Sunday, June 13, 2010

Stitcking, Sketching, Scraping Sunday-June 13th

This week was pretty slow in terms of crafting or pretty much anything in my house. Wee baby was going through a major growth spurt (almost 2 pounds in less than a week) and as a result I was one handed for much of the week. I've been meaning to share a Mei Tai carrier that I designed and made for Ruadhán but being one handing I didn't get around to blogging this week either!

As my children tend to be quite attached, carriers are a must. When Morgaine was a baby my favorite carrier was a Mei Tai but it was only borrowed from a friend. I found that I could very easily do everything I needed to do with a that type of carrier. This time around, the only carrier I had was a ring sling and I didn't find that it allowed me as much motion as my Mei Tai. I spent a couple weeks procrastinating because I wasn't sure it I had the skills required to sew one. As crocheting has been my thing the last little while I figured I would give crocheting a Mei Tai a go instead.

I searched and I searched but I could not find a crocheted Mei Tai pattern anywhere (I wonder if there is a reason I don't know about). I think it turned out fairly well but we've only been using it for the past two weeks or so and I haven't washed it yet so I am hoping it will keep it's shape. I purposely used cheap acrylic yarn to prevent shrinking. I kind of winged it with a combination of single and double chains. The main body is double chained as I felt that it would be too stiff all in single chains and along each side there is a single chained border for support. This border is also reinforced with an additional layer of single chains that I sewed into the body and then extended up to become the straps of the carrier. I did the same along the bottom where it ties. Additional features include wide shoulder straps than narrow so that there isn't so much bulk where the carrier ties in front. I also added a black single chained border around the whole carrier to hide where the reinforced sides were sown together. The only problem I can see is that the carrier is perhaps a little stretchy. With extended wear I find myself having to pull the carrier up and retying the straps. I may add a single chain band up the middle of the body of the carrier to see if that helps but it really is a minor thing. If I were to make it again I would likely do the entire carrier with single chains because the stiffness I was trying to avoid is probably a good thing in a a baby carrier.

Ruadhán seems to enjoy the carrier and I know that I can get a lot more done when he is in there so I would have to say that this has been a success!

What have you been working on? Any success (or even failures) to report? Below is your Mr. Linky (remember you must click the image to post your link and view other people's links as well).

Share away!

10 comments:

  1. Looks Great. I loved carriers when I had my babies... I got one as a baby shower gift though... I did not try making one.

    I signed Mr. Linky with my Prayer Book I made.

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  2. I think maybe the concern is that it will stretch too much for a mei tai...over time your straps will probably "grow" and the body will probably stretch out of shape due to the weight on them. It's an interesting idea, though and it might work while he's still small.

    I have a couple of mei tai carriers I sewed when my oldest daughter was a wee one. They are squirreled away somewhere:-) My youngest daughter is a bit too active for them. If I find one when we move, I'll send it to you.

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  3. I've linked up :)

    What Susan said about the stretching is why there aren't patterns for crochet Mei Tais. For a wee little one though it works :)

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  4. I love the prayers book idea, Debbie! Thanks for sharing!

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  5. Yes, I agree that it stretches some (which was a concern I had when making it). I think that if it was all single chained it might not stretch so much. I'm hoping with the reinforced sides we'll be able to use it for a while. So far, so good at 14 pounds!

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  6. Thanks for linking up!

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  7. Oh, and thanks for the offer of sending me a Mei Tai, Susan. I would love to have a sown one. I'm sure we'll be using them for a while! If I get adventurous I might try my hand at sewing as well.

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  8. Hi, K~
    I've linked up with a post from this spring/winter~ Maybe this will inspire me to get photos on and off my camera in a more timely manner.... ;)

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  9. Thanks for hosting. I'm all linked up. I hope it takes off!
    Love the carrier. I hope it doesn't stretch too much. If it does, maybe a soft nylon cording might be a little tighter.

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  10. I loved my carriers when my little guys were babies! The only one I made was a ring sling though - your Mei Tai is cute even if it is stretchy!
    I Linked a post from May of some Graduation gifts I made for my nieces friends.

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