doll sling

today's fun-during-naptime project was to make a baby doll sling for our little friend ella, who is having her second birthday party today! (nothing like waiting until the last minute, but i couldn't think of a good idea until this morning.) ella loves her babies, and is about to become a big sister, so this seems like a good gift. (maybe she already has a doll sling? but, who can have too many slings?)

it's not like you really need a pattern for a doll sling, but i have had great luck with the practical, easy-to-follow patterns from jan andrea in the past. sure enough, she steered me right once again.

the fabric is from a duvet cover that was on clearance at target last year (look for a dress for eva in the same fabric coming "soon" -- there are pearl snaps (ala western shirt) along one edge, which i hope to utilize for that project, still thinking it through...) anyway, it's a nice soft fabric, girly-fun but not princessy.

it's a basic ring sling, really, with a box pleat on the shoulder. i added a patch on the tail with ella's name, and i'm proud that my skills at using a basic zigzag stitch to machine embroider (sans computerized machine) are improving. i worry that the sling may be a bit small, but i didn't want the tail to be too long and become a tripping hazard... hopefully it will work. (i'll test it on eva when she wakes up, she's roughly ella's size).

lots of doll slings i've seen don't seem to keep the dolls in very well, and i think that's because the "pouch" part isn't secured, so the kid ends up wearing a tube rather than a pocket. i tried to fix that by folding the fabric in half before affixing the rings, but that inadvertantly made it work for one shoulder rather than both. i guess i'm okay with that, since having the baby stay in is probably more important.



i must credit the jan andrea pattern for the idea of using velcro at the rings. rather than permanently sewing the rings in place, they're secured with velcro. that way, if the child gets the sling caught on something and pulls, the velcro should come undone, thus avoiding a strangulation hazard. i bought velcro that has both hook and loop on each side (cool, huh?), so it should be snag free -- so if you forget to close it before throwing it in the wash, it doesn't attack and destroy your underwear.

i think i completed this in just over an hour (not counting my jaunt to the fabric this morning for macrame rings). pretty quick little project. i'm a fast sewer, in part due to practice, and in part due to the fact that my presser foot was maladjusted for years, so my machine only had "off" or "zippy-fast", so i got good at zooming along. :) i've since had it replaced, so normal speed sewing is now an option.

thanks to winky for being the model. off to get ready so we're not late for the party.


Update: eva ran away screaming "no!" when i attempted to have her try it on. she seems to have this reaction to everything i sew, which is moderately distressing, i'll admit. wendy liked it, so it just remains to be seen if ella will. if she doesn't, i'd bet she'll warm up to it once she sees her mama carrying the new baby. modeling is a really strong instinct (i say, as eva is across the room next to papa turning a screwdriver at various bolts and things on larry's project.)