Did you know that your local fabric store, thrift store or even department store could very well have the wrap of your dreams inside?  The only problem is, its not quite a wrap yet! But it isnt hard to do!

The great thing about making your own wrap is that no one will ever have the same wrap as you. It would be your unique carrier for you and your child.  It is something you can look at and say "hey, I made that!" And I think that is a terrific feeling!

Now this part of the webpage, is still very new.  Please bare with me as I try to organize it to best suit its viewers. 

What should you look for in a material for making a woven wrap?

 I sudgest using a cotton, something made with natural fibers. They tend to breathe better.  You want it to be a relaxed fabric too, something flexible and not stiff, you dont want to wrap a baby in canvas or leather!!  Think, "would I liked to be wrapped in this?"

Another thing to conisder is, does "the sun shine through?" When holding the material up to the light, can you see the light peeking through the weave? If so, thats good! you dont want a very tight weave (like in quilters cottons for example) ..that doesnt help it be comfortable.  If the sun is shining through this means more comfort and breathablity.

Here are some examples of what I have found in hopes to better help you find the right thing

in the fashion section of your local fabric store

- dont go for fabrics that have a wrong side, such as quilters cottons, shiny polyesters, or satin. Although yes you CAN wrap a baby in them (because face it, you can wrap a baby in almost anything!) , it isnt as comfy as openly woven, natural materials that also go on sale quite a bit, so in the long run is better and cheaper! :D

gauzes usually sell for about 7$ a meter CDN, so 7 x 5 meters =35$
and sales happen frequently, so it can get even cheaper than this!

Cotton gauze/crinkle cotton
now 100% gauze or crinkle cotton is an easy and practical choice.  Crinkle cotton is slightly heavier than 100% cotton gauze.    It is very breathable for summer, dyes easy .  I reccomend buying at least five meters of the gauze or crinkle cotton.  If there is too much, you can always shorten it. Better to buy too much than too little.  with a wrap that is going to be thin like this, I reccomend cutting it to be around 32 inches wide, that way you have more shoulder padding.
 

Woven cottons, cotton woven blends and other natural fibers

Sometimes when browsing the fabric store you will come across amazing woven materials that are cotton or cotton blends. This one in the picture shown is a 55% linen, 45% cotton blend. It is a tiny bit thicker than gauze, and is breatheable, moveable, and has no stretch to it.  This type of fabric will make an excellent wrap.  Needs a bit more breaking in due to the linen, but works wonderfully. I would reccomend a material like this be hemmed between 27-32 inches wide and again, 5 meters long.  psnaberg, woven hemp/cotton blends will work amazing as well, but like linen, they need to be broken in a bit more.

 THE UPHOLSTRY SECTION 

****a few things to consider when looking here...
Some upholstry fabrics are treated with things like a stain gaurd, or are permanant press.  They can be made of synthetic fibres just like you would find in other departments. Make sure you read your fabric label carefully. You do not want to purchase something that is treated with chemicals.. remember, you are wrapping precious cargo in your wrap.  If you are unsure ask an employee of the fabric store. They will be able to assist you


The upholstry section can be a gold mine!!! You can buy some amazing jaquard fabrics, that have no wrong side, are 100% natural fibres and are absolutly beautiful.  Some can be very heavy, like in this example of a upholstry material I purchased

	as thick as this is, it is a very very comfortable wrap, in all honestly, the most comfortable wrap I own.  Even though it technically has a "wrong side".. which would be the lighter side, it iis still quite beautiful on each side. So it can be worn either way.  It is not 100% cotton, however, it was an "unknown fibre"... but for the price I got it for, which was about 4$ CDN a meter, I grabbed it anyways... I did a burn test when I got home, discovered it is most likley a cotton/rayon blend.
this image to the right shows how much thicker this wrap is in comparison to a gauze wrap, but as thick as it is, the light still shines through! I made this wrap about 30 inches wide, and 5 meters long

Now that you've gotten your fabric. Lemmie show you how to make it into a wrap!!

 sew your wrap!!!!!!!