DIY Babywearing Bag Tutorial

*I'm a bit of a wordy gal, scroll down a bit to just get right into the tutorial!

Babywearing isn't only about the carrier you wear your baby in - there are many accessories out there from suck pads (did you know babies like to suck on the straps of the carrier they are worn in?  suck pads are removable and washable to keep the carrier clean), to babywearing jackets (I don't know if you've ever worn a baby on your back, but you can't really put a regular jacket over top of the big lump on your back!), to babywearing bags (bags with long wide straps that you can wear across your body WHILE wearing a baby).

I don't use carriers with straps, so no suck pads needed for me.  I avoid the elements (cold and/or wet weather) most of the time, so nope, don't need a babywearing jacket at the moment.  BUT I've always been intrigued by babywearing bags.  Now that Elle is in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd with Finn I have 1.5 hours on Tuesdays where I can be out and about without the stroller (where the diaper bag normally resides) while wearing Thea.  Last week we went into the city.  I emptied my diaper bag of all but the necessities (a small coin purse with my ID, a couple diapers, and wipes).  That took care of the weight issue (diaper bags are HEAVY when you have all the other stuff in there), and my strap is long enough that I could wear Thea and still wear my bag across my body, but it's a much bigger bag than I needed, and the strap isn't very comfortable pressed up against Thea or I.  So I started looking into buy/making a babywearing bag.

I didn't want to spend $50+ on some of the GORGEOUS bags out there made with woven wrap material, but I wanted the same concept, and I had some fabric left over from my DIY Ikea Wrap (which I have yet to blog about).

So I asked around in a couple of groups and a friend directed me to a facebook group called "Woven DIY" where the lovely Tara had a tutorial for pretty much the exact babywearing bag I was looking for.  Long wide wrap strap, not too big, cute pattern (the little pleats in the front look great and are functional for keeping stuff from falling out of the bag without having to have a zipper or clasp or anything), and super easy for a beginner sewer.

With Tara's permission I've written out the tutorial because I really wanted to share this cute and super easy babywearing bag with all my friends!  Definitely check out the facebook group and if you have any questions I've found Tara to be prompt and extremely helpful!

Okay, let's get on with it!

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All of this is from Tara's tutorial in the facebook group with (mostly) my own pictures, unless I've specified that I did something different :)

What you need:

• 2 panels - 30 cm x 30 cm each
• one strap - 2.6m x .15m
• pocket - 17 cm x 15 cm
• sewing machine
• thread
• scissors/rotary cutter
• needles
• 1 small set of rings (I was impatient to start and just used cheap craft store rings, but actual slingrings would work better and you can get them in lots of colors.  If you're in New Zealand Woven carries them as well as other things you may need for DIY babywearing!)

Now, I'm terrible with visualizing the project even with a photo tutorial, so I'll tell you right now what *I* couldn't see before it was done.  The panels attach to the straps in a way so that the strap is also the sides and base of the bag.  Also the bag is unlined so I worried that it would all be fraying inside, but you will actually be doing a rolled hem on the inside, no fraying!  (I've posted a picture of the inside so you can see what I mean)

All the fabric you need

Cut a small taper at one end of the strap

Cut your 30cm x 30cm panels.

As you can see in the other picture, fold your panels in half and cut a small curve into the bottom corner.

Sew a double hem along the top of the panels - about 7mm wide, and line up the edge with the machine foot, with the needle set to about 4 so it nicely catches the edge.

One of my favorite things about Tara's babywearing bag is that she puts in some pleats and box stitches them in place. That way you don't need any zipper or closure to keep things from falling out of the bag. The pleats are about 2cm wide each.

Double hem the top and bottom of your pocket. Pin the pocket 35cm down from the straight edge of the shoulder strap, making it a bit slack at the top.

Sew in place. Trim the pocket so the hem matches that of the shoulder strap.

Pin the first side of the panels 28 cm down the shoulder strap.

This is the next part that was really difficult for me to visualize before hand.  You're going to start on the top of one panel as it's pinned, but then at the bottom just continue, rounding the bottom corner of the panel with the strap, then the base of the panel with the strap, around the other bottom corner, and then up to the other side of that first panel.  Then do the same with the other panel.

With the shoulder straps on the top, sew the panels onto the shoulder strap with a 2cm hem. Secure the top of the panel really well, sewing back and forwards several times. Ease around the corners carefully.

A finished corner. Sew both panels from the same end to ensure that they start and finish at the same place.
*These are Tara's pictures from her photo tutorial - The fabric shows the corners a bit better than mine, plus she does a much better job on the corners than me!!

Hem the end of the shoulder strap that will take the rings. Trim about 1cm over a 3cm length at the end.

Roll a double hem on the strap, just down from the hem.

Start sewing at the end of the taper.

Sew down to about 5cm from where the panel joins the shoulder strap. Do this on both sides of the shoulder strap.

Thread the rings onto the shoulder strap and pin down so the hem of the shoulder strap is about 3 cm down from the panel.

And now, the last part that was hard for me to see. As I said above, this is where you will be doing a rolled hem on the inside to stop the fraying.  Basically you are going from one side of the straps on the ring end, double rolling through the inside of one side of the bag, then continuing on hemming the strap, going around the corners and then double rolling through the rest of the bag and coming back to the rings on the other side - a circle... or maybe a rectangle?! hah

Stitch the end of the shoulder strap into the hem.

Rolled edge over the panel fabric. Pull on both sides of the fabric to keep them sitting flat.
I really should have touched up my nails before taking these pictures ;)

Sew over the panel hem.

Where you have the pocket hems, you are fine to trim down the shoulder strap hem a bit to make this easier to sew.

When you get to the end of the panels you just keep on sewing a basic rolled hem. Set the stitch width to 4 so it catches the edge nicely when the fabric is lined up against the foot.

Tara's photos again

1.How to do the ends tidily.

2.On the end with the obtuse angle just roll the adjacent side up.

3.Stitch into the corners and then turn around and stitch out of them again so you don't have to do a new seam.

4.Sew along the new edge.

5.For the acute corner cut off a small triangle.

6.Roll the corner over twice.

7.That's twice in this photo.

8.Roll the new edge over twice.

9.Sew into the corner.

Finished obtuse end (left) and acute end (right)

Sew the shoulder strap down in line with the panel.

Tara puts a pleat into the shoulder strap where it goes through the rings and sews tightly up against the rings using a zipper foot. This ensures that the rings stay tightly together and the fabric doesn't slip through them.
I was a bit lazy and just sewed it mainly gathered with a regular foot (as I don't have a zipper foot) so as close as I could with what I had.

This is the inside of the bag.  I didn't do the greatest job ever, you can see a couple fraying spots, but you get the idea.

Finished bag!

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Don't forget to check out the "Woven DIY" group on facebook and if you're in New Zealand, get your rings from Woven!