Fixing a Broken Thread on a Woven Wrap - Photo Tutorial!

A woven wrap is a long length of material with a loose weave, this enables the fabric to keep it's strength and shape while having a good amount of 'give' along the bias (diagonal). These qualities make the fabric ideal for carrying a baby, allowing mama and bubbah hours of comfortable walking/playing/shopping :-D

... sleeping... 

The downside of this loose weave is that individual threads can become snagged on clothing, car doors, velcro... and be pulled out of the weave, causing a nasty little loop to form on the surface of the fabric. In the most extreme incidences these threads can snap ad become broken, or can even form a hole :-( A broken thread is, unfortunately a hole waiting to happen. Once a hole forms in fabric it's much more liable to a tear... so for many people a broken thread is the death if a wrap... because they can't trust a 'hole waiting to happen' to carry their baby... fair enough! ... but they can be fixed :-) fixed broken threads are not always pretty, but they are safe if done correctly :-)

Tutorial and Pattern: Wrap Strap Bag!

Ok :-) the tutorial and my first ever printable PDF pattern is HERE!!

Click here to download the pattern for this bag

Click here to download the tutorial for this bag

Happy making!! I cant wait to see what you guys do!!

Edit 3pm 29/07 ... ok I just realised long time readers of this blog may not 'get' this bag, lol, it had wraparound straps which make it easier to use when you're carrying a baby in a sling.  And if you're carrying your baby on your front you can thread the straps through the side loops and tie together at the bottom to wear as a backpack!

the idea is not unique to this bag, but this bag is constructed very differently to other babywearing bags, with a view to making it easier for people to DIY at home :-)

EDIT 7/8/12
The eagle eyed among you will notice that this bag has side loops similar to the popular Onbag. If you've ever attempted to make an Onbag you will be able to see that the construction of this bag is entirely different.

Advantages of this bag/tutorial over the Onbag/tutorial

• This bag has separate straps 'pieces' this means that the whole bag can be made out of 1 metre outer and 1 - 1-1 1/4 metre of lining fabric - this is substantially less than Onbag which requires you to make the strap, bag base and body out of a 3.5m length). 
• This bag comes with a full printable PDF pattern. This will help you ensure you cut exactly the right shapes to construct your bag. It will also make the bag easier to make for experienced sewists who are used to using paper patterns.
• This bag comes with a full printable PDF photo tutorial. There's also a full collection 65 of work-in-progress pics over at my flickr to guide you through every step of the way.
• This bag comes with a zip closure as standard. Fully explained in the tutorial, no meed to worry about sewing it, or keeping your belongings secure when out and about!
• This bag is designed for DIY'ers. All you need to put this together is a sewing machine that does a regular straight stitch and a zipper foot. No endless rolled hems, promise!

Finished: Wrap Strap Bag

I got a bit excited about this one and forgot to actually post it on the blog... whoops!

If you're not on my facebook page you should be! You'd know ALL about this if you did!

Ok so, if you dont carry your baby in a sling this one'll have really passed you by, but the 'nappy bag' situation is a real problem for slingy mamas! so here's a bag with straps that tie around you and your baby, and it can also be converted to a backpack for when you're carrying your little one on your front :-)

Finished: Wrap Conversion Ring Sling

Full tutorial to come but here's some glamour shots of me and my boy in a Ring Sling I made for a friend. And a little information about what a ring sling is! haha

Finished! Bazinga! Ipad Sleeve.

I made this

out of this

:-) will put the tutorial together soon... <3

Geek Test

What do you see when you look at this picture?

please tell me I'm not the only one..

Oh My! Lady Geek of the Week!

I was featured as Lady Geek of the Week on Being Geek Chic

I have a kind of blogging solipsism which means that I'm always more than mildly surprised when anyone actually reads my blog. So thanks so much Being Geek Chic! I'm quite flattered!

A also like the phrases:
"not your average knit one, pearl two how-to blog"
and
"balance between your inner June Cleaver and self-proclaimed soul-sister Betty Friedan"

I need to find out who June Cleaver and Betty Friedlan are but I'm sure that was a nice thing to say (I know... I'm rubbish, right?!)

So THANKYOU Being Geek Chic and I PROMISE that next time you send me an e-mail I WILL reply!! haha