Pouch Slings

I'm 11 days post-partum and it's time to craft again. Yesterday we took our first outing for pleasure (i.e. not medical appointments) and went bird-watching and fabric-shopping. I bought fabric to make my husband and me each a pouch sling, two more gauze swaddling blankets (one can NOT have enough of these!) and two waffle knit swaddling blankets (my husband, the swaddler, insists it's a lack of stretch and not his lack of skill that lets the little one's hands out).

Here's what I learned about making a sling, after studying various directions and tutorials. I also went out and bought a Hotsling to study temporarily. Cut a piece of fabric that's 24" wide (you could get away with as little as 22 or 23" I think) and 56" long. Cut the curve into the short sides. Create a loop with a French felled seam (which requires sewing the *wrong* sides together, very counter-intuitive), then hem both "rails," leaving 12" open at each side of the seam. Insert fluffy cording into these openings and sew shut - a zipper foot helps. My husband is 6'3" so his sling required a longer piece - I started with 66" and then we custom-fit, using a sack of flour as the baby!