby needs attention but tea must still be served.

Of course, I'm assuming that you know how to use a ring sling since you care enough to make your kid one, but if you don't, check out Youtube, there are lots of tutorials. Between the fairly grippy cotton and the small ring, I don't actually have to adust Lucy's very much so I help her put it on one arm (she always tries to put both arms through but that doesn't work) but she can take it from there. 


This should go without saying but I'll say it anyway, these are directions for a child-sized carried meant to hold a doll, not a real baby. Because of that, I've left out a lot of the safety features a real ring sling would have so please do not size up these instructions to make a full sized ring sling. It wouldn't be safe or comfortable. There are lots of ring sling tutorials out there if you want to make one for yourself.