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Baby Wearing

Wraps

There are two main types of wrap - stretchy and woven. Stretchy wraps are generally made of knits such as jersey or interlock. It is easy to take babies in and out of a stretchy wrap. This can be easier for the wearer as the sling often remains tied on and the baby is lifted out and put back in as required. Several factors influence stretchiness: carriers with any spandex or lycra content will tend to be very stretchy, carriers which are 100% cotton or other natural fibers will tend to have less lengthwise stretch. Woven wraps are pieces of woven fabric of varying thickness. Natural fibers are usually chosen, with cotton being the most common, but hemp, linen, silk and wool are also used. A variety of weaves are used. Most common are homespun or handwoven fabrics with simple over-under weaves, twills and jaquards. Most weaves provide some give or stretch diagonally.

How to tie a Mobi Wrap

Forward Facing directions

Woven back carrier much safer, because of the non stretch material.

Mei Tai

Traditionally, the Chinese mei tai was a square or nearly square piece of cloth with parallel unpadded straps emerging from the sides of each corner. It was traditionally secured by bringing all the straps together in a twist with the ends tucked. A variation on the traditional mei tai was popularized in Australia in the 1960s. There are now hundreds of different brands of mei tai available with a variety of features, but the longer straps, taller body and wrap-style tying method are found in almost all of them. Mei tais are suitable for front or back carries with children ranging from birth to as heavy as a parent can support.

Ring Slings

These are baby carriers that use dynamic tension, a length of cloth and metal (such as aluminum) or nylon rings. One end of the cloth is sewn to two rings. The cloth wraps around the wearer's body from shoulder to opposite hip and back up to the shoulder, and the end is threaded through the rings to create a buckle effect. The baby sits or lies in the resulting pocket. Once a sling is threaded, it can be taken off and put back on without rethreading. A threaded sling forms a loop of cloth. The wearer can put one arm and the head through the loop of cloth to put the sling back on.