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What Carrier Should I Make?

That's kind of a big question. Let's start here:

Carrier Construction Difficulty

Carriers listed by their difficulty to make, from easiest to hardest, in my personal opinion. 1 star is "super duper easy, do it in 1 sitting" and 5 stars is "may induce some tears, not a good first sewing project."

T-shirt Carrier - 1 star
Stretchy Wrap - 1 star
Woven Wrap - 2 stars
No Sew Ring Sling - 2 stars
Pouch Sling - 2.5 stars
Ring Sling - 2.5 stars
Podaegi - 3 stars
X-bu - 3 stars
Traditional Onbuhimo - 3.5 stars
Mei Tai - 3.5 stars
Reverse Onbuhimo - 4 stars
Buckle-Bu - 5 stars
Soft Structured Carrier - 5 stars

Carrier Learning Curve

Carriers listed by how difficult it is for a new babywearer to learn how to use them. Obviously this will vary CONSIDERABLY person to person, but this is just a general idea. 1 star is "fairly easy to learn in the first couple tries" and 5 stars is "may require lots of practice, tears, and frustration."

Soft Structured Carrier - 1 star
T-shirt Carrier - 1 star
Pouch Sling - 2 stars
Mei Tai - 2 stars
Ring Sling - 2.5 stars
Stretchy Wrap - 2.5 stars
No-Sew Ring Sling - 3 stars
Podaegi - 3 stars
Reverse Onbuhimo/Reverse X-bu - 3.5 stars
Buckle-bu - 3.5 stars
Traditional Onbuhimo/Traditional X-bu - 4 stars
Woven Wrap - 5 stars

Newborn-friendly carriers

Besides onbuhimos, nearly any carrier can be used with newborns and small babies before they can sit unassisted. The following are just my personal picks for especially great newborn carriers.

T-shirt Carrier
Stretchy Wrap
Woven Wrap (especially good for premature babies.)
Ring Sling (especially good for premature babies.)
Podaegi
Mei Tai (with some modifications)

Toddler-friendly carriers

Carrying toddlers comes with their own challenges. Not only are they heavier, but they are also finicky and typically want up and down frequently. The two important aspects then are the ability to get baby up and down fast (noted below as "speed") and good weight support and distribution (noted below as "comfort.")

Ring Sling (Speed)
Pouch Sling (Speed)
Mei Tai - especially with wide wrap straps (Comfort)
Soft Structured Carrier (Speed/Comfort)
Onbuhimo (Speed/Comfort)
Reverse Onbuhimo (Speed)
Buckle-bu (Speed)

Carriers for the heat

Babywearing is hot business - two sweaty bodies pressed up against each other and wrapped in fabric. Carriers can be modified for the heat, such as making a soft structured carrier with a mesh panel, or using linen. That said, some carriers are worse in the heat than others. The following are my recommendations for the heat.

Ring Sling (especially linen or osnaburg)
Woven Wrap (single-pass carries, especially linen or osnaburg)
Podaegi (narrow blanket, single layer blanket)
Pouch Sling
X-Bu (Traditional or reverse)

Carrier Versatility and Size Flexibility

Some carriers are kind of one-trick ponies, and only do one or two things very well. Others are versatile, but are sized for baby's size, and therefore have to be replaced as baby grows. The following are rated both for versatility (1 star is "only does one thing particularly well," and 5 stars is "lots of different ways to wear") and for their flexibility of sizing based on baby's size (1 star for "very size dependent; will need to be replaced several times throughout baby's first few years," and 5 stars for "1 carrier can last from newborn through preschooler.)

Woven Wrap - 5 stars for versatility - 5 stars for size flexibility
Podaegi - 4 stars for versatility - 5 stars for size flexibility
Ring Sling - 2 stars for versatility - 5 stars for size flexibility
Mei Tai - 3 stars for versatility - 4 stars for size flexibility
Soft Structured Carrier - 3 stars for versatility - 2 stars for size flexibility
Pouch Sling - 2 stars for versatility - 3 stars for size flexibility
Onbuhimo (traditional, reverse, buckle, x-bu) - 2 stars for versatility - 2 stars for size flexibility
Stretchy Wrap - 1 star for versatility - 1 star for size flexibility
T-Shirt Carrier - 1 star for versatility - 1 star for size flexibility

-- Alyssa Leonard - 2016-09-26