Make Your Own "Moby" Baby Wrap!!

Make Your Own "Moby"-Style Baby Wrap

Someone asked me recently if I was pregnant or if we were trying because of all the things I was posting on Pinterest about kids. I wrote back that not either yet but I just like to be prepared!! We will someday, and there are sooo many great ideas I can't just let go by without pinning them for reference in the future :) We will have kids eventually. AND so many friends have kids... These are great ideas to share! One dear friend is pregnant with her first right now and I went on looking for ideas for gifts for her.
I know a baby wrap is just her style. When I read you can make TWO out of the length of material you buy I thought - Wow, worth the investment - I can put one in a box for myself later too.
I want to get things done ahead of time so I'm not scrambling once i find out I'm pregnant with all the things to prepare in just 9 months! Why not get some things crossed off now??

CHOOSING THE MATERIAL:
So, the first thing I learned about making my own "Moby" baby wrap is I needed a large, stretchy T-shirt type piece of material. I read later more about the right choice. You should get one that is breathable because it can get hot - its alot of material!! Also, if it's too stretchy - even the Moby brand over time will stretch out and not work as well. The reason you get T-shirt type material is so it's stretchy, and also so you dont need to sew anything!! The edges will curl and not fray. :)
FYI - What I bought i later learned was NOT good, it should be only 1-way stretch so your baby doesn't bounce around so much. AND so it wont shrink :P

The second thing I learned is, once hitting Fabricville, is that the many materials I want to make baby things with are VERY expensive!! But so is a "Moby" baby wrap, so I proceeded... I picked the material and bought 5 yards, there was a stain near the end so they gave me a little extra (alot I found when I got home and measured!)

AT FIRST The instructions looked so simple:

Buy 5 yards which comes about 50-60" wide and cut in half lengthwise to get 25-30" wide.
(There is more cutting than that to get it right... This comes later)

The reason to go up to 30" wide when Moby is actually 22" is so hold a larger baby-toddler later on. It's hard to carry your child as they continue to grow with skinny material. Good for newborns, but you want to get the most out of this investment of you time and money :)

I went ahead and cut my material in half lengthwise to get my two wraps. I considered washing it to see if the stain would come out but I guess I was rushing in the excitement!

Once I did this and tied it the "Moby" way I realized it was way too long (for me). If you discover this, dont cut yet!! Read on! I looked again online and saw that 5 yards was 4.572m or 180cm. Also, someone sharing the "Moby" brand dementions said hers was 16ft = 192cm = 4.8768m

Unfortunately, I stopped my research here and cut one to each of those lengths to try it out.

Later, I read Here:

5 yards if you're a size 12 or under

6 yards if you're a size 12-20

7 yards if you're over size 20

If one of yours is for a gift, you need to consider these things!!

However, my material was now the smallest version, AND guess what I learned next?? :(

THE MATERIAL SHRINKS WHEN YOU WASH AND DRY IT THE FIRST TIME!!

NOTE: DO THIS BEFORE ANY CUTTING!!

So, Now I was stuck with my two wraps which were too short.

Fortunately, I had seen on Pinterest this link to Un-shrink your clothes !

Working on that.

It worked! :)

They turned out so cute! But so much material to tie in front or behind me...

TIPS TO MAKE IT PERFECT (just a little more cutting)

First tip is to have some way to quickly find the mid-point of the material with a mark or a stitch - I bought cute little iron-ons. I figure a mark or stitch wouldn't be as easy to find...

Another great tip is to TAPER THE ENDS - Chalk lines worked great :):) 

The dementions for this I found Here:

Moby, is 21-22" inches wide at widest and 4" at the very narrowest end.

Folded in half, it is at full width for 70-74" before tapering down to 4" wide

(so 140-144" of the widest part when unfolded). 

You can see approximately what the tapering should look like Here. But basically simillar to the shape of my ironing board... :)

Add on:

So now I have my own baby girl and ended up buying a real moby used for really cheap. I like my homeade one much better because it is more stretchy. The moby measures 16ft 5" which is about 5m. Mine was about the same but with stretchier material so it works much better to hold baby. Much more comfortable for me and her.

Here you can see the difference in how my homemade one is tapered vs the brown moby... but I'm not going to edit mine, I like how it works and don't feel the need to change it. You can see that I left mine kinda squared on the end but you don't notice that when it's in use.

Hope this info is helpful :)

Curly Hair The Natural Way

I used to hate my curly hair and envy people who could shower and go and have beautiful straight shiny hair. This book helped me embrace my own hair and how to care for it to bring out the natural curl inside :)

Today, I don't use shampoo or conditioner or any products, just things you would find in your kitchen to care for my hair :) Try it if you hate your frizz, it may work just as well for you! This blog entry will tell you my whole process of learning what to do and not to do.

Now, I embrace my hair and have managed to manage it quite nicely. My husband is always telling me how much he loves my hair! Something he didn't say so much before I began this process...

My journey began as I said by reading "Curly girl" as a friend from work had read it and thought I would like it. I always used to wear my hair in a tight bun to contain the frizz.
I recommend the book as it teaches you ALOT about curly hair but I don't follow alot of the things in there any more. It only began my journey... Here is a summary of SOME things in the book on Wikihow

The key things to learn are that there are many products in shampoo and conditioner that are HARMFUL to our hair!

Shampoo almost always contains SLS (sodium laureth sulfate) which create the nice sudsy bubbles we like but also strips our hair of all natural oils. It is also found in dish detergents and many other harsh cleaners - start reading labels!!! It also causes our scalp to create more oils to replace the ones just stripped away. That's why when you first stop using shampoo I recommend slowly weaning yourself off (using less and less often). It takes awhile for your head to stop/slowing the production of so much grease. If you stop right away it takes a few greasy scalp days of your head to figure out it doesn't need to produce any more (or at least a whole lot less!!). :)
That's shampoo. Its not just SLS that are bad ingredients, thats just the most common one.

Almost all conditioners contain ingredients ending in "cone". These are all silicone-based things and attach to your hair to create a nice shine & soft feel. If you don't use shampoo these products will stay in your hair forever. You MUST use shampoo to get these off. Curly girl recommends using conditioner only and never shampoo. I did this for awhile but found that pretty much everything in the drugstores contain some kind of cones and it was building up in my hair making it gross. I had to shampoo again to get it out.
So, I decided to look beyond the conditioner only method...

THE ALL NATURAL, FOUND-IN-YOUR-KITCHEN METHOD:

I googled a lot about alternatives for shampoo. I found a few similar ideas about being "poo free" - shampoo free that is. This site helped: http://simplemom.net/how-to-clean-your-hair-without-shampoo/ and I've been following that routine for almost 2 years now.
Love it.

You need apple cider vinegar, baking soda, a measuring cup, measuring spoons and two spray bottles.

I labeled mine with a sharpie so I wont get them mixed up... I did that once!

Measure one cup tap water & add 1 TBSP Baking soda to it.

Stir it up well to make sure its dissolved as well as possible then pour it into your spray bottle. WA-LA Shampoo! I double it to fill my spray bottle and last longer.

 Do the same for your apple-cider-vinegar with 1 cup water mixed with 1TBSP.

 There you have your new shampoo & conditioner.

 It is the cheapest thing in the world, and your kids can drink it if they want to

without any fear from you :)

Safe, environmentally friendly and biodegradable. All-around great stuff.

I keep my spray bottles right in the shower ready to go.

TIPS FROM CURLY GIRL I USE WHEN I GET OUT OF SHOWER:

Don't rub your hair with your towel, just "scrunch" it with the towel.

Don't brush your curls out! When your hair is wet, it curls up naturally. Leave it that way. If you feel the need to brush or comb re-wet your hair after. (I use a wide-tooth comb in the shower.)

Dry your hair in a towel turban (I do this) or with the plopping technique found here on WikiHow
 

I leave my hair up in the towel sometimes for an hour, but on days I rush in the morning for work I take it off just before I walk out the door. It keeps your curls from being weighted down, so you get more curls closer to the scalp and bigger curls all together. It can even cut down on frizz. Brilliant.

This is what it looks like after I take my towel off my head. Still wet but well on its way to drying how I want it to :)

Here I am in the locker room at work with beautiful soft shiny curls and very clean feeling hair :)

I hope someone else can be inspired by this. It works for me! I am a STRONG ADVOCATE of never buying shampoo and conditioner!

 The only product I would buy is this. Giovanni Mousse. I have only used it a few times this year. Its so natural I don't even wash it out, only get my hair wet the next day and it does its magic all over again. I only use this very occasionally.

Also, If you absolutely MUST shampoo and condition which I have on occasion and always regretted it til I found: Down Under Naturals with no "cones" in the conditioner!!!!! and cheap.

DON'T BUY IT.
We used to use Kiss My Face shampoo but it is pretty much the most expensive crap you'll ever buy - and you need TONS to feel like you actually cleaned you hair with it.
The body wash is good though. I do like "Kiss my Face" just not the shampoo.



Update: I don't use my soda and vinegar method any more as I found my scalp was too dry and flakey - only reason - I tried other natural shampoos and nothing got rid of the flakes til using head and shoulders for awhile. I'll be going back to natural again now :) I'd like to have found a natural moisture alternative to head and shoulders but too much stress and busyness with my first new baby. Which is why I took the easy way out.

I had read that if your scalp gets dry with this vinegar and soda method to use less soda but it didn't seem to make a difference for me, it may for you, so it's worth a try! I will likely try it again. I loved it for about a year with no problems!

Have fun and curl away!!

The Blessing of Blood

Ok, I have SAID this time after time...

"Someday I want to spend time resting (soaking) in God's presence and then go donate blood and pray for the person who receives it to be healed." 

What an idea huh?

I work at the hospital and see people receive blood often. It can be during/after surgery when they have lost blood.. or have internal bleeding of an unknown cause, or simply have a low blood count for unknown reasons. Some people are really not doing well. It is a real need.

So for years I have procrastinated on donating blood... I was thrilled when a friend (Jess) got excited about donating blood and I agreed to go with her. This is something we will do again. Joel said he would like to as well :)

I didn't carry out my "soaking" plan as I had imagined, but I did pray a bit and feel good about asking God to bless my blood and touch someone's life and body with it.

I am writing this blog entry to encourage people, especially Christians to donate blood. Spend time praying! This can make a huge impact! Its only one way to Bless people and let God use you :)

I love it. If you know me and are interested ask me when I'm going next and we can go together. Otherwise grab a friend and go together, even spend time praying together first :)

I absolutely Hate needles, but this is a very good cause. It doesn't take long and they dont take much.

I grew up in a small town when Canadian Blood Services would only set up clinics once and awhile, but here in the city there is a clinic open every day of the week, even in the evening!

Click Here to Find a Clinic Near You

Do it. It's a Blessing. You have no idea who needs it!!

Good things to Know:

Drink lots of water before and after.

No strenuous activity for 6-8 hours after.

God Bless,

Cheryl

Knitting! - The Very Very Beginning

So, due to my new-found Pinterest obsession, I have decided to go another direction with my blog... There are so many things I want to share! On Pinterest there are so many ideas for things I want to do, and it's easy to just look at more and sit there not DOING any of them, but I decided the motivation was strong enough that i must absolutely dive in and start my long verbalized desire to sew, and to knit. I am all about making things yourself instead of buying expensive things, so the ideas on my mind are so many baby things that would save money (When the time comes - don't get TOO excited people!) But I have a dear friend who is pregnant right now and Id love to bless her with some cool homemade things. So I better get going!!!!

This photo is what motivated me to want to learn:

The other day I called up a serious knitter of a friend (Esther), who i'd really like to spend more time with anyway, and she agreed to get together for knitting lessons!! :):):)
So today was the date so I got out my stuff last night and struggled through attempting to continue a dishcloth began at least 3 years ago, and I had no clue what I was doing! Joel chuckled at me and said I was cute trying...
It turns out we couldn't get together today, but the desire and motivation was there so I sat down to try again. I got frustrated with that dishcloth and got out some yarn to practice with... I found a paper my grandmother gave me on how to knit and began practicing:

 I didn't actually cast-on this way as I learned an easier way for me before... But I wanted to include it in case someone was just starting out and didn't know how at all :)  Click to Enlarge

 So, what I did to figure out what I was doing was just started with 7-8 practice stitches or so and did knit-stitch over and over, and then purl over and over.. and then realized they are pretty much the same result. Then I tried to look at which was which.

When you do purl, it makes little bumps on the side you see and little vs on the back.
When you knit it is the opposite, so if you keep turning the work over and doing the same thing (all purl, or all knit) it will be the same alternating Vs and bumps on both sides...

SO, I learned that the trick is to decide what you want to do next... If you want all Vs on one side you will have to knit a full row and then purl when you flip the work over, and repeat. I did this with my practice yarn and it was fun.. Building confidence. Seeing all Vs on one side and bumps on the other was exciting!! ( I just learned this is called stockinette:

Then I stopped for a bit and picked it back up not knowing if i should do purl or knit to keep things smooth. I knew I wanted to make bumps on the front - so I purled the next row and didn't mess up the pattern! :)

I also figured out that if I had to stop in the middle of a row I could still figure out which stitch to continue it, because for purl your yarn to use is always kept in front of your work, and for knit it stays in the back.

I was then able to pick up my years old dishcloth and knew exactly what to do, I needed a row of purl next to continue my nice ripple look (called garter-stitch I guess) and get good scrubbing action on both sides of the cloth.
I'm so proud of myself. :)

So, I just wanted to share while it was fresh -  Someday once I get good at this and try to show someone else, I'll remember what made sense in the beginning :):)

I still have so much to learn!! So I'm all ready for more lessons now! It sure helps when you feel you can do at least something. I still don;t know how to cast off, or increase or decrease, and example patterns make me want to forget knitting, but Esther can help me.. I'm gonna finish this dishcloth and decide what to try next :) Maybe a diagonal row dishcloth to conquer increasing and decreasing... Then one with a border... we'll see!

These videos are also amazing:
http://www.ehow.com/videos-on_5274_knit-beginners.html

This website is awesome too:
http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/home/how-to-knit4.htm/printable 


Thanks for reading! I'll get back to knitting now!!
God Bless!
~ Cheryl

Oh, notice that these magazine pages are from 1987! cool eh? Thanks Nannie!