STBS Sew a Padded, Reversible, Contoured Pouch

Sewing your Pouch........

3. Trim edges and inspect to make sure both pieces of fabric are caught by stitching along both long edges, front & back. Re-stitch as needed.

4. Turn pouch completely inside-out and topstitch 1/4" from the long edges, smoothing the contours with your hand as you go.

6. Turn pouch to reverse side & straight stitch along the curve, sealing in/encasing your trimmed seam from the previous step. Open the sling up so that the curved seam lies flattish. Fold over the flap of fabric on the curve that you just created and stitch it to the body of the sling. Sew slowly, keeping the flap pressed down with your hand as you go. This is tricky due to the curve, and, if you're using thicker fabrics, your sewing machine may sieze up. Just take it real slow. Sharp needles and a zig zag stitch help. Re-inforce the stitching where the curve edge meets the long edges. The finished pouch seam will have two visible lines of parallel stitching and one hidden line of stitching....that's a total of 3 lines of stitching to make the sling secure. Voila! You are done!

Adding the first piece of leg padding:

2. Open the folded fabric so that you have a 2-layer hourglass shape. Beginning at the top right long edge, straight-stitch an inch, place a piece of padding along the edge, straight stitch over that, and continue along the length of the fabric. As you reach the end of the padding strip, continue to straight stitch along the edge of the pouch, securing the two pieces of fabric together. Add the first shoulder padding piece as you near the beginning of the contour ed shoulder edge & then the last leg padding piece 6" before the end of the pouch (leave the last inch of fabric free of padding to mirror the top of the right edge.)
Rotate the pouch 180 degrees and straight stitch the pieces together along the edge, remembering to place and stitch over the last piece of padding on the shoulder edge.
If you are skipping the padding, then just straight stitch the long edges of the pouch.
DO NOT STITCH THE CURVED END OF THE FABRIC YET.

1" no padding:

Trim, turn &
topstitch.

Bring curved edges
together (fold in half) & stitch in place.

5. Fold pouch in half so that raw curved seat edges meet flush. Zig-zag along the seat curve, catching all of the 4 layers. Inspect to make sure all pieces of fabric are indeed caught. This is crucial for the safety of your pouch. If all 4 layers are not caught, sew a parallel line a little further in towards the body of the pouch, far enough in that you are sure all layers are stitched together the length of the curve. Try on your pouch to see how close your fit is.....if it's too big by several inches, re-sew the seat seam further in as needed. Trim seam close to stiches.

Create pouch seat seam:
Stitch curve layers together.
Turn inside out & encase seam.
Stitch seam flat to pouch.

1. Cut your padding: I make 4 strips, each ~5" long, ~1.5" wide. The padding I use is interfacing, found in big rolls of differing thickness at fabric stores, but you could also use fleece scraps. I personally don't find padding for a flannel & twill pouch necessary, but it's easy to add and certainly can't hurt to have.
-LW

Both shoulder padding
pieces in place:

These instructions are intended for non-commercial use only. Leah Walthery & Sweet Things Bay Slings, LLC. cannot be held accountable for accidents or damage associated with pouches made from these instructions. Practice using something heavyish and not alive until you are sure your sling is safely sewn and your fabric choice is sturdy prior to using your homemade sling with an actual factual baby! If you choose to make a sling from these instructions, sew to your heart's content, but kindly give credit where is due and provide a reference back to Sweet Things Baby Slings, LLC. if you share the information.
Please do send an email to Leah at L_walthery@comcast.net with any questions or suggestions concerning this set of instructions. I strongly suggest you check out our online stock sling pages, pouch sling section and fabric info for ideas and a greater understanding of this sling style.
Here is the web address: http://www.sweetthingsbabyslings.com. Carry your baby with comfort & love!

Adding the last piece of leg padding: