Mei Tai Patterns and Tutorials

All of the following links will take you to external, unaffiliated websites:

Very Basic Tutorial from Sleeping Baby Productions

Wrap Strap Tablecloth Conversion Mei Tai

Fine & Fair Tablecloth Conversion Mei Tai Pattern

Mei Tai with Interchangeable panels

Barefoot & Pregnant Adjustable Panel Mei Tai

Hobo Mama Mei Tai with padded straps

The rest of this page is under construction. Please forgive the mess.

Mei Tai Tutorial

A mei tai is a traditional Chinese baby carrier. In it's simplest form, it is simply a rectangular body panel with four long straps coming from the four corners. The two bottom straps tie around the wearers waist with the carrier hanging down like an apron, and then the carrier is brought up over the infant and the top straps are tied around the wearer and baby in order to close off the open sides. After a woven wrap and a ring sling, a mei tai is a good starter project for a beginner DIYer.

Tutorial Sections

• Materials needed
• Panel styles and sizes
• Shoulder strap styles and sizes
• Waist strap styles and sizes
• Construction
• How to wear

Materials Needed

Tablecloths are popular choices for mei tai conversions for their combination of strength, floppiness, and pretty patterns. Make sure your tablecloth is safe to use and choose an appropriate size. Most tutorials need a minimum of a 60"x84" tablecloth, but you may want a longer tablecloth if you are larger than a US 10-12 or if you prefer longer straps for supportive finishes. If you are working with bolt fabric like duck or twill, it will depend on what your fabric's width is. If you are buying a 60" wide fabric, you can probably get away with 2.5 yards. For 45" wide fabric, you'll probably want at least 3 yards. I would always recommend buying a little extra for insurance in case of shrinkage. It's easier to hem your straps a little shorter, but you can't add length later.

Side note - a mei tai needs 2 layers of supportive, bottomweight fabric for the body panel. Many patterns do 3 layers, for a number of reasons. First of all, the third layer can be quilter's cotton or another "unsafe" material that is decorative and gives you the pattern you want. Many licensed character fabrics, for example, are quilter's cotton and generally not strong enough to use on their own, but can be layered over bottomweight fabric and paired with bottomweight straps to give you the look you want. Second of all, a three-layer construction allows you to hide all of your reinforcement stitching on the inside layer, giving your finished carrier a clean, seamless look. If you choose to do 3 layers, you will need less than a square yard (half a yard if you making an infant size and the pattern can be cut out sideways) of your decorative outer layer fabric.

Panel Styles & Sizes

A mei tai panel can be incredibly simple - just a plain rectangle. Many people choose to do a rounded edge on top, similar to the Infantino Sash mei tai, for a cleaner look and a little extra neck support. You can also make an "hourglass" shaped body panel that curves in at the middle; not only does this create more airflow for a cooler carrier, but it also means that if you are using it for a little baby that requires you to roll the waistband an extra time, you are also automatically narrowing the base for the little legs and may not need to "cinch" the bottom like you normally would for a newborn.

The goal for the body panel is to extend from the neck (for a young baby) or armpits (for an older baby or toddler) down to under their bum and back up between the two of you several inches to create a "hammock." The width...

-- Alyssa Leonard - 2016-07-16

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