I love my Moby and Clay swears by the Baby Bjorn, but I've been thinking about one of those simple, pea pod type slings for awhile. You know the ones that are basically one big loop of fabric? I found a great tutorial online and they really are as simple to make as they look.
I've had this huge square of fabric that my Guatemalan mom wove for me when I spent a summer in Guatemala during college. It was just like the ones all the women carried their babies in and she presented it to me, saying it was to carry my own babies in some day. Unfortunately, I never could get the tying technique down, but I thought that turning it into a sling would be the perfect thing.
The whole time I was sewing I kept thinking about Katarina's gnarled hands weaving the threads over and under, over and under. The loom they use is called a back strap loom. It's anchored to the wall at one end and wrapped around their back at the other such that they lean against it to keep it taut, sitting cross-legged on the dirt floor. Katarina spoke little Spanish and I spoke only a few words of her indigenous Mayan language, but there was much communication in the simple acts of caring for each other; cooking, sharing our cultures' foods, she washed my clothes and I brought her back little treats from the market, and of course, much was said, if not in so many words, as she handed me this special cloth before I left at the end of the summer.
You can read the tutorial for more details if you want to make your own, but the basic process was to fold a rectangle of cloth, trim one end so it's a bit rounded (this makes a cozier pocket for baby), sew the rounded ends together and hem off the raw edges. Easy as pie!
Even though this is really more to use with the new baby, I was pleased to see that it works so well for carrying Sam on my hip when I need both hands free. It's surprisingly comfortable and he seems to like it as well. Oh, and I couldn't help but make him a pair of matching stripey pants with the leftover material:) The material is so sturdy, perfect for play pants.
