Friday, August 21, 2009

Before & after, or how not to sew

A midwife recently asked me to make her a baby scale sling--the kind you use when to weigh a newborn after the birth. She purchased one online and it was, to put it nicely, a piece of work. The fabric was hideous. The thread didn't match. The stitching was uneven. The hems were unfinished in places. The rings were thin and flimsy. The raw edges weren't matched up at all. She asked if I could make her a new one. Here are the before & after pictures:

Before
After
(chartreuse batik with blue rings)
I've been busy making slings. Besides the chocolate/blue and silk/batik reversible slings from last week, I've made the following this week and have more on order.

Turquoise linen with silver rings & decorative stitching.Brown linen with embroidered dots, bronze rings, and bronze embroidery
Peacock silk dupioni with silver rings & decorative stitchingBlack linen embroidered with gold flowers, black ringsBlack linen embroidered with fruit, pink rings

19 comments:

  1. GEEZ, that is horrible. I actually like coming across shoddy sew jobs in things that I buy...makes me feel good about my mediocre skills. :) Your slings, as always, are gorgeous!

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  2. I recently made a couple scale slings for my practice. I was proud with the way they turned out. I have to say - yours blows mine out of the water! Gorgeous!

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  3. I'm curious...

    How do you deal with the reverse side of embroidered fabric? do you line your embroidered linen slings?

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  4. Wow! Did she get her money back for that awful bit of sewing? She should!

    Your slings are absolutely gorgeous, Rixa.

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  5. I can't believe the poor woman paid money for that!!!!

    I LOOOOOVE that brown one with the embroidered dots - you're so talented!

    My hubby doesn't want me to buy a new sling for the new baby, so I'm crossing my fingers that I'll be able to win something SOMEWHERE before February :)

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  6. Jodi--most of the embroidered fabrics I use look almost the same on the back side as the front, so I don't need to line them.

    Kim--you could always make one for yourself, perhaps?

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  7. You have some of the most beautiful fabrics! Where do you get it?

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  8. Those slings are so beautiful! Makes me wish I had a baby so I could have an excuse to by one...

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  9. Just another comment on how beautiful your slings are! I wish I a little little one still!

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  10. I buy the fabric from all over: some online, some in fabric stores. Most of it comes in fairly small lots so I sell out quickly. I'd like to look into wholesale purchasing, but I don't know if I have a high enough volume to justify that yet...

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  11. OMG I am drooling over the black linen with embroidered fruit. I still have birthday money left, I just might have to make an order.

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  12. I don't suppose any of those are for me? :)

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  13. The fruit one is coming your way--just mailed it today!

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  14. Beautiful work! I wish I didn't already have too many!!

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  15. Do you know where I could find a pattern or an explanation for how to fold the baby weight slings, I would like to make a couple for my midwives.

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  16. your slings are beautiful!!

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  17. Your baby sling scale is GORGEOUS... *drool*!!!

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  18. What kind of rings do you use?

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    Replies
    1. For the infant scale slings, I use the large aluminum rings from www.slingrings.com. For my ring slings, I use M for light/med weight fabrics and L for heavy fabrics.

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