Mei Tai Tutorial

All I wanted was a Babyhawk mei tai... well not for 150 smackaroos... THEN all i wanted was a babyhawk pattern... well that wasnt available....  SO THEN what i wanted was $150..... but i just cant spare it for another baby carrier....  but I NEED to go letterboxing and i cant do that without a baby hawk!!

Of course there are other mei tai's out there, some with patterns some cheaper... but those all have one big problem, that i cant get past... they arent Baby hawks!!!

The solution to my dilemma was to make one, and write a tutorial for all those other penny pinching babywearing momma's on the edge out there!!! 

Here it is, a reversible baby carrier with all the style of a baby hawk.... lots and lots of pictures, but that is only because i broke it down so much... it is all so simple its scary(the last step is a little on the tricky side) so relax i did all the figuring out for ya, alls you gotta do it make it.

Lets get started!!  Step One: find some coupons, head out to your local craft store, and buy 2 1/2 yards of cotton twill and a half yard of a patterned material (i used duck for its stability and durability, no need for an extra liner)

Prepare/Cut Fabric:

Prewash and dry your fabric... i hate doing this, but for this project it is a must!

now iron it all... also something i HATE to do, but you must do it

Cut out your pieces like this:
Primary color:
(cut down the length of the 2 1/2 yards)
3-                  70" X 8.5" (straps)
2-       6" X 18" (body piece A)
1-  12.5" X 18" (body Piece B)
(You can also make body piece B a patterned piece but for husbands sake i used grey)
1-         12.5 X 17.5" (head rest)
Patterned Color:
1-   12.5" X 18" (body piece C)

take your head rest square and lay it out flat

fold it in half length wise

then fold it in half long wise, then cut an angle on the top left corner that is 2 inches in and three inches down from the top

it should look like this unfolded

cut some batting 1/2 inch smaller all the way around

 Sew the body of the Mei Tai:

Sew(right sides together) body piece A to B, and body piece A to C ( i surged the seams after i sewed them, but still left the half inch seam allowance for added security)

sew both piece together with right sides facing each other,
until you make a tube, the should be in the order of A,B,A,C

iron the tube so that the two A pieces are folded in half, and the seams are matched

iron the seams so that when put together they are facing opposite
directions... for easier sewing and a less bulky look

Sew the top two straps:

fold and sew two "strap" pieces in half right sides together, sew an angle on
one end, and leave the other end open. Snip the corner so it lays flat when turned

turn right side out... with a broom handle, it helps!!!

iron... I know i HATE ironing too, but you HAVE to do it... so buck up and do it

i used foam for this part, cause i wanted it extra cushy, but you can use a
folded piece of batting. Cut it to 3 inches wide and 18 inches long

stuff into your straps, i hat to turn mine inside out up to where i wanted
 the foam and pull it over the foam like putting on a pair of stockings

make sure there is about 3 inches of fabric on the end before the foam starts, and then sew all the way down the foam plus and inch on each side... I sewed 1 inch in from each side of the strap.

Sew the waist strap:

Fold you third strap in half, and the body of your mie tai in half, and line up the folded edges, mark/pin where the end of your mie tai is... you will be sewing up to these pins, so that the body of your mei tai can slide in.

make sure to mark both layers

sew up to your pins

Attaching waist Straps:

flip right side out and then iron 1/2 inch fold in the un sewn section

slid the body piece in 1 1/2 inches

Pin... I know I KNOW, you hate pinning... me too... just tell
 yourself it will be worth it in the end!

use the triple stitch setting for this top stitching

sew it twice, very close to the top/opened edge of the waist strap

Attach the top straps:

lay you body piece with waist strap attached onto your cutting board and measure how tall it is, cut it to 2 inches below your desired height (my desired height was 21 inches i cut it to 19 inches) then cut angles on each side 2 inches in from the side and 3 inches down from the top... refer to picture

pin straps on, with foam even with angled sides

i messed up here... but i will try and tell you what you should do, put your ruler a half inch down from the bottom point of your angled cut and trim the strap off at that line... then sew a box, with an X in it to reinforce the straps

box with X... yours will look different, cause you will have done it right!!

 Adding the back rest: ALMOST DONE!!!

line you back rest with batting (it doesn't matter what kind, i would recommend against high loft, it is all i had on hand and it was quite difficult to work with) quilter spray adhesive will make your life much much easier!! fold your edges about a half inch over the batting on all sides

lay your mie tai on top of the back rest and fold it in half over your mie tai,matching the angle of your back rest with the angle of your straps, and pin the dickens out of it!!! 

pin carefully matching the folded edges nicely... you can fold the angled cut of the body piece in towards the center of the mie tai, so that it wont stick out o the back rest

sew carefully around the angle sides and bottom of the back rest. starting from one side and ending at the other... do not sew the folded top edge(unless you really want to i suppose) 

mark three lines across the back rest

sew them from one end to the other, go from the same end and the same direction
each time, so as to avoid bunching!

Grab a happy baby and test it out:

baby three wasn't to happy, and didn't want to be attached to mommy in this way... he had other things in mind

wow i really need to clean this mirror!! Baby 3 was fast asleep for this picture!!