Welcome to the January edition of Families, Create! A Monthly Make & Play Blog Carnival: This month's theme is Cuddle Up!
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Dionna at Code Name: Mama and Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children.
Scroll to the bottom of this post for a list of other Creative Mamas
who participate in this Carnival!
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As soon as my husband and I decided to start trying to conceive one of the first things that I did was run out and buy a Pippalily Pouch sling! I have always wanted to babywear, even long before we decided that we would be practicing natural parenting. I had read all the articles about the benefits to baby's development, and bonding, and everything else... but really the main selling point for me was that I know my husband and I will both want to be as close and cuddled up to our baby as much as possible!! The longer we wait for our little one to join us the stronger this feeling is becoming! I had originally hoped that this post would be more of a "tutorial" as I took it upon myself to make another pouch sling using my Pippalily sling as a pattern of sorts - However, I'm still pretty confused about it and not 100% sure how I ended up with a fully functioning second sling! I took pictures along the way, so hopefully it will make sense! (Photo Credit: Pippalily)
First, I took my Pippalily sling and laid it flat on the fold of the fabric. Normally I would have left a 1/2 inch seam, but being that I'd like to alter my Pippalily to fit a little more snug I didn't leave extra room and just traced as if it was a pattern. Now, one mistake I made, was that I did this twice, because I wanted to have a liner to my sling... Only, you need to do it twice just to get a full sling! To have a liner I would have needed to cut four pieces like this! Oh well, lesson learned!
Once you unfold your pieces you should have two that look like this. (Or four if you remembered to cut them for the liner!) Since I didn't have a liner, I decided to sew the raw edges in 1/4 of an inch. If you did cut 4 pieces, to get a liner, you would simply sew two pieces together, right sides together and leave a small gap so you could turn the fabric back right side out. Do that for both sets, and you would then have two pieces exactly like this, but with no "wrong sides" showing.
Now unfortunately, this is really where my "tutorial" stops being helpful, but I'm hoping to come back and add to this once I figure myself out! The one thing that I wanted to add to this sling that I haven't really seen on any other pouch slings is a zippered pouch and snap for things like keys! I love the idea of being able to just grab my wallet and keys and toss baby into a comfy carrier if we're just running in to the grocery store for a quick second or running a short errand. I'm planning on adding this on to my Pippalily for sure!
Voila! There you have a wonderful mama-made sling to keep your babe close and cuddled up! (I promise a more detailed, and sensible tutorial will soon be made!) What I love most about this sling is that it takes almost no material, and could easily be made by re-purposing fabric that you have laying around the house. Any soft fabric that's not too stretchy would work! My only complaint about pouch slings is that they're made to fit 1 caregiver, are not adjustable, and therefore could not be shared between husband and wife. As soon as my husband saw this project of mine he did say he loved it and wanted one for himself in a dark solid color fabric. Another upside to making your own sling - you can design it to look however you want!
And ofcourse, I couldn't stop there... I also made a matching nursing cover! If you're so inclined to use a nursing cover, this is super easy to make!! I cut fabric as wide as I wanted (30 inches) and as long as I wanted (about 20 inches) and cut on the fold, wrong sides together. Sew around the 3 open edges, leaving a small gap for you to turn right sides out. Fold those raw edges in and sew opening closed. For the strap, cut a length of fabric that reaches where you would like the top of the cover to rest, and add about an inch on each side. Fold raw edges in to the center, then fold again, and sew along the side opposite your fold! This nursing cover literally took me 10 minutes to make! Easy peasy!! Stay tuned as a similar set may be up for grabs soon on the Give Away page!!
Mama and baby time spent nursing, and cuddled up in a sling! Now that's what I call cuddly!!
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Visit Code Name: Mama and Living Peacefully with Children to find out how you can participate in the next Families, Create! Carnival. Our February theme is "Heroes and Heroines" - what can your family create this month to celebrate the heroes and heroines in your lives? Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:
- What's the perfect way to snuggle up on a cold winter night? Acacia at Fingerpaint & Superheroes knows the answer: make the perfect soup!
- Simply decorated jars by children bring warmth and light to cold Winter's days at Living Peacefully with Children.
- The ArtsyMama teaches us how to create a no sew fleece throw inspired by your favorite snuggle time book.
- Movies made from books are often pretty poor representations, but this family-made movie from Dionna at Code Name: Mama is monster-ific!
- Aunalise at My Sweet Potatoes created a cozy for her Kindle, to protect it from little hands that think they need to cuddle with it.
- What better way to cuddle and get cozy than in new jammies made by Mama G @ Z everyday things?
- Inspired by her family's love of the Harry Potter series, Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children decided to make a series of ornaments based on the theme.
- Laura at Nestled Under Rainbows shared a reflection on and a celebration of snuggies, lovies, cuddlies and specials.
- Little Hedgehog got a wonderful idea when his red hat from Father Christmas didn't fit, and Megan at Purple Dancing Dahlias got a wonderful idea to knit a sweet hedgehog!
- Monster-inspired artwork by a monster-clad kid. Despite the growling, he really is cuddly! Monster love courtesy of Dionna at Code Name: Mama.
- Arpita at Up, Down & Natural shares a quick tutorial on how to make your very own Pippalily inspire pouch sling, with zippered pocket & key ring, and a matching nursing cover to boot!
- Amy at Anktangle finally completed something cuddly and warm for her son Daniel: his very own afghan, crocheted with love by Momma.
- Who'd want to cuddle with a cuttlefish? Aunalise at My Sweet Potatoes thinks you might want to cuddle up with this sweet plush cuttlefish!
- In an attempt to slow down and relax while watching her children, Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children decided to give knitting another chance.
Join us in February to create something with (or for) your own family. Visit Code Name: Mama and Living Peacefully with Children to find out more about February's "Heroes and Heroines" theme.
