New Mei Tai for a Friend

Quilted Mei Tai Baby Carrier

When I made my quilted Mei Tai baby carrier back in 2010, a friend of mine put in an order for whenever she might have another baby.  At the time, I couldn't imagine making another.  I had spent a good deal of time figuring out the pattern and also sewing while taking care of a young baby.  My friend just had her new baby and it was time to make the carrier.  I decided to take notes this time in case I ever needed to make another.

First I started with the quilting.  This would be the easy part.  I used my carrier as a guide.  I cut squares and strips that were 2.5", 4.5" and 6.5" and played around with the placements.  After making the mini quilt, I attached a panel of black sateen to the back and quilted through the two layers.

Next I added the borders.  I added 3" strips to the sides, then cut the curve.  Afterwards I added the top and bottom borders, also 3".

The straps dictate how much fabric I needed of the black sateen.  The straps were cut at 82" by 5.5".  I cut four straps and tapered each pair down to 3.5".  The taper started just about 28" measuring from the tapered end, was down to 4" at 24.5" from the end to be tapered.  I also added batting to the straps for padding.  The batting was 18" by 5.5", sewn into the side seams four inches from the top of the strap, turned and top stitched.

The hip straps were next.  One was 22.5" and the other 14.5".  These straps tapered too from 4" down to 2.75".  I used a 2" side release buckle.

Then I attached the hip straps and shoulder straps to the body of the carrier.  It's a little confusing attaching the straps because they go in backwards, but going slowly and checking regularly works well.

Lining up the should strap

Proper placement and orientation for the opposite shoulder strap

Once one row of stitching was holding the straps on, I pinned them to the front of the body and attached the back, pinning carefully and sewing slowly.  I left a small opening in the bottom.

Straps folded in ready for back

All pinned ready to sew the front to the back right sides together

After flipping everything right side out, removing pins and ironing, I sewed up the opening in the bottom by hand.  Finally I top stitched around the outside of the carrier body and also outlined the quilted panel.