How to Make a Fauxby Wrap and Why I’m Never Sewing Again

Maybe that’s an overstatement – I may sew again someday.  But not for a long, long time.

I know how to use a sewing machine.  I know how to thread it, wind the bobbin, and even insert the bobbin.  I know how to make it go.

But clearly, I do not know how to do it well.  I don’t know how to work the tension, can’t sew a straight line, break needles left and right, and generally have a mess on my hands when I’m finished.

 

For some projects, my skills are enough.  Hem a curtain?  I can probably do that.  Sew (myself) a pillow cover? I can do that, too.  Beyond that, however, and we’re in trouble.

That didn’t stop me from promising that I’d make a Fauxby (fake Moby) Wrap for my friend Karen and her baby.  I declared that I would do so somewhere in the middle of the pregnancy. 

The baby is 3 months old now.  And the Faux-by Wrap is finally done.

It wasn’t really that hard. 

Step 1: Purchase 3 yards stretchy jersey knit fabric.  I found this ADORABLE ruffly striped gray.  Neutral enough to use everyday, but feminine, too. Thank you, Hobby Lobby.

Step 2: Cut fabric down the middle length-wise.  If you leave it folded in half for a couple of months, there will be a nice line for you to follow.

Step 3: Right sides together, sew the two long strips together on the short end.  Did that make sense?  When you’re done, you want one 6-yard-long piece of fabric.  I put two seams there, just for extra baby-carrying strength.

Step 4:  Watch videos on how to wrap up, without dropping the baby.

Like I said, not a very hard project.  I only broke the bobbin thread once.  I had thread on hand that almost matched the fabric.  And the stretchy fabric didn’t give me too hard of a time.

But, this project has spurred me to pack up the sewing machine and put it away.  Technically, that’s where it was before making the Fauxby, but now I’m more determined than ever not to get it out again.

You see, there are things you CAN DIY, and then there are things you SHOULD DIY.  Sewing projects are not things that I should DIY.

In the case of this adorable Fauxby, I didn’t save a lot of money by making it myself.  Plus, I did not enjoy making it myself.    So next time, I won’t make it myself.  I’ll hire it out, and spend my time on the things that I enjoy!

Someday, I’ll sew again.  But I’d like to take a class, or at least spend a good amount of time teaching myself; practicing, learning about the different settings on the machine, the proper way to cut out a pattern, the different types of needles, attachments, and whatever else that I don’t even know I don’t know.

Is there something you’ve attempted to DIY that you really shouldn’t have?  Knitting? I failed that DIY.  Painting furniture? That’s not as easy as it looks, either. What have you decided to leave to the “experts?”