So not everything you read on the internet is correct. Gasp. That or I am just an idiot. I posted a while ago that I got 2yd cuts of fabric for baby wraps. Well, when I went to try them out (before I cut thankfully), I discovered that they were WAY too short to successfully wrap around an adult body. Dismayed, I realized it really was 5-6 yards, not feet. The expense of the items just skyrocketed, but it was still better than buying retail. So, I went to hancock fabrics during a 50% off sale on gauze solids, and got myself some nice loose woven fabric.
How to make the "Fauxby" (Moby) Wrap:
(I apologize in advance for he lack of photos... My camera took a ton of really crappy ones that you can't see because of too much flash or too dark. I can't win...)
Cut 6 yards of fabric in half long ways (hot dog style for those that remember that) for a 45" wide fabric, in thirds for a 60" wide. This should give you either 2 or 3 long strips of fabric that are about 20" in width and 6 yards long. Take 1 long strip. This will be your wrap. Using a serger, finish all 4 edges. If you do not have a serger, use your sewing machine to make a narrow hem to finish all the edges. (To make a narrow hem: press under about 1/4" of fabric on each end. With the pressed edge facing down, press under 1/4" again from the pressed edge. The raw edge should now be enclosed by fabric. Machine stitch the top to keep the raw edge enclosed.) Your Fauxby wrap is now usable.
I used some cute animal print fabric to add an elephant applique (the theme for my friend's new little boy) to add personality and to mark the center of the wrap. Moby uses the tag for this purpose. I wanted something more fun. So, I cut out the image I wanted to use from a patterned piece of fabric and serged the edges. Again, you can use a narrow hem instead. I positioned it in the middle lengthwise a few inches below one edge (sticking it in the exact center will make it not show about 90% of the time. Putting it on one side makes that the "top" artificially, but oh well) and machine stitched it in place. Its that easy.
So, like I was saying earlier in a post about sergers, I don't have many colors of thread in the necessary 3 spool count. Green was no exception. For the wrap I used aqua, brown and yellow.
The finished product looks super cool - one side has brown edging and one has aqua (the needle thread on a serger doesn't really show much compared to the looper threads so use your least favorite thread if you want to hide it or the brightest one if you want it to pop). I never actually tried that before so it was exciting to see. 6 yards of fabric seemed to be just a little long, but I worry that going any shorter will make it hard to use on bigger kids.
Bottom line:
6 yards of gauze @ $2.50/yd (on sale) = $15
thread = negligible
Applique = negligible (I bought the fabric to use on other baby projects and only used a small rectangle of it - you could save scraps for this purpose)
since the fabric made 2 (I had a 45" wide), cost per wrap = $7.50
time = less than 1 hour with a serger, longer with just a sewing machine
Retail: $40 & up/each
Savings: about $33/wrap
To find out how to use your wrap, go to the Moby website.
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