How To | Mei Tai Baby Carrier

If you read my summer day camp post last week I mentioned this upcoming post about baby carriers. I recently sewed myself a Mei Tai carrier and I love it. When my kids were babies I used the Baby Bjorn and I loved that thing, but my babies were all on the big side and it seemed too quickly they got to the point where I couldn’t stuff their chubbies into that carrier anymore. My youngest one she is a zinger, she makes me want to purchase one of those leashes and hook her to it just so I can keep her in my sight. I decided a bigger baby carrier might be one solution. We have lots of times when we forget to or can’t fit the stroller in the car and we end up some place where I need to carry her. Other times we have our double-stroller, but if there is a lot of walking then the 5 yr. old and 3 yr. old like to ride in it, this cloth carrier gives me a lot more options for getting everyone to where we need to go.

I have seem similar carriers sold for around $100, but I couldn’t bring myself to spend another $100 on something for toting kids around. I decided to do some searching on the internet. I had a really good idea of how I wanted to make the carrier, but I thought I would look around to see what I could find. I lucked out and came across this great tutorial that was exactly what I had been picturing, it even includes a hood/headrest. Check it out – Brooke wrote an awesome free tutorial that is full of clear instructions and videos for sewing your own carrier. She has over 4 years of experience making carriers.

You can find the tutorial here: Mei Tai Baby Carrier Tutorial at Still Learning Life…

You can see my finished Mei Tai carrier above. I made mine out of gender neutral fabric so I could also carry my 3 yr. old son in it. After making the carrier I have a few changes I made or would make that I will detail out below.

1. I made the main part of the carrier 2 inches longer than what is shown in the instructions, so instead of being 21 inches in height mine is 23 inches. You can see how my daughter fits in it by looking at the picture at the top of the post. In that photo she is 20 months old and wears a size 2t. It is a little on the big side, but I also carry my 3 yr. old and they are both only going to get bigger.
2. I followed the instructions for the waist strap padding. For me the waist strap padding wraps all the way around and when I tie the straps I can’t make them quite tight enough because the padding is in the way. When you add your padding, measure your waist and decide how far around your waist you want the padding to go to make it comfortable to wear and easy to tie tight enough.
3. I also followed the instructions for the length of the top straps. The straps were a bit to long even when I tied them in a really big bow. That was an easy fix, I just trimmed off the end and sewed them back closed.
4. I am hoping to add a small pocket to the waist strap. I always wear my daughter on my back (you can easily wear a baby/child on the front) and would love to have a little pocket to hold keys, cash and a cell phone. Carrying a purse while she is on my back is impossible.

This Mei Tai carrier has been a real life-saver this summer as we travel and camp. Again, you can find the instructions here: Mei Tai Baby Carrier Tutorial at Still Learning Life…

During my internet search I also come across some other link for Mei Tai carriers that you might want to look at:

• http://www.make-baby-stuff.com/tablerunnerplacemat-onbuhimo.html

• http://www.sleepingbaby.net/jan/Baby/asian.html
• http://www.sleepingbaby.net/jan/Baby/man-tai.shtml