A wrap style sling may be the hardest to learn to use, but it is the easiest to make. Here are some free DIY wrap sling patterns so you can make your own wrap sling.

Mamatoto gives us a new-sew wrap that is as easy as cutting fabric to make: no-sew stretchy wrap sling. Also has a pattern for a woven no-sew sling. Complete with pictures. Easy instructions, too. This site is very wrap-centered.

Justmommies also shows you how to make a wrap-style sling, this one with a pocket to hold all your goodies. This one involves sewing. Wrap sling with pocket.

For those of you who are feeling really brave, here’s a free pattern for a convertable ring-wrap. It’s a hybrid - a cross between a ring sling and a wrap. It’s from Jan Andrea, famous pattern-creator mom extrordinaire. Hybrid ring sling wrap. Jan has a ton of other cool stuff on her site, too, so plan on surfing around it a while.

There you have it! Fun, free patters for wrap slings!

Wanna make your own ring sling? While this type of carrier has a little bit harder learning curve than a pouch sling, it’s easy to make!

First you have to decide if you want padding or not. No padding means very short and very tall people can wear the same sling, because the padding won’t get stuck in the rings. However, if you have a toddler, I would recommend padding in the bottom rail. This means that there’s a bit of fiberfill or batting beneath their legs in the hip and back carry positions. It’s true that padding adds a bit of bulk, but a ring sling is pretty bulky to begin with and not something you’ll be able to stuff in a diaper bag unless it’s large.

There are many different shoulder styles and it’s a matter of personal preference. I like the Zolowear hotdog style shoulder, myself. I also like the SlingMeMommy shoulder style story (see her site for the story). There’s the fan style, the modified hotdog, pleated, etc. While it sounds confusing, they all work fine and you’ll do fine with any of them to start out.

Here’s the dirt on the patterns:

Unpadded Ring Sling Patterns:

Maya wrap unpadded sling Great & complete instructions with drawings. Free.
Sleeping Baby unpadded ring sling Popular DIY sling instruction site. She also has a ton of cool patterns for different baby things. Free. 

Padded Ring Sling Patterns:

Fern & Faerie padded sling  3 different options for the tail.
Padded ring sling Pattern with drawings. Free.
Elizabeth Lee Designs padded ring sling A fanny pack and bag come with this pattern. 
ModernTraditional padded ring sling  Interesting velcro closure.
Sew Creative padded ring sling pattern They offer a free pair of sling rings with each order.

One of the most important ingredients in your ring sling is…the rings! Please use actual sling rings as opposed to craft rings that are not designed to hold the weight of a baby. I highly recommend www.slingrings.com, a work-at-home-mom & pop team that creates their own rings. They’re wonderful and have a huge array of ring choices and colors.

OK, this entry is a bit more difficult than the simple fitted (non-adjustable) pouch. It seems that there are not many adjustable pouch patterns around! True, it is a bit more involved than a simple fitted pouch, but finding any DIY adjustable pouch patterns is hard! One mom said that designing an adjustable pouch is a labor of love (not to mention a lot of work) and it’s not something that is readily shared. As an adjustable pouch designer myself, I agree. That being said, here’s what I found after scouring all available sources…

Simplicity 3712 — Adjustable Pouch Sling (Not free) This pattern adjusts with gathers on the shoulders and webbing/buckles. You can buy this at your local fabric store.

So you want to make your own baby sling, huh? And I thought I was the only one who knew how to sew anymore! None of my mom friends (or any of my friends actually, lol) sew, but you obviously do, so here ya go!

What kind of baby sling do you want? There are a lot of different kinds out there, but I’ll make it easy for you. This first post will focus on the non-adjustable pouch sling. Also called a tube sling or fitted pouch sling. Some popular non-adjustable slings are Hotslings, Peanut Shell, and Comfy Joey to name a few.

The following pros & cons are borrowed with permission from The Sling Directory (www.slingdirectory.com).

Non-adjustable Pouch Sling:

Pros

Next we’ll tackle the Adjustable Pouch Sling…