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xp: Fabric recs for Ring Sling?

broomybroomy member
in Attachment Parenting

I would love to make a ring sling to use with my one-year-old (he weighs about 21 lbs). If anyone has made one or uses one, what specific fabric(s) would you recommend? Is it okay for the fabric to have a little bit of stretch, or does it need to be completely 100% stiff/firm/non-stretchy? Has anyone used quilting cotton?

TIA!
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Re: xp: Fabric recs for Ring Sling?

  • StrawberryAlarmClockStrawberryAlarmClock member
    Dez weighs 21 lbs and my linen RS is perfect. Soft, not too hot, right amount of give. I wouldn't want stretch or no give. Like, no tshirt cotton or dress shirt cotton (sorry, don't know fabric names). Duping silk is great, too, but you have to spot wash it. Post pics when you make it! You can buy rings on www.slingrings.com. All sorts of colors :)
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  • waterflywaterfly

    I've made two so far using the instructions from the SBP website, and while I haven't had a chance to use them with a baby yet, I did weight-test with one of our cats on the first one, and it held up ok.  I also had an experienced babywearer(instructor at a local class, whose kids are now 4 and 2) check them out, and she said both should work very well.  Linen or linen blends are frequently recommended, since they're both sturdy/supportive and cool, and I've seen a few on TBW that were made from osnaburg(which is also popular for DIY wraps).  I think you could do well with a nice twill from the clothing-fabric section as well(SBP recommends looking for "bottom weight" rather than "top weight" fabrics--basically the sort of thing you'd see used for pants rather than a lightweight shirt), and as several people have mentioned, silk dupioni is popular for the more "fancy" ones, but harder to care for.

    With all that said, the first sling I made was cotton shirting, and I just made sure to use a double layer instead of a single.  There are instructions on how to use the lighter weight fabrics(including quilters' cotton) safely, and I fiddled with the technique a bit further, since I was using the same fabric on both sides.  Generally speaking, fabric intended for making garments will be a bit less susceptible to wear and tear, because it's designed to take it, and to take stress on seams and the like more than something that's essentially meant to be sewn together and then mostly left where it is.

    As a "quilter's brat" whose mom has worked in both a big-name chain fabric store and a small local quilt-shop, I can also tell you that there's a big difference in quality and sturdiness of fabric depending on where you buy it/how much it costs, even in the same designer's line.  As one of the distributors explained when my mom asked, the "big box" type stores tend to sell their fabric cheaper, which means they tend to source it cheaper, and will go for a lower-density/lower-quality weave in the same print than the more specialized stores, which tend to cater more to "fabric snobs."  I've also noticed in quilting circles that if someone admits fabric from somewhere like Walmart in a project, it tends to be in a sort of "I know, I know...but it was cheap and I needed it fast!" kind of way.

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