Tutorial: No-Sew Ring Sling

Sometimes this question will pop up: Ring sling or wrap? My answer to that question is BOTH. You can use two sling rings to turn your short wrap (size 2 or 3 for me…my base is an 8) to make a no-sew ring sling! Long explanation not needed here–a no-sew ring sling is just a ring sling  that isn’t sewn together. It is secured the same way that a regular ring sling is secured, with sling rings!

This photo tutorial is going to show how to make the no-sew, but not how to put the child in the sling. The video at the bottom will show how to put the baby in! The photo ring sling tutorial is right here-ring sling tutorial.

Here is how to make the no-sew ring sling:

First, get your two sling rings (I am using size large) and your wrap (I am using a size 3 Bijou Wear Blast Firecracker).

Measure out how long you want your tail to be by wrapping the wrap around you with one side over your shoulder and the other across the front to meet the shoulder.

Gather the fabric at your shoulder by your collarbone and that spot is where you want your rings to be.

Pull the fabric through the rings.

Once you pull the fabric through both of the rings, pull the short end back through one of the rings (just like regularly threading a ring sling). Here’s a gif to show what I mean:

Click here

 

Hopefully that helped explain what I meant!

Put the sling on your shoulder now with the short fabric tail under the long tail that you will be working with. Make sure that the top ring is further back than the bottom one. I’m pointing to it in that picture up there.

Now to thread the sling just like you normally do a ring sling! Gather the fabric in front of you (I pleat it). 

Pull the fabric through both rings.

Very pretty right? At this point I let it all hang down to make sure my fabric is not twisted.

Thread the fabric through the bottom ring.

Take your fingers through the threaded fabric to make sure that it is not twisted.

It should make a cute looking puff of untwisted fabric.

Pull the fabric back the same direction that it came from to get the sling all secured.

Tada! Sling!

Tuck the extra hanging fabric from the beginning of the no-sew part of the sling in the spread back pass and you are done! Now you are ready to put your baby in the sling!

Maxine always loves going uppy front.

Here is the video:

Woven Wrap Tutorial: Traditional Sling Carry (formerly known as rebozo)

Woven Wraps are my favorite items to use for carrying Maxine around. One of my favorite quick carries to use with her is the traditional sling carry. This is done with a size base -3 to -6 wrap depending on your base size.

How to do the traditional sling carry!

Gather the wrap on your shoulder

 Bring the wrap across your back.

Gather the side that you pulled behind you in front by bunching in your hand.
Now for the slipknot. This seems harder than it actually is.

Bring the wrap over the tail that is hanging over your shoulder. Take that around and behind the hanging tail, and up.

Bring the wrap down.

Make a number 4 shape with the wrap. The side you are working with should go *behind* the tail.

Bring the end of the wrap around and through the hole that was made by that 4 shape.

Pull, and there is your slipknot! Do not pull it too tight yet.
Now you’re ready for your child.

Place baby on your shoulder in the burp position. Reach through the bottom of your pocket and gently grab baby’s ankles. Gently bring the carrier over the baby with the feet and ankles out at the bottom.

Make a hammock for baby to sit in with fabric knee to knee. Baby should be in an “M” position with knees higher than their bottom.

Now pull all slack (loose fabric) out of the wrap through the knot by pulling the tail strand by strand. That means to pull the fabric little by little firmly so that it is snug.

Once all of the slack is out, you can pull the slipknot tight to lock everything in place.

Make sure the fabric is spread out over your back!

Congratulations! You have completed the traditional sling carry!!

Be sure to show me your traditional sling carry on the Britt Brown Marsh Blog Facebook page!

Here is a handy graphic to help you remember how to make a slipknot. Share it with your friends!

Review: Bijou Wear!

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen me screaming BIJOU TENCEL IS MY JAM more than a couple of times. Finalllllllly, I am going to tell you why you and everyone you know needs to try it.

Jaime Gassmann is the mastermind behind Bijou Wear.  The company is named after her husband’s nickname for their baby. The love Jaime has for this company is so clear. She makes sure everything is perfect before she releases it. The wraps that I recently tried are Windmills Field of Dreams and Blast Lilac.

When I first saw Windmills Field of Dreams, I fell in love with the color. Green always looks great in a wrap. I questioned the windmills for about two seconds. I like them. I like them a lot. Especially when one lands right on Maxine’s bottom. When I wrapped with this, I was shocked at how a wrap so soft could make my toddler feel not-so toddler-like. Maxine is around 28 pounds and I could easily carry her around in a double hammock for an hour no problem. I did not need to adjust too much once I got the carry in place.

Check out that candy cane chest belt!!

This was also great in a front carry! Front wrap cross carry is still one of my go-to carries with Max, especially when she wants to nurse. Windmills glides easily and the width helped make it even easier to make my carries better with this wrap. Windmills is great for newborns especially since it is so soft. It would be awesome for toddlers too in multi-layer carries. It rocked a slip knot, but my favorite way to finish a carry with this wrap was with sling rings. I would recommend this wrap for all wrappers.

Here is a short tutorial on how to do a front wrap cross carry with Windmills Field of Dreams!

 

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Blast lilac!! How I miss thee! This wrap was the same blend as Windmills, but it felt SO different! Magic! This design is my favorite out of all things Bijou Wear. Maxine loved this wrap as well and constantly asked for ups in this purple beauty. My favorite carry to do with this wrap was a ruck. It is flat with a little cush on the shoulders in my opinion. It pleated well on its own too.

Blast Lilac almost always put Maxine to sleep. There was no fighting this wrap. Denser than windmills, this was still pretty soft in hand. It was flatter than windmills. I would wear this out for a long trip in the summer no problem. This would be just fine in a single layer carry with a toddler, but multi-layer carries are where the magic happens! This rocked a double hammock like nobody’s business. The knots all stayed in place incredibly well! I was so impressed. It also was good with a ring finish. The width of this wrap easily handled all 35 inches of Maxine. I recommend this wrap to new wrappers up through wrapping pros. If you like medium/thin wraps that are smooth but just enough grip to keep those passes in place, this is the wrap for you!

Be sure to check out Bijou Wear on Facebook and Instagram!