I'm so crafty!

Okay, well, maybe not SO crafty. Just a smidge crafty.

Friday evening there is a baby shower for a girl in my ward (congregation) at church. She registered for a Moby wrap among other things:

Those who know me know that I love to babywear. It's easy and convenient, keeping Amy snuggled close to me (or now, up on my back where she can see everything) while keeping my hands free. The wrap in this picture I made myself. It's stretchy, like a Moby.

Now, the problem with a Moby brand wrap is that it's thicker fabric, and it tends to sag. It just doesn't have as much support as, say, a DIY stretchy. Also, it is WAY cheaper to do it yourself. I got the fabric for my stretchy for around $25 and split it into 2 wraps, which made it around $12-13 per wrap. As opposed to an actual Moby, which is usually around $40.

Since I saw that this girl had registered for a Moby, I thought to myself 1) I don't want to spend $40 on a gift. Sorry, but I just don't have the money for that. 2) I don't even like the Moby brand. 3) I can do better.

So, I got some black jersey knit fabric from a friend for cheap and spent less than $3 on 2 ft. of pretty cotton fabric:

And then I used this tutorial to sew it on: http://aloadofcraft.blogspot.com/2010/06/tutorial-how-to-make-baby-wrap-part-3.html

I was surprised at how easy it was, actually. I think it turned out really well. I did have a minor freak out when I finished, because when it's just folded, the panel on the front looks loose and doesn't match up exactly to the stretchy fabric. But then I remembered, well, duh--because when I actually put it on, the stretchy fabric stretches (obviously) and pulls the cotton flat. If it were flat when at rest, then the wrap wouldn't stretch very well. Crisis averted.

The finished product:

Granted, it looks a bit funny because there is not a baby in there! I'll take a picture with Amy in it when she's awake and happy. But it turned out well, and I'm excited to give it to her! I keep checking her registry to make sure no one has bought the Moby for her. So far, so good!