Blessingway- A Christian Approach

A "Blessingway" was an idea that I was first introduced to by a fellow birth worker who mentioned how wonderful the Blessingways she had been to were. I looked it up and became intrigued. I had a traditional baby shower with my first and really enjoyed it, it was a great party. There was something about this idea, though, that seemed deeper, and could potentially be more "Faith-ful" than the traditional baby shower. A couple years later my friend was pregnant with her third daughter. No one was planning a baby shower for this pregnancy because, well, it had already been done. I felt the opportunity immediately and offered (okay, to be fair I pretty much just told her I was going to do it) to host a Blessingway for this pregnancy. This turned out to be an amazing celebration, for the expecting Mom and all her friends and family who got to be a part of it. Now, I will mention that if you do search this word, you will find ideas that do not necessarily come from a Christian perspective. Sometimes Christian beliefs can be incorporated into these ideas, sometimes not. I have listed below some Christian appropriate ideas that for those who would like to incorporate these into their celebrations.

What is a Blessingway?
The practice of celebrating the pregnancy and birth of a new mother and child is common in many cultures around the world. While the traditional American baby shower is usually focused on the baby to come, a Blessingway is also about celebrating and praying for the pregnancy and the soon-to-be mother as she prepares for the birth and a new stage of motherhood.

The Party- The celebration itself can be set up in many different ways. You can use the term Blessingway or you can have a Baby Shower and incorporate some of these ideas. You could have a separate Blessingway for a mom who is having a Baby Shower also. You can invite only the women closest to her, or you can invite families. These choices will all just depend on what kind of celebration is best for the expecting mother and her preferences can be considered while maintaining an element of surprise.

Invitations- I got ideas for an invitation (and the party) from another blog. I liked how they explained the Blessingway celebration in the invitation. I then created the invitation pictured below. I used the colors for this baby's nursery added a bible verse I felt was appropriate. You can include instructions for what to bring or what activities to expect. I did this on a separate insert so that the Mom could get the main invitation but still be surprised by some of the activities.

Decorations- Again, this can be done however you would like. Anything from general dinner party to baby shower themes or girls night themes would be appropriate. I could also imagine pretty amazing decor themed on The Red Tent, which is an incredible novel. 

Refreshments- You could serve anything that goes with the theme, or you could have it be a potluck style party where the guests contribute food also.

Gifts- This really depends on the family. The focus of the celebration is on Blessing the new family. For a first time mother, if she is not also have a Baby Shower, it would still be a HUGE blessing for her to receive those things she wants on her baby registry, so this would be very appropriate. You can also have guests bring a freezer meal (if the expecting family has freezer space) or sign up to bring a post-baby meal to bless the family with food in those early weeks of new parenting. One of the great parts of this celebration is that it is not about the "stuff", necessarily, but about blessing this family. Sometimes the greatest blessing is just time for Mom to focus on herself.

Activities- This is the other aspect of Blessingway celebrations that are unique and special. You can incorporate as many Blessing activities into the celebration as you would like or not. These activities are meant to honor the expecting Mother in her pregnancy, pray for and support her birth, and to bless the new life God has created.

Mother the Mother- Activities to relax and bless the expecting Mother:

Foot and Hand Washing

This act can be both a wonderful pampering and a spiritually meaningful experience. Read John 13: 1-17 about Jesus washing the disciples feet. To pamper Mom, maybe add epsom salts mixed with an essential oil such as lavendar, peppermint, or orange. You could also float flower petals on top. Be sure to have soft towels and creamy lotion available for her also. If you would like you could make this a full pedicure.

Massage

What pregnant woman doesn't like a massage? You could give this as a gift or have someone give the massage during the Blessingway. Make sure to hire someone who is familiar with prenatal massage techniques. Set up a space for the massage with candles and soft worship music playing.

For the Belly- Activities to honor and bless the life she carries

Belly Painting

This can be done in a variety of ways. You can have an artistic friend do the work, all the guests can contribute, or you can hire a professional artist. You can use safe, non-toxic body paints to create a design. You can get henna paint and create a design that will last a while longer (This does require a significant amount of time with Mom's belly wrapped in saran wrap after the paint is applied, so make sure it's okay with her first).

Belly Casts

This activity usually requires a fairly significant investment of time, at least 30min, and requires Mom to be mostly topless and messy so be prepared. You could do the belly casting at the Blessingway, or you could do it ahead of time and have those present help decorate the belly cast.

There are some pictures of belly painting, casts, and henna here.

For the Soul- Activities to pray for and bless the pregnancy, baby, mother, and birth

Prayer Beads

For this activity, you need to inform the quests of the preparation. The invitation I pictured above has this in the card insert. Basically, each guest will bring a bead or charm and then a card with a scripture, prayer, loving thought, poem, or quote to share with the Mom. With some sort of ceremony (again, think candles, soft background music, either in private or in the group) each guest presents there prayer and bead. Have a cord or ribbon available to then string them together. Mom can then wear this whenever she would like, including during her labor and birthing. When I did this, I made sure to ask her husband to provide a bead and blessing. This is a beautiful and extremely meaningful activity, my friend wrote about it here.

Prayer Candles

The guests can either choose, or you could even make candles during the Blessingway. When the Mom goes into labor, she will notify someone to contact this special group of people who will light the candle and then pray for the family through the birth.

Cord Ceremony

Ecclesiastes 4:12 says "Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." Make a cord of three strands out of ribbons or yarn. These strands can symbolize this strength, the trinity, the strength of a marriage which includes God, and the three lives intimately tied together in this new life. Have the guests stand in a circle with the Mom at the center. Tie the long strand first around Mom's wrist, and then around every guest's wrist around the circle. After everyone is tied together in prayer, cut the cords between the guests apart. During her labor, the guests can wear these cords and prayer for the family.

As you can see, there are many options for this celebration, you could even make a whole weekend out of it! One of the things I really love about this celebration is that it is appropriate to bless and celebrate every pregnancy, every birth, every miracle that God blesses us with. This can be a larger celebration, or an intimate affair. It offers whatever will bless this Mom, this baby, and this family. I hope these ideas inspire you to celebrate this incredible time in a deeper way and can see how we can walk this journey together in a Faith filled way. 

"Punkin" Pie...a Gardening Adventure

So, here is what I had for dessert last night:

YUMMY! I love Pumpkin Pie this time of year, and with freshly (real) whipped cream it was divine...but what the heck is so interesting about pumpkin pie that I would blog about it? Well, let me tell you!

This tale goes back to the spring time, see I have wonderful parents-in-law who love to help us with projects, play with our girlies, and just are generally all around awesome people. They don't like to stay still, though, and on a visit this spring they dug up the corner of our front yard, right next to our porch, because MIL (mother-in-law) was trying to grow some sproutling flowers and was going to give me some. Well, the flowers were a no go, they got hammered by some crazy early spring weather. My MIL felt bad,  though, about this big patch of turned up dirt in our front yard and asked if I might like to plant some veggies there.

Secretly (or not so much), I would love to be a green thumb, grow wonderful plants and vegetables in my yard and house to enjoy. But... I'm not. I've neither the time, nor money to really invest yet in "gardening". What we have around our yard is: hardy buffalo grass that my hubby maintains, some flowers that my MIL has helped plant in years past that keep on growing and blooming (see I don't even know the difference between perenial and annual, I just know these keep coming back), a sad little Lilac plant that I need to move and tend to (I love lilacs, and I want to keep this one), a crazy grape-vine that came with the house and we tried desperately to kill that I'm deciding I just need accept as part of our family, LOTS of wood chips, and...well...weeds. When we moved in, weeds were the landscaping, and on a 13000 square ft lot, well, it's taking time and persistence to deal with, sigh. Anyways, I have wanted a veggie garden since we bought the house, so when MIL offered to help with just a little one, I said "sure, why not"

So, she gave me seeds (yes, we sure did start from seeds), instructions, and a plan and we got to work. Adding nutrients to the soil, building little hillocks and rows for plants, and carefully planting our little seeds. Then, I said "alright, here's hoping". I can't believe I never took pictures of the progress of our little garden, but I can say that it far exceeded my expectations. We ended up with 2 zucchini bushes, 3 pole bean plants strung to the roof, 1 pat-a-pan squash plant, 4 butternut squash vines, and 1 head of spinach (I tried for some lettuce and more spinach...not super successful, but the spinach was the tastiest I've EVER had). We also grow tomatoes and basil in earth boxes on our front porch, but we get these as plants so not as super exciting...although the homemade spaghetti and pesto is! It was REALLY cool to see, and to show my kids "how does your garden grow", from tiny little seeds, some soil, water, and attention (thank you hubby) we had ALL of these plants growing FOOD for us, WOW!

The harvest from these plants was no less amazing. I have a picture of our final harvest:

In that basket were about 10 butternut and 7 pat-a-pan squashes AND this doesn't include 2 butternut or 4-5 zucchinis (yes, that same size) we'd already given away or eaten, another 3-4 harvests of beans earlier in the year, the spinach, or any of our tomatoes. Pretty much, our garden went NUTS.

Fortunately I REALLY REALLY like all of these veggies. I've also shredded and frozen some of the zucchini to use in breads, muffins, and chili throughout the winter. So, turns out I am a happy gardener! Lately, I've been hearing that it is hard to find canned pumpkin, and that it is expensive this year, so I was kind of bummed I didn't try growing pie pumpkins...which brings me to my pie story.

Monday being Halloween, and I being so on top of it, my girls had pumpkins that they really wanted to carve into Jack-O-Lanterns. They were small pumkins, reminded me of pumpkin pie pumkins and I though "mmmm pie". Would I really deprive my children of this festive activity just for pie, short answer- yes. Well, what I was thinking was "I could just have them paint these this year with washable paint, then wash them later and turn them into pie" See, not a heartless Mom. So, I hopped online and started looking at how to make pumpkin pie from actual pumpkin, a new experiment for me. This is where is got very interesting. At the end of the day, the pumkins looked like this:

So where did the pie come from? Well, my internet search led me to discover that canned pumpkin often comes from a form of butternut squash, so in a pinch you can use a butternut squash for pumpkin pie. WHAT!?!?! you mean I have like 10+ pies worth of squash sitting in a basket in my kitchen, this MUST be tried. So I did. Here's how is went:

The first step is just basic cooking squash technique: cut it in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds, cut into managable peices, place in baking dish with an inch or so of water face down, bake at 350 for 45min-1hr until soft. This is only half of the squash I cooked, I remember half way through scooping to take a picture for blog-land.

Here's this inside onces it is cookes, nice and orange. You can serve this in peices with butter, salt, and pepper as a yummy side if you want...but it gets better.

Scoop as much of the orange yummy-ness out into a blender or food processor (I recently "borrowed" my Mom's old Cuisinart from my Dad's house...this may be a permanent kind of borrow, unless they ask for it back, I LOVE this thing). Blend or mix until it is as very smooth as you can possibly get it. It looks something like this.

Now, with this mixture you could make one of my other yummy Butternut squash recipes: soup. Sautee some diced onions and garlic, add with some (1 can-ish) chicken broth to the squash during puree, put back in a pot on the stove, mix in some milk or cream until the right consitency for you, add some fresh grated nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste. Viola, Butternut squash soup. This is a favorite of mine, I'm not a fan of tomato soup, so this with grilled cheese is my idea of comfort food ;-)

The instructions I was reading said to strain the pureed pumkin, and since I have a metal strainer I decided I would go ahead and do this step. I'm not sure how essential this step is with butternut squash. It might have been a little smoother, and it did catch one little peice of unpureed squash, but I might try skipping this step next time. Here's what my puree looked like:

This was about 4 cups of squash puree from a decent size (not the biggest we have) squash. The pie recipe I had called for 3 cups of puree, so I stuck the extra in a baggie in the freezer ("pumpkin" muffins anyone?). I then made a crust (from scratch, big pat on the back, decided to try this in my processor too, and it worked like a charm, SUPER yummy too). Added 1 1/2 cans of evaporated milk, 2 cups sugar, 4 eggs, and all the usual spices, baked for an hour and viola, PIE!!!!

We tried it that night, while it was still slightly warm with some ice-cream and it was really good, but not quite the same as my idea of pumpkin pie. We had it last night after chilling with whipped cream and it was AMAZING, the best "pumpkin" pie I've had! Here's where I found recipes and such.

So, my kids got their jack-o-lanterns and I got my pie and everyone was happy. It is official, butternut is my favorite squash. I've always liked it as a side, just sweet and smooth enough to be yummy, then I discovered soup, and most recently I've had Butternut Squash Ravioli which was impressively good, and now PIE, it doesn't get any better in my mind. Now, I think I need another peice, just to make sure it's as good as I remember ;-)

Duct Tape Style Coupon Organizer

My friend Michelle is doing a blog series on saving money, couponing, and other sorts of fun things that us monetary challenged frugal Moms do for our families financially. On that note, I offered to do a few posts on this topic, and the first thing she asked for was a picture of my coupon holder...not really cause it's the do-all-end-all coupon holder, but more because I MADE IT and because its a nice simple one. So, I decided to go above and beyond and post more info on how I made it. First, here it is

 Now, I decided to make this for myself real quick one day during nap time, so instead of thinking ahead and taking pics along the way for a tutorial, I was simply focused on finished before all heck broke loose my kids got up. So, this isn't a step by step picture kind of thing, but more of an overview:

Here is what I used:

~ 2 Mac and cheese boxes- you can any similar sized box, or a cereal box if you want a larger organizer
~ Fun Duct Tape (I found houndstooth, LOVE IT, and bought at a craft store....with a coupon of course!) This was actually the only item I had to buy for this project, everything else I happened to have at home
~ Clear Packing Tape
~ Scissors (yes, for cutting)
~ Envelopes (I used 3 5/8inx6 1/2in size, you could use longer for a larger holder
~ Ribbon (not a necessity, but it made it prettier and easier to see the flap, I just raided old wrapping paper/craft supplies for a peice)
~  Sticky back velcro- This is just to hold your top flap closed. Again, I happen to be a craft nerd, so I have some but you can find little packages of this about anywear, very handy.

Here is how I cut the first macaroni box- cut off the top and bottom flaps, then cut out one of the skinny side pannels. Voila, you have the folder section for the coupon holder.

The second box for the flap, I patterned this after my billfold, actually, cause I like it. Just cut one of the large sides of the box about 2/3 of the width, then cut triangles off the sides to make the angles.

Okay, assembly. Now to not leave you hangin I am putting up the Youtube tutorial I found for the idea. Notable differences are the size of the holder (I wanted mine to fit in my purse) and the decorative ribbon, and the flap I just stuck the ribbon to the holder and covered it with a strip of packaging tape (which is also used to attach the inner envelopes, as you can see in the video) across the top for protection. For the flap, I made a section for the "hinged" top area out of just duct tape so it would be more flexible, and then have the flap. So, I covered the box folder...then had a strip of plain duct tape...then attached the flap. Hope that makes some sort of sense after you see the video.

A couple things to remember:

~ My duct tape was just slightly see through in the white part, so I made the bright side of the box the inside.

~ Start by taping the inside of the holder and finish on the outside, this way the tape overlap will be on the inside of the holder.

~ These are just ideas, make it your own! And if you have a question for me, just ask :)

Mei Tai It Up! (a 'tutorial')

Oh Michelle will be so happy, I finally got my booty in gear and posted these instructions. Background: Bff is having second baby and is a skinny minny on the slim side so Baby Bjorn style carriers just weren't cutting it for her (as they don't for most women in comparison to a better carrier I'm finding out, which is bologna for the $80-$100 price tags on those things!). So, she tells me about a carrier she is looking at, and I think (much to the pride of my frugal roots) "I wonder if I could make that". A quick internet search reveals that, yes, someone smarter than I has already laid the foundation of instructions and I figure I can alter the design slightly to be more like the carrier my friend would like. Oh, and did I mention I had a 4-ish month old and figured I'd make one for me as "practice"...I know, sacrifice. Anyways, here's what I did, with some pictures, in case any of you would like to design and make your own versatile kangaroo pouch.

I took inspiration from another blog online and these instructions combine the techniques:  http://scanditute.blogspot.com/

Materials:

From http://scanditute.blogspot.com/: Strap fabric (the brown twill in the pic): “2.5 yards of strap fabric. When choosing your strap fabric - it is important to select a bottom-weight fabric like canvas, denim or twill with a minimum weight of 7 oz. Actually, 10 oz. is better. Baby cord is not strong enough for a baby carrier. NOTE: There has been a lot of recent discussion about the suitability of corduroy for mei tai straps. Cord is a compromised fabric because the pile inside the wales has been cut, thus weakening it. If you do intend to use cord for your mei tai, I can not stress enough how important it is to make sure that the cord is strong. Hold it up to the light before sewing with it. If you can see light through the fabric, it probably isn't strong enough. Cord carriers have ripped in several instances because the fabric used was not strong enough to support the weight of a baby. Please exercise utmost caution when using cord. For what it's worth, I now only make mei tais with heavy canvas (8-10 oz) or twill. In addition to being safer choices, sturdy, strong fabrics also offer the most support and comfort.”

Other fabric:

¾ yard outer design fabric. (Flower patterned cotton in the pic)

¾ yard lining fabric. (Pink Minky in the pic) Minky or Fleece works well and is snuggly soft, a friend of mine also used another design fabric and made it “reversible” (it will look a little different on the other side because of the way it is put together, but it works the same)

An 18" square of heavy canvas. (Cream colored piece you can just see under the designed fabric in the pic)

Some fleece or cotton batting for padding the waist and shoulder straps. (I used polar fleece, easy to work with and was cheap on sale/with coupon) This is where I cannot remember exactly how much you will need. You will need 2- 12x20 inch squares, 1- 12x17inch square, and another 2-4 layers for the padded upper piece. I think a yard is plenty, but check my math.

Thread: I used button/craft thread for sewing the straps on the canvas to make sure it is secure, but heads up, some sewing machines have a hard time sewing with this thread so check your manufacturer’s instructions for information. If it says it will be difficult to sew denim, it may be difficult to sew the canvas with this thread.

Coordinating, high-quality thread like Gutermann for the rest of the project.

Make sure you wash and press all of your fabric before beginning (I even washed the canvas and air dried to make sure I could wash and air dry the Mei Tai when it was finished).

I can tell you that I found twill on sale (40 or 50%) off, and spent about $45 total. You could get cheaper even if you really focused on shopping with coupons and for go the fancier fabric. It is well worth this price, to me, though as these carriers sell for $100 and up.

Step One- Straps:

Finished straps will be 4" wide by 74”-84" long, so measure 9" across the short end of your strap fabric (will give you a 1/2" seam allowance) and measure the length of your choice + 4” on the long end (add another 4” to the finished length for canvas attachment)

“Note: 84” are really long straps. You might want to make them up to 10" shorter. I like to tie Tibetan in a back carry, so I make them longer for me. If you decide to make the shoulder straps shorter, make sure you keep the waist strap around 80-84".”

If you desire, cut the straps at an angle on one end if you prefer a taper.

Next, sew the shoulder straps: with right sides together, stitch the straps from the point of the taper to the end. Turn right side out and press.

For the padding - I used a layer of polar fleece - cut 12"x20" Then, fold the long ends to meet in the center and then fold that in half (so raw ends are tucked inside). I always make a little tack stitch on the ends and the center so it stays together while I'm stuffing it into the straps.

Now, to stuff the straps- Fold the top 8-10 inches of the strap down like you're turning down the cuff of socks. Stuff one end of the batting inside and pull the strap material up over the batting. Use kitchen tongs or a yardstick to help in keeping it flat and even. Stuff it far enough inside so that you have at least four inches of strap material left at the top. (Yes, this takes a little effort to get done) Stitch three equally-spaced lines down the length of the padding in the straps. (I did the two outer lines first and then finished with the middle line to make it easier to get the spacing even)

Step Two- Cut Body and Attach Straps:

For the body of the Mei Tai, you'll need to cute the pattern from: one layer of your decorator fabric, one layer of the liner or reverse (minky, fleece, or another decorator fabric if you want it to be reversible to that), and one layer of heavy canvas for the inside.

Here is a pic of the pattern the http://scanditute.blogspot.com/ blog had and here are her instructions: This pattern is “Cut on the FOLD. The body is 8" wide at the middle, 18" tall. The flat part at the top is 5" and the part where the shoulder straps attach is also 5". You may choose to make your pattern a few inches taller if you have an older baby. This pattern will yield a MT approximately 17"-17.5" tall.”

So, you can draw out and make your own pattern.

                                              

Now, my husband has this wonderful program called AutoCAD for his work, with which he so nicely designed a pattern for me. I can send this pattern to you if you ask for it, in PDF form, but I will warn you that it is in 11x17 format (because we conveniently have a printer this size, again for his work). The seam allowance (dotted line) for this pattern is 3/8”. This pattern is really only for the shape of the top edge and for the padded upper piece (more on that later). So, what I did was to trace the top edge p ortion (the smaller shape on the pattern that looks like the contour on the pic above) onto the top of a piece of tissue paper and then measured 18” down from the middle, marked my bottom line, and then drew a straight line from the bottom of the curve edge to this bottom line, viola, I had a reproducible pattern. The long, straight side is ON THE FOLD. We’ll get to the top piece later. Here are the 3 body pieces cut out with the pattern.

Next you prep canvas and attach straps. First, fold down the 3/8" seam allowance on the canvas body panel where the shoulder straps will attach and press.

Then, pin the straps centered on the body. Tip: roll up the straps and secure with a rubber band to keep things neat while you're stitching.

Stitch around the straps with a square and an X in the center. This is where I used the heavy duty button/craft thread. I also doubled this line (so stitched twice total). This is all because this area is what will carry the weight of baby, and I wanted it to be very secure. If you sew the lines in this order:

Then you can do it all in one shot without having to cut thread and move the needle.

Step Four- Make and attach the Padded Upper:

I traced the pattern for the upper (the larger shape that looks like the pieces below) onto tissue paper. This is CUT ON THE FOLD. Then, cut two pieces of your strap fabric (coordinates so well!) and 2-4 pieces out of your fleece or batting (I forgot to take pics of these pieces, same shape though) depending on the thickness you want, thick is nice for this padding and helps it stay up well. It helps to cut the padding layers at least 3/8” smaller than the  outer fabric pieces so they fit inside easily.

With right sides together, sew the top edges of the outer fabric pieces together leaving the bottom edge open, turn right side out, and press with the bottom edge seam allowance folded under. Fit the fleece/batting inside this cover piece and trim if you need so this lays nice a flat. You may want to tack the fleece/batting pieces together before placing them all inside the cover. (Sorry, again I forgot a picture of this part).

Prep your outer design carrier fabric by pressing under the seam allowance at the shoulder. Now, place your outer design fabric face up and lay the padded upper piece on top of it, lining up the curved edges and pin in place (again, I forgot to take a picture of this step, but it will look something like this, just without the sewn lines and finished edges).

Now sew the along bottom edge of the padded upper, the first horizontal line of the padding, and the edge between these two lines all to the design fabric for the Mei Tai Body. I know this is a little confusing… you can see the line I sewed in this pic (from the backside- it’s easier to see, although I sewed with it facing up):

Step Five- Assemble Body Pieces:

Pin the outer design fabric (with the padded upper) facing down on top of the liner (i.e. right sides together). It helps to fold and pin the padded upper piece down on top of itself at the horizontal line you sewed previously, so it will be tucked inside the pieces pinned together. You want to make sure that the padded upper is OUT OF THE WAY of sewing during this part.

Stitch with a 3/8" seam allowance SKIPPING OVER the part where the shoulder straps are attached. Don't worry about stitching the bottom closed. This will be sandwiched in the waist strap anyway.

Turn inside out, pull the straps through, unfold the padded upper, and press. The front will look something like this:

Now, at those shoulder straps, where you've folded under the canvas and liner fabrics, you'll see you now have neat layers. Fold the decorator fabric under and pin through the straps and all layers.

Topstitch around the entire body of the carrier, except the bottom, very close to the edge. You will be sewing through the padded upper in this stage. You can simply sew the edge and next horizontal line through the padding at the top edge of the Mei Tai body. Then, you can go ahead and stitch one more horizontal line through the padding to finish it. I’ve brightened up one of the pictures to show these lines a little better.

It can be tricky to catch all the layers while stitching around the padded upper, so take your time. I’ve also had to go back and sew another line at the places where the shoulder straps attach to catch all the layers and folds, and it looks fine when it’s all finished.  

This topstitching will close all the holes and give the carrier a nice, finished look.

Step Six- Waist Strap:

Take the last strap and cut a taper on both ends if desired. Stitch right sides together, leaving an 18" hole in the center. Turn right side out and press. (I went ahead and did this when I made the first two straps)

Measure a 12"x17" piece of polar fleece, fold it like you did for the shoulder straps, insert the bottom few inches of the body of the carrier inside the padding. Here’s a pic of a different Mei Tai with the polar fleece folded around the bottom:

Sandwich the fleece and the bottom of the Mei Tai body inside the hole in the waist strap, turn the raw ends of the strap under, and pin.

Top stitch to close the opening and then stitch horizontal lines through the padding for security and comfort.

Finished! Here’s a couple that I have made so far:

Step Seven- Wear Baby and Enjoy!:

I have found this too be a comfortable and EXTREMELY versatile carrier. I've used it for front carries, hip carries, and back carries (even hiking in Yellowstone). I've also carried my older daughter (when she was almost 3) in it through Costco when she had fallen asleep in the car and wouldn't easily wake up. Here is a site that has some directions for some carries in this type of carrier: http://kozycarrier.homestead.com/instructions.html

 Make sure you learn how to tie the Mei Tai safely and effectively, you are carrying precious cargo!

~ FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY ~