DIY baby sling beads or how to knit baby sling beads photo master class

What are baby sling beads?

For modern mothers who care about their child, baby slings are a godsend. They are indispensable when a child is teething, because it often happens that babies do not like special teethers, but beads that are pleasant to the touch are much more interesting!

Baby sling beads are also quite convenient when breastfeeding: during feeding, the baby will with great pleasure take care of the beads, and not the curls of his beloved mother. The baby grows up, becomes active, loves to touch and learn everything by touch, and bright colors attract his attention. In addition, the pleasant texture of the baby sling promotes the development of fine motor skills, and this is very important for a growing child.

And don’t forget that knitted beads are a fashionable and original accessory that you can easily make yourself using your unique design and imagination. How to make baby sling beads with your own hands?

Ideas for inspiration

Photo of a wonderful version of a baby sling, as a themed toy, made in a marine style:

"Caterpillar":

"Berry scattering":

"Sweet couple":

Making baby sling beads has long gone beyond the scope of an ordinary hobby. For many, this activity has become a successful business project that will suit different categories of people. For example:

• housewives;
• young mothers on maternity leave;
• students who do not yet have the opportunity to find a job;
• and simply creative people who enjoy the creative process.

Related article: Knitting for the kitchen. Beautiful jars

Approximate cost:

• the price of consumables for making one baby sling ranges from approximately 200 to 300 rubles;
• the price for a finished handmade product will be from 700 to 800 rubles;
• The time it takes to make one bead by an experienced craftsman is about 3-4 hours.

The profit from the sale of one product will be about 500 rubles. with the possibility of increasing it. A serious approach to business and a clear business plan can turn additional income into good earnings.

Every young mother wants the best for her child. And what could be better than a handmade toy, into which all the love and care for your baby has been invested. Sling beads are not just fun for a little person. These bright beads are mother’s little helpers that will calm, entertain and teach the baby something new.

What is important to remember when choosing material for a baby sling?

When creating baby slings, it is important to remember that we are making them for a child, so all materials must be environmentally friendly and safe. Under no circumstances should you use beads coated with varnish or paint. The ideal option is juniper beads with a pleasant aroma. It is prohibited to use metal or plastic parts for decoration, as well as sequins, beads and other small items. The best option is knitted jewelry of various shapes and colors.

The choice of threads is no less important - they must be durable, non-fading (after all, the beads will have to be washed), without lint or lurex, and, of course, natural. If you use beads only as decoration, then durable and wear-resistant acrylic is better (besides, not everyone recognizes it as synthetic). To string beads, you can take a ready-made silk thread or tie it yourself with air loops.

In fact, there are a great many options for designing and decorating baby slings. But we'll talk about them a little later. In the meantime, let's get acquainted with the method of making beads.

Important parts and assembly of the baby sling

The large part of the toy is ready - both the head and the torso. Start shaping the kitten's lower legs. Work 28 single crochets, count 6 threads back and connect to the seventh loop. Make a couple of rows on six stitches, then a couple of single crochets, decrease from the “face” of the part, repeat a couple of stitches. Cut the thread, thread it through the half-loops at the back and pull it off. Hide the “tail” in the canvas. Make the second cat's paw according to the model.

Upper limbs of the toy: ring made of thread; 15 single crochets; decrease and final column. Make the second part, cut the threads with enough space for sewing the paws to the body.

Attach a thread along the side edge of the top of the head and tie 3 links of the air chain. Then make a couple of yarn overs on the hook shaft, knit the first one separately, and the remaining 3 thread bows together. One ear of the sling toy is ready. Knit the second one in the same way. Please note: the ear is knitted from the base of the first chain stitch.

For the cat's tail, make an air chain of two dozen loops, tie with single crochets. When cutting the thread, provide a tail for sewing. Fill the body with holofiber and make a connecting seam. Sew the components to the toy and decorate the face with embroidery. Do not use beads, sequins or other details that are dangerous for the child.

Make decorative elements for beads to your taste. Detailed photos and videos on the Internet with step-by-step master classes will help you. String beads and toys onto the cord and make strong knots at the beginning and end of the decoration. All that remains is for the young mother to put on the baby wraps, tie the string around her neck with a bow and please the baby.

How to crochet baby sling beads?

So, first we need to decide on the color of the yarn and the size of the beads. Try experimenting: place beads of different sizes on the table, think about how the finished product will look. Have you thought about it? Then let's get to work!

Step-by-step instruction:

To begin, we cast on a chain of four to five air loops.

We close the chain into a ring - to do this, insert the hook into the largest loop, grab the working thread and pull it out.

We continue knitting in a circle with single crochets. First row - we knit two stitches into each loop of the previous row, thereby increasing the diameter of the circle.

When knitting subsequent rows, we make increases every 2-3 stitches.

From time to time we try on the resulting “cap” for our bead.

When you reach the middle of the bead, knit several rows without increasing. Place the bead in the “cap” - the knitting should fit it tightly.

After knitting until the bead begins to narrow, continue knitting with the bead inside. Now we are making narrowings, knitting two stitches together every 2-3 stitches.

The last row ends with a sharp taper - every two stitches are knitted together.

We thread the protruding threads with a crochet hook.

It turned out to be a wonderful bead!

Step-by-step manufacturing instructions

Let's look at the most popular options for making baby slings. If desired, you can combine different designs.

From fabric

Fabric baby slings

For this product you will need:

• seven large wooden beads about 4 centimeters in diameter;
• bright, baby-attracting cotton fabric;
• sewing machine, thread, needle;
• scissors.

Materials for making fabric baby slings

Cut a strip of fabric 1.5 meters long and 10 centimeters wide.

Fold the strip of fabric in half lengthwise, right side inward.

We sew the fabric along the free edge; it is better to do this by machine. If there is no machine, then we use a “back needle” stitch. As a result, we should have a tube. The side edges should remain unstitched.

Turn the resulting tube right side out and, stepping back 35 centimeters from the edge, tie a tight knot.

Place the bead in the tube and push it until it reaches the knot. Then we tie a second knot.

We fix the rest of the beads in this way, pay attention that the distance between them is the same.

Making baby sling beads from fabric. Step 6

After all seven beads are in the tube, compare the free ends - they should be the same length. Try on the jewelry and determine the optimal length. Then wrap the raw ends of the sling beads and sew them together.

Making baby sling beads from fabric Step 7

Ready-made fabric baby slings

Crochet

We will need:

• beads made of wood (juniper beads are often used because of their pleasant smell);
• 100% cotton threads (iris, for example);
• Crochet hook;
• ribbon or waxed cord for the base;
• filler (needed for soft beads made of hypoallergenic fiber);
• rattling or rustling objects.

First of all, since our craft will consist of crocheted beads, you should learn how to crochet beads.

To do this, you need to cast on four air loops, connect them with a closed loop, and then knit six single crochets. When knitting the next row, we make 2 single crochets in each loop. As a result, we should already have 12 loops. We knit the next row neither decreasing nor adding loops.

Our knitting becomes like a bead cap. Let's try it on with our bead.

If the cap turns out to be too small for the diameter of the bead, tie it up. Then instead of 6 loops at the beginning we make 8 loops, increasing in the same way.

We knit a couple more rows with single crochets with the same number of loops.

Position the bead correctly - the hole in the harness should coincide with the hole in the bead

We knit the next row, cutting every second loop. When closing the last loop, leave a small tail on the thread.

There are many options for sling beads with such tied beads. Let's look at a few of them

With wooden beads

We will need:

• wooden beads of different diameters;
• hook;
• yarn.

Slingbeads with wooden beads

We lay out the beads in the order in which they will be placed in the finished product. You need to decide which beads will be tied and which will not.

We tie the beads and string them onto the base ribbon, alternating with untied beads. It can be made by knitting air loops from yarn. To prevent the beads from sliding along the thread, we tie tight knots before and after each bead.

Made from soft beads with a pendant

We will need:

• cotton threads;
• hook;
• bandage, foam rubber or fabric;
• large buttons or ring.

Baby slings with suspension

First, we need to cut out balls of the required size from foam rubber, then crochet them with thread. To make the beads denser, they can be filled with a rolled up ball of bandage or a piece of fabric.

We connect the beads with a chain of air loops. The length can be adjusted as desired. Don't forget to secure the balls with knots.

Now let's make the pendant. To do this, we make a chain of air loops (about a meter). We put the prepared buttons on it. They need to be folded so that the buttons hang at the bottom of the accordion made of thread. We tie a large knot on top.

In order to make a pendant in the form of a ring, take a ring (wooden or plastic, you can find it in the store) and tie it with single crochets.

Tied ring for baby sling

We attach the resulting pendant to the middle of the sling beads assembled together.

With rattles

Baby slings with rattles

For a baby sling with rattles we will need:

• containers for Kinder Surprise toys;
• cereals, pebbles, bell;
• threads;
• hook.

Pour the “filler” (cereals, pebbles, etc.) into containers and close the lid tightly.

We tie the container according to the same principle as the beads, adding several rows in the middle.

We fasten all the balls with a chain of air loops. You can insert small bells in between.

Options for assembling and decorating a baby sling

Our beads are tied, now it remains to connect them into one. There are several options. You can string the beads tightly, and then the lace will not be visible.

Or you can place the beads at a short distance from each other, but in this case the lace between them will need to be tied in knots.

You can also assemble our babywearing beads in several ways:

• do not fasten the edges of the ribbon or lace on which the beads are strung, and you can freely vary the length of your sling beads;
• tie or sew a ribbon at the junction - in this case you will get beads of a fixed length.

There are a lot of ways to decorate baby slings: you can choose the one you like best. Alternatively, when assembling beads, you can alternate tied and untied beads - it will turn out very beautiful and original.

You can also decorate the beads with crocheted parts by first selecting knitting patterns in a magazine or on the Internet. You can combine a wide variety of materials and shapes in one product: it all depends on your imagination and mood.

Don’t forget that one of the purposes of the baby carrier is to keep the baby occupied. Therefore, many mothers, when decorating beads, use knitted figures of animals, fruits or vegetables, which can also be filled with candy wrappers or buckwheat. You will get such a unique rattle! To create such original rattles, they often use an empty Kinder Surprise container, first tying it with a crochet hook. The main thing is to remember that the decorations should not be very small and safe for the baby.

Toy for baby

Sling beads are designed for small children and often end up in their mouths. Therefore, it is very important to choose high-quality and safe material for their manufacture.

Beads

The most important thing is the beads. Different materials are used for their production. The best ones, of course, are wooden ones. The main thing is that they are made from whole wood, and not from pressed sawdust. And the beads should not be treated with varnish, paint or any kind of spraying. The best are juniper fragrant and ecological beads.

Beads can be plastic or acrylic. In this case, you need to make sure the quality of the material and the absence of an unpleasant odor.

Silicone beads are a great option for quick results. They are bright, children like them and are a great help when teething.

Related article: Hot batik technique

Yarn

Yarn can only be made from cotton. This is a safe material with a wide color palette.

What to string beads on

The best option is waxed cotton cord. It is very durable, and the baby will not be able to tear or chew it. Sometimes a satin ribbon is used if it suits the intended model better.

You will also need sharp scissors and a good hook that is the right size for the threads.

It is prohibited to use for the manufacture of:

• metal parts;
• small pebbles, beads, glass beads;
• wire and other sharp materials;
• fragile tapes and cords;
• painted parts.

To make the elements of the beads sound, you can use different fillers in their manufacture. For a rustling sound, caramel wrappers and cereals are used, carefully sewn into canvas bags. And the cereal, placed in a tied plastic container from Kinder Surprise, makes wonderful rattling sounds.

You can use a bell to make a ringing sound.

Lately, personalized baby slings have become increasingly popular. To make them, you need to purchase beads with letters. Useful lessons for beginners can be viewed in the videos provided.

Master class on knitting a cord for a baby sling:

Lesson on tying a ring:

There are many versions of this funny toy. Sling beads can be assembled not only from beads, but also from other elements that attract the child. These can be knitted buttons, rings of different diameters, small knitted toys.

The patterns for knitting elements shown below will be useful for beginning needlewomen.