Reader Feedback on Sew-Your-Own Sling Project

Recently I asked readers to share pictures of their completed do-it-yourself projects. Angel sent this great picture of a ring sling! She wrote:

It took some time, and much begging and learning and ironing, but with the help of family and friends we have sewn our first (of probably many) slings. We’re still debating on the length of tail we want as I’d like for my preschooler to be able to hold onto it on walks and when we’re out and about (it gives him a sense of freedom). Any suggestions on making it more hand friendly? We were just going to make the hem a bit thicker so it was more noticeable in his hand but I’m not sure how, if at all, it will affect getting the tail through the rings.

Over all it was a very easy project but as neither I nor my husband had ever used a sewing machine we had to recruit some help. With the remnants of fabric from the first one we both have intentions of practicing until the fabric is thoroughly worn out so we can make our own. Our intentions are to have a back up in the car, plus another one just to have. I might consider making one with a warmer fabric as we live in the prairies and winters here are quite unpleasant.

Thank you so much for sharing this with everyone, this is my first exposure to a ring sling and was the only affordable option at the time, I’m now enamored even more and plan on making some pretty ones for friends who are expecting.

I’ve included a picture of us using the sling on the first out-of-house excursion – a test walk through toys-r-us.

Thanks for writing Angel! The sling looks great and it’s so fun to see you wearing it with your adorable little girl.

That’s a great idea to have your son hold onto the tail so that he stays near you when you are out in public. To make it more hand-friendly, you could sew another sling ring to the end (of course, that means that you could not take the sling apart completely anymore because you couldn’t get that ring through the other rings, but I can’t think of a reason why that would be a problem). You could also sew the end of the tail fabric into a loop. Anyone else have ideas for Angel? Leave a comment!