How to make a Ring Sling on a Budget

When I had my first baby, I didn’t know anything about babywearing. However, when I had my second, I was prepared. I had done the research, chosen a stretchy wrap for the newborn stage and I started babywearing when my little one was 3 days old. We are almost a year into our journey, and although we’ve tried several different carrying methods, the ring sling is still one of our favorites.

A ring sling is super easy to make. And the best part is that you can custom make it to fit your needs at a fraction of the cost of buying a new one!

Ring slings can be made from several different types of fabric. You can choose from 100% Linen, Dupioni silk, and mid-weight Cotton. You want the fabric to be strong enough to hold your baby, while also being breathable enough for it to be comfortable to use in the summer. I’m using Osnaburg to make this a budget friendly project. Roc lon is the brand most people use and love.

Woven fabric like Osnaburg is a safe option to use when making a ring sling. It is constructed with two threads, one horizontal and one vertical as shown in the picture below. Never use stretchy or super thin fabric to make a ring sling.

Osnaburg is a bottom weight cotton, and because it is sold raw and unprocessed, it needs to be scoured before using it to babywear. This simple process is shown in the steps below.

How to scour Osnaburg fabric

You will need:

• A cooler or a few baking sheets to cover your kitchen sink
• Washing soda
• Blue Dawn dish soap

Start by filling a few large pots with water and bring them to a boil. You will need lots of water! While the water is heating, sprinkle the washing soda on the bottom of the cooler, followed by the soap. The fabric will be added last so that the soap doesn’t bleach it. A bleached spot will not absorb any dye. Alternately, you could use your kitchen sink to scour the fabric. Just cover it with a baking sheet or two and keep adding hot water to ensure that the soaking water stays hot enough.

Once the soap and washing soda have been dissolved in the hot water, carefully add the fabric. Add more hot water until the fabric is submerged.

Leave the fabric to soak for one hour, then drain the dirty soaking water.

After the water has been drained, run a rinse cycle with no detergent to remove any residue left behind from the scouring process. Then, do a full wash cycle on the hottest setting with detergent. Dry on high heat to pre-shrink the fabric.

Iron the edges of the fabric so they’ll lay flat and therefore be easier to cut and sew.

Now comes the fun part! The sewing process is fairly simple and straightforward. Once you have all the supplies ready, you can start to get creative!

Sewing supplies:

• Sewing machine
• Thread – If you plan to dye the finished ring sling, you’ll want to use thread to match the dye pod, or simply use cotton thread. Any thread or fabric that is not a natural fiber will not take on any dye.
• Cutting mat and rotary cutter
• Scissors
• Pins
• Fabric marker
• Tape measure
• Dye (if using) *See Note 2. This is the one that I used and recommend.
• 2 – 2.5 yards of Fabric. I am using Osnaburg
• Rings. Make sure to choose rings that are made specifically for babywearing purposes.

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Cut the fabric to your desired width and length. Make sure to add 1/2 – 1 inch of seam allowance.

Most ring slings are 75-85 inches long and 27-31 inches wide. A narrow ring sling is easier to use when you have a small baby. However, a little bit of extra fabric will be nice to have once you have a toddler! As for length, any excess can be tucked in around the rings or thrown over your shoulder if it gets in the way. You want the ring sling to be too long rather than too short. You can always shorten the hem later if you find that your ring sling is too long.

If your fabric is 60 inches wide, it can be cut down the middle and you’ll have enough fabric to make two ring slings. It’s super convenient to have two, one to use at home and one for running errands or going to the park. The ring sling I use at home usually ends up being splattered with food since I babywear a lot while cooking meals for my family. Most Osnaburg fabric is only 44-45 inches wide, as was the case with mine. I used the cutoff pieces to make curtains for my windows.

Make a double fold hem by folding the raw edge of the fabric in about 1/4 – 1/2 inch, then fold the fabric once more to hide the raw edge, as shown in the pictures below.

Sew the two long sides and ONE short end using the same process. Leave the other short end raw for now.

The raw unfinished edge is where the rings will be threaded on to the fabric.

I made my ring sling with a gathered shoulder, which I find to be the most comfortable. To make a gathered shoulder, measure 12 inches down from the unfinished edge and mark with pins or a fabric marker. I found it helpful to mark the fabric on the wrong side which is where you’ll be pinning the last hem.

Insert the raw edge of the fabric through both of the rings. You’ll want to keep the rings between the fabrics edge and the 12 inch guide markers.

For the last raw edge, only fold the fabric once on the wrong side to make a single fold hem.

Pin the hem in place using the 12 inch guide markers that you created.

This step can be a bit tricky with all of the fabric bunched up in the rings. Keeping the fabric flat as you go can help with this.

Sew along the edge to secure the hem.

Using your presser foot as a guide, sew two additional lines for added durability.