Baby Carrier Chew/suck Pad
We have an ergobaby carrier which my son really loves to sleep in. And I love it too because it gives us a lot of freedom (ie I actually get to leave the house). However this baby is a real dribbly chewer and the straps where he's chewed them are getting gross. I did wash the carrier (he was 16 weeks old before I washed it so I'm clearly not all that worried about hygiene) but we can't do that all the time or the carrier will fall apart, so I looked at what other parents have done (mine is far from the only chewy baby) and I found chew/suck pads.
The official ergobaby ones are white which is going to get really disgusting really quickly, and the other ones you can buy all seem more complicated than they need to be - They are flat and use fasteners to fit them round the strap. But they could just be a tube that threads onto the strap.
The other element to this instructable is that we were given 13 bibs by various people when the baby was born. It occurred to me that bibs have the constituent parts needed for a chew pad (top fabric and absorbent layer), saving me time and effort.
And so the idea was born to turn two bibs into very simple chew pads.
The official ergobaby ones are white which is going to get really disgusting really quickly, and the other ones you can buy all seem more complicated than they need to be - They are flat and use fasteners to fit them round the strap. But they could just be a tube that threads onto the strap.
The other element to this instructable is that we were given 13 bibs by various people when the baby was born. It occurred to me that bibs have the constituent parts needed for a chew pad (top fabric and absorbent layer), saving me time and effort.
And so the idea was born to turn two bibs into very simple chew pads.
Supplies
Two bibs. The ones I used were from a set so they were similar but not identical. These bibs were also designed by someone who's never met a baby as they come off over the head - not something you'd want to do after the baby has smeared food all over the bib!
Sewing machine (or needle if you wanted. There's not a lot of sewing involved so you could sew them by hand)
Thread
Scissors
Sewing machine (or needle if you wanted. There's not a lot of sewing involved so you could sew them by hand)
Thread
Scissors
Measure
We have the ergobaby adapt. I measured around the straps and at the widest point it measured 18cm. The bibs are 24.5cm wide and 20cm from the bottom to the ribbing around the neck hole. The bib will be sideways in the final design (so if you care about things being the right way up think about that when picking your bib).
If you have a different carrier the straps might be a different width, so measure before you buy your bib (or look through your bib surplus to find one that will fit around the straps of your carrier)
If you have a different carrier the straps might be a different width, so measure before you buy your bib (or look through your bib surplus to find one that will fit around the straps of your carrier)
Make the Bib Into a Hemmed Rectangle
The reason I'm making these pads is so that I can chuck them in the washing machine regularly, and that means they need to be robust enough to handle washing. So they can't have rough edges, even on the inside where they won't be seen.
The obvious next step would be to cut the neck hole off to make a rectangle of usable fabric and then to hem the rough side, but the fabric is really stretchy and when I tried cutting the bib then hemming it it came out really wobbly. So instead I recommend that you.
- Fold the bib where the hem will be.
- Pin in place
- Sew*
- Cut off the excess
*Because the fabric is stretchy I googled it and it said to use a zig zag stitch and take it easy in order not to stretch it out of shape.
The obvious next step would be to cut the neck hole off to make a rectangle of usable fabric and then to hem the rough side, but the fabric is really stretchy and when I tried cutting the bib then hemming it it came out really wobbly. So instead I recommend that you.
- Fold the bib where the hem will be.
- Pin in place
- Sew*
- Cut off the excess
*Because the fabric is stretchy I googled it and it said to use a zig zag stitch and take it easy in order not to stretch it out of shape.
Pin Into a Tube
The thing that differentiates this design from others is that the other ones I've found are made from a flat piece with fasteners to make it into a tube, however as the design of my carrier means I can thread the pad down the strap I've decided to make a simple tube (also less things to break can only be a good thing for something that will go through the washing machine regularly).
To make sure you sew in the right place position the bib around your carrier's strap INSIDE OUT and pin it.
This also means you can check that the pad comes off easily when taking it off. I found that I'd pinned it a bit tight so sewed it bigger than I'd pinned it. I've still pretty tight but not a huge struggle to get on.
To make sure you sew in the right place position the bib around your carrier's strap INSIDE OUT and pin it.
This also means you can check that the pad comes off easily when taking it off. I found that I'd pinned it a bit tight so sewed it bigger than I'd pinned it. I've still pretty tight but not a huge struggle to get on.
Sew Into a Tube
Remember how I said that zig zag stitch is best for stretchy fabric? I knew I'd need a straight line of stitching to make the seam but I also thought it would be sensible to start off with a zig zag line and then do a straight line after it was all together and not wobbly.
I realise this is hard to explain in words so I've added a photo with the different rows of sewing highlighted.
I realise this is hard to explain in words so I've added a photo with the different rows of sewing highlighted.
Turn Right Way Round and Thread Onto Your Carrier Strap
That's it! Turn the pad the right way round and thread it onto the strap of your carrier (then do it all again for the other strap).
Because it's such a simple and quick design you could easily make improvements, for example on my carrier there are buttons just below the point where the shoulder strap meets the fabric that goes round the baby's back. I may sew a hair bobble onto the pad to hold it in place at the bottom of the strap, though it's pretty snug and may be unnecessary over engineering so I'm leaving it for now.
I hope this plan helps you to have a slightly more hygienic baby carrier. If you use the carrier a lot you might want to make 2 pairs so you can have a pair on the carrier and a pair in the wash. You could even get 2 of the same multipacks of bibs so you can mix them up and have matching sets of chew pads.
Because it's such a simple and quick design you could easily make improvements, for example on my carrier there are buttons just below the point where the shoulder strap meets the fabric that goes round the baby's back. I may sew a hair bobble onto the pad to hold it in place at the bottom of the strap, though it's pretty snug and may be unnecessary over engineering so I'm leaving it for now.
I hope this plan helps you to have a slightly more hygienic baby carrier. If you use the carrier a lot you might want to make 2 pairs so you can have a pair on the carrier and a pair in the wash. You could even get 2 of the same multipacks of bibs so you can mix them up and have matching sets of chew pads.