How to Make and Use a Ring Sling

Download this file for tutorial: Ring_Sling_Tutorial.pdf

Print this file & fold in quarters (with the instructions on the inside) to make a card to share: HowToUseYourRingSlingCard.pdf

The rest of this page is under construction. Please use the downloadable PDFs above until it is finished! Thanks!

Basic Breakdown of Steps

1. Pick a safe fabric
2. Buy the right amount of fabric
3. Scour your fabric (if needed)
4. Wash your fabric
5. Dye your fabric (optional, not covered in this tutorial)
6. Buy the correct rings
7. Cut to width
8. Hem 3 edges
9. Pick & sew the shoulder
10. Learn to use it

1) Pick a safe fabric

An ideal fabric for a ring sling is made of natural fibers like cotton or linen, has no stretch, and is a bottomweight fabric - that is to say, heavy enough that you could comfortably make men's trousers out of them. If you are unsure, check out this page on picking safe fabric that goes more in depth.

If your ring sling is going to be used in the water, you'll want to follow the guidelines for picking a safe athletic mesh fabric. Unfortunately, natural fibers like cotton should NOT be used in the water because they can absorb the water and get exponentially heavier (not to mention the chlorine in pool water can irreparably damage the fabric.) Likewise, a mesh water sling is not recommended for dry use. Mesh slips dangerously when dry and can be very diggy and uncomfortable. As a note, unlike most sling fabrics, mesh does have some stretch in one direction, but should have NO STRETCH lengthwise.

A popular choice for ring slings is using a cotton tablecloth. A 60" wide tablecloth that is at least 80" long can be cut in half and will only need one raw side hemmed. (Bonus: the other half can be used to make another ring sling for a backup or a gift. Or, if your tablecloth was 104" or longer, can be simply hemmed and used as a size 2 woven wrap.) A jacquard woven tablecloth will be soft, floppy, and feel a lot like a woven wrap conversion ring sling. A printed tablecloth will have a blank wrong side and a thinner, tighter weave but are still perfectly safe to use and are often less expensive than jacquard tablecloths. Whatever tablecloth you choose, make sure it passes the 4 Rules of Fabric Selection.

Buy the right amount of fabric

For a ring sling, length is simply a matter of how long you want your tail to be. A minimum length of 12" of tail beyond the rings is recommended for safety, but anywhere between this and knee-length is safe. A longer tail can be used as a nursing cover, sun shade, or burp cloth, or can be wrapped around the rings as a cushion or rolled into the top rail as neck support.

Do not agonize too much about what size ring sling you need. Aim for the approximate size you think you are. As an example: I am a US size 8-10, 5'7", small t-shirt sized woman and I can safely use anywhere from an XXSmall to an XXLarge sling safely.

When in doubt, buy a little extra fabric. You can always hem the tail shorter later.

-- Alyssa Leonard - 2016-07-16

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