Woven baby wraps are very coveted items to babywearers. They are soft and squishy, comfortable and supportive, the prices range in the 100's of dollars. If you have the jack, get one! They hold their value well and, depending on the print, some even increase in value.
People ask me a lot if it's "like a Moby." Well, yes, in a sense. But a Moby Wrap (or the like) is stretchy. It's super comfy for a newborn, but as they get heavier, it becomes less supportive for both the baby and the wearer. Also, you should NEVER wrap a baby on your back in a stretchy wrap. They can wriggle out easily....it's just not safe.
At any rate, shelling out $100 or more for yet another baby carrier was just not going to happen, so, like I do with everything else, I set out to make one myself!
First, you need a fabric called Osnaburg. It's 100% cotton, the weave is tight and only has a VERY slight diagonal stretch, so it is secure and baby will not be able to wriggle out of it. (Assuming you wrap it well....more on that later)
Osnaburg can be found in most hobby, fabric and craft stores. (It's by the muslin). It is unfinished and unbleached.
It looks like this:
How much you need depends on what size you want your finished wrap to be. Here's a good resource on sizing.
I knew I wanted at least a size 6 (181inches) to have enough to do all the wraps I wanted to do and Osnaburg shrinks, so I purchased 6 yards (216inches).
Because I knew it would shrink and I didn't want to loose anymore length to unraveling, I used my overlock foot and roughly finished the short sides for the washing/shrinking process. (I used red thread so you can see it.) You can serge it if you want to....I didn't want to use all that thread.
This step is also not necessary.
I left the long sides alone because it was already 44' wide and I only needed 31" anyway.
The raw edges looked like this:
Once the ends are roughly finished or served (which is optional), scour that bad boy!
Boil it good! I use my canning pot for this bc it's big enough to fit all that fabric. DO NOT skip this step or you will regret it. This helps get all the gunk and oil out of the cotton.
Then wash it. On HOT with a tad of blue dish soap. The soap will cut the natural oils off the cotton and wash them away, allowing the fabric to shrink and hold the dye better later.
I DO NOT RECOMMEND USING DISH SOAP IN AN HE WASHER.
So definitely do it in the tub, if you have an HE. I'm just a rebel.
Boil it good! I use my canning pot for this bc it's big enough to fit all that fabric. DO NOT skip this step or you will regret it. This helps get all the gunk and oil out of the cotton.
Then wash it. On HOT with a tad of blue dish soap. The soap will cut the natural oils off the cotton and wash them away, allowing the fabric to shrink and hold the dye better later.
I DO NOT RECOMMEND USING DISH SOAP IN AN HE WASHER.
So definitely do it in the tub, if you have an HE. I'm just a rebel.
After it's washed, an extra rinse is a good idea, but since I didn't see any bubbles in my rinse cycle (and I was getting impatient), I plopped the wet tangled mess over to the dryer. Dry it on HIGH HEAT to set the shrink. (We don't want this stretching, remember?)
Next I measured 31" across the short side and marked.
(You can make yours wider, if desired.)
And, remember, SEAM ALLOWANCE!
(You can make yours wider, if desired.)
And, remember, SEAM ALLOWANCE!
Snip....
....And rip! Trust me, don't fool around with too much measure and cutting. It rips straight and there's something somewhat satisfying about ripping fabric!
You're ready to hem. I was going for a wrap that was 30" wide, so I left 1" for seam allowance. I rolled the hem to approximately 1/4" on all sides.
(Right here you can measure, press and pin all those yards of fabric, if you wish too. I "eye-balled" it as I went to save time.)
Roll fabric in 1/4", then roll it again 1/4" to tuck away the rough edge. Straight stitch all. the. way. around. Hang in there.This part takes a while.
And you're done!
You can wrap with it just how it is!
Or you can dye it......
I'll discuss my process in my next post!
~Patricia~
