How to Carry a Baby in a Bed Sheet (or shawl, or rebozo, or shorty …)

June 24, 2007 by Susie

A few months ago, Elizabeth shot and edited this video of me showing how to tie a sailor’s knot in a twin sheet and adjust it so it could be used as a baby sling. The sheet is folded in half the long, skinny way, not the short, fat way.

Please kindly overlook the fact that I hold forth on the virtues of using a sheet as a sling; I’m not always that … um … EXCITED. Also, please kindly understand that I happened to turn away from the camera just as I was saying “fussy baby;” the audio of that statement isn’t very clear and some have thought I might have said something else. OK, you may watch now.

A sailor’s knot works well with Bara Barn knot shawls and short German Style Woven wraparound slings, all of which are manufactured for use as baby slings and tend to be “grippy” so as to hold a knot well. This technique also works well with other things, including some Mexican rebozos, some bed sheets, and some shawls such as you might find for sale in a department store. Before using a sailor’s knot to turn a shawl into an adjustable baby sling, however, you must make sure that the knot will “lock” when tightened, so that it doesn’t slip during use. (For example, pashmina wool shawls are usually much too slippery to hold a sailor’s knot.) Dimensions of shawls vary. For length, I prefer at least 7 feet and no more than 9 feet; for width, I prefer about 30 inches, but a little narrow or wider works, too.

A variation on the technique that I don’t show in the video, but I really like, is to fold the shawl/rebozo/folded sheet in half lengthwise, drape it around in preparation for tying, unfold it just on my shoulder, then tie the sailor’s knot. That way, there is a pouch-style fold where the baby sits, but the shoulder is not folded and can be adjusted as shown in the video.

For the sailor’s knot and many other shawl/rebozo techniques, we owe much to Elly, who kindly published her excellent Rebozo Instructions on the web and spurred a rebozo revolution among babywearers.

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Posted in Babywearing, Simple Pieces of Cloth | 13 Comments

13 Responses

on October 17, 2007 at 4:42 pm | Reply For when you get tired of watching me tie a bedsheet… « Magic City Slingers Blog

[...] 17th, 2007 by Susie The bedsheet post gets a lot of traffic. The technique (tying a slipknot in a shawl-size piece of fabric to [...]
on April 20, 2008 at 12:12 pm | Reply Ars Gratia Artis » Vast territories of words.

[...] to upset him enough to make him want to move. However, over the past few weekends, I’ve been slinging him for an hour or so when he gets tired (but is not ready to sleep) so that he can enjoy being [...]
on June 2, 2008 at 1:16 pm | Reply Chloe's Mom

YOU ARE MY “BABY WEARING ANGEL” – ESPECIALLY FOR PLUS-SIZED FASHIONABLE WOMEN:

I found your site by accident, but THANK GOD I did! I was interested in baby wearing, but as a plus-sized (size 24) Mom, I was afraid to buy a carrier online and I wasn’t thrilled with what I saw in the store. I also wasn’t crazy about the prices I saw, and even the more affordable “Moby” wasn’t appealing to me. I also am quite fashionable; I like unique items that aren’t ‘seen’ everywhere on everyone. So the idea of a ‘sheet’ appealed to me because I can get the variety of a cool look.

Well, today I went to Ikea just to look and came across a large decorative sheet on sale for $4.99 (100% cotton) in a gorgeous pink and red, vibrant print; typical of Ikea! Well, I rushed back and watched your video for the 10th time and it worked like a charm. Not only do I look hip and stylish, my gorgeous 8 week old Chloe (she’s almost 12 lbs, a big girl!), well, she’s riding on my front in style; chest to chest with me. She’s loving it and I’m loving it. I’m rushing back to Ikea to grab another of those sheets on sale!

What’s NICE about a sheet, especially for a large sized woman, is that I KNOW this will fit me AND my husband is 6’6 and large, about 360 and it fits him. That super sailor’s knot is FANTASTIC and gives me nice tails on the end for her that hang around my waist and then when my husband wears it, it fits perfect and hangs higher on him. So we can BOTH wear the same sheet and for $5, what STEAL. Forget Baby Bjorn and those other carriers, we are HOOKED on sheets. And since I’m actively walking and losing weight, the sailor’s knot can shrink the sheet with me and I’ll trim the tails as we go. I’m so jazzed about this!

Thanks for empowering women with this site and sharing this SIMPLE yet effective way to wear your baby without paying a fortune! With rising gas prices, this is certainly the way to go. The sky is the limit with this. I love being able to ADJUST it. When I take it off over my head, I can leave it tied and then when I need it again, I slip it right back over my head and then adjust if needed. The sailor’s knot is the ONLY way to go; and using 100% cotton, it so nice in Florida! We are just in June and it’s already hit the 90s, so imagine how cool and chic we’ll be in the dead of July!

Thanks again, T
on June 25, 2008 at 12:38 am | Reply halinaz

hi there, i’m linking this to my blog. hope its okay.
on June 25, 2008 at 1:48 am | Reply have table cloth or bed sheet, carry your baby! « Wear A Baby

[...] read a post by Magiccityslingers; click here. [...]
on November 24, 2008 at 3:16 pm | Reply NewMommy

This video is the bomb!!! Thanks so much! Baby Anabella is 3 months old and sometimes I need to take her somewhere that is walking distance.
I live in a very busy city, so the stroller isn’t so convenient when crossing the streets, not to mention and bit unsafe (with all those crazy drivers)!
So I watched this video and in about 5 minutes flat I was taking off to the grocery store with baby in the sling. It was a bit tight at first, until we got used to it. She fell asleep for the entire trip. Thanks so much for an awesome and inexpensive method to make a great baby sling!!!

NewMommy in Miami
on April 6, 2010 at 3:23 pm | Reply Babyette's Blog » Babywearing with a Simple Piece of Cloth

[...] got the inspiration from THIS great blog post showing how to tie a bedsheet into a sling. Yes, it’s [...]
on August 13, 2011 at 10:14 am | Reply Jen

This is a wonderful demonstration! I finally have a use for the beautiful pashmina my sister brought me back from India. Thank you so much for sharing this!
- on August 13, 2011 at 11:22 am | Reply Susie
  
  Just an FYI: Pashminas can be slippery. A typical bedsheet has a lot of “grip” and therefore works very well. A pashmina might also be too delicate to hold the weight. Just pointing out some areas to be aware of in your experiments. I used a beautiful wool shawl as my go-to newborn carrier with my last baby, but he quickly got too heavy for it to work well. If the fabric is holding the baby well but the knot wants to slide, you can adjust the slipknot and then tie a square knot to really lock it.
on December 1, 2011 at 1:26 pm | Reply tshann

Yup, this worked for us as a quick makeshift sling. I’m 50 and our daughter is 9 months, heavy. Just wanted to take a quick jaunt to the nearby park with our dog Lily and our baby girl Saoirse. We forgot the Ergo, so this worked in a pinch. We only had a twin sized jersey cotton, but it held very well, she was a bit too big for it, but I was able to compensate by just throwing an arm in front of her. Main thing is – it worked!
Thanks
on May 6, 2012 at 5:35 pm | Reply Babywearing Is Close | Babywearers Circle

[...] you prefer video instructions? Magic City Slingers has a great [...]
on October 11, 2012 at 9:09 am | Reply Sara Beara :)

too bad the video doesn’t work now, I’d love to see it!
- on October 11, 2012 at 10:52 am | Reply Susie
  
  Here is a newer video, Sara Beara: http://magiccityslingers.wordpress.com/2012/01/12/how-to-make-a-bed-sheet-baby-sling/