Crochet a Baby Sling

Crocheted Cotton Sling Pattern

I designed this deep pouch-type sling by modifying a shoulder bag pattern I found in a 1970s crochet pattern book I got from my grandmother. When I designed the sling, and originally posted the pattern, I was pregnant and it took me a few months to be able to test it! I liked it, but since posting it, I've had others let me know that it didn't work well for them. I'm working on a new crocheted sling pattern that hopefully won't be quite so deep.

This sling is designed to have a nice, open mesh for air circulation. i intend to use it in the shower, pool, etc. and in the summer when my other slings are a bit hot. note that it feels a bit tight and the openings a bit small when i first put it on, but when i added about 10 lbs of weight in the sling, it stretched to fit quite nicely.

DISCLAIMER: Use of this pattern is at your own risk. Neither the author of this article nor the owner of kanggah.com make any claim to its suitability for a particular purpose nor to the accuracy of its design. Due to the nature of crochet, your results will vary and what works for one person may not work for the next. Results are not guaranteed; complaints are not welcome unless they are accompanied by concrete suggestions for improvement and permission to include your suggestions herein to assist others.

MATERIALS:

	approximately 10-12 oz 100% cotton worsted weight yarn (i'm a bit prejudiced in favor of cotton yarn--it's all i use! You may wish to try another type of yarn. )
	optional: small amount of contrasting color cotton worsted weight yarn for trim
	crochet hooks size G and H (If you tend to crochet rather loosely, you may want to drop down to an F and G.

NOTE: sling is worked with dc worked into the space between two dc sts, rather than in each dc st.

SLING: using larger hook, ch 4, join with sl st to form a circle.
row 1: ch 3 (counts as first dc), work 11 more dc into circle, sl st into SPACE bet beg ch and next dc to join, turn.
row 2: ch 3 (counts as first dc), work another dc in same space bet beg ch and dc, *work 2 dc in space bet the next 2 sts; rep from * around; 24 dc, sl st into SPACE bet beg ch and next dc to join, turn.
row 3: ch 3 (counts as first dc), work another dc in same space bet beg ch and dc, *dc in the next space bet 2 sts, work 2 dc in the next space bet 2 sts; rep from * around; 36 dc, sl st into SPACE bet beg ch and next dc to join, turn.
row 4: ch 3 (counts as first dc), work another dc in same space bet beg ch and dc, *dc in each of the next 2 spaces bet sts, work 2 dc in the next space bet 2 sts; rep from * around; 48 dc, sl st into SPACE bet beg ch and next dc to join, turn.
row 5: ch 3 (counts as first dc), work another dc in same space bet beg ch and dc, *dc in each of the next 3 spaces bet sts, work 2 dc in the next space bet 2 sts; rep from * around; 60 dc, sl st into SPACE bet beg ch and next dc to join, turn.
row 6: work even by dc-ing in each space around, sl st into SPACE bet beg ch and next dc to join, turn.
row 7: ch 3 (counts as first dc), work another dc in same space bet beg ch and dc, *dc in each of the next 4 spaces bet sts, work 2 dc in the next space bet 2 sts; rep from * around; 72 dc, sl st into SPACE bet beg ch and next dc to join, turn.
row 8: ch 3 (counts as first dc), work another dc in same space bet beg ch and dc, *dc in each of the next 7 spaces bet sts, work 2 dc in the next space bet 2 sts; rep from * around; 81 dc, sl st into SPACE bet beg ch and next dc to join, turn.
row 9: ch 3 (counts as first dc), work another dc in same space bet beg ch and dc, *dc in each of the next 8 spaces bet sts, work 2 dc in the next space bet 2 sts; rep from * around; 90 dc, sl st into SPACE bet beg ch and next dc to join, turn.
row 10: ch 3 (counts as first dc), work another dc in same space bet beg ch and dc, *dc in each of the next 9 spaces bet sts, work 2 dc in the next space bet 2 sts; rep from * around; 99 dc, sl st into SPACE bet beg ch and next dc to join, turn.
row 11: rep row 6.
row 12: ch 3 (counts as first dc), work another dc in same space bet beg ch and dc, *dc in each of the next 10 spaces bet sts, work 2 dc in the next space bet 2 sts; rep from * around; 108 dc, sl st into SPACE bet beg ch and next dc to join, turn.
row 13: ch 3 (counts as first dc), work another dc in same space bet beg ch and dc, *dc in each of the next 17 spaces bet sts, work 2 dc in the next space bet 2 sts; rep from * around; 114 dc, sl st into SPACE bet beg ch and next dc to join, turn.
row 14: ch 3 (counts as first dc), work another dc in same space bet beg ch and dc, *dc in each of the next 18 spaces bet sts, work 2 dc in the next space bet 2 sts; rep from * around; 120 dc, sl st into SPACE bet beg ch and next dc to join, turn.
rows 15-28: rep row 6.
row 29: work as established and dec every 9th and 10th st tog around; 108 dc, join and turn. [to work dec: insert hook in st, draw up a lp, insert hook in next st, draw up a lp, yo and draw through 3 lps on hook, yo and draw through rem 2 lps on hook]
row 30: rep row 6.
row 31: work as established and dec every 5th and 6th st tog around; 90 dc, join and turn. [to work dec, see row 29]
row 32: rep row 6.

SEPARATE FOR SHOULDER SHAPING: continue to work bet sts at all times.
FIRST SIDE:
row 33: ch 3, dec next 2 sts tog, dc in each of next 29 spaces, dec next 2 sts tog, dc in next space (33 sts), turn without working remaining sts.
row 34: ch 3, dec next 2 sts tog, dc in each of next 27 spaces, dec next 2 sts tog, dc in next space, turn.
row 35: ch 3, dec next 2 sts tog, dc in each of next 25 spaces, dec next 2 sts tog, dc in next space, turn.
row 36: ch 3, dec next 2 sts tog, dc in each of next 23 spaces, dec next 2 sts tog, dc in next space, turn.
row 37: ch 3, dec next 2 sts tog, dc in each of next 21 spaces, dec next 2 sts tog, dc in next space, turn.
row 38: ch 3, dec next 2 sts tog, dc in each of next 19 spaces, dec next 2 sts tog, dc in next space, turn.
row 39: ch 3, dec next 2 sts tog, dc in each of next 17 spaces, dec next 2 sts tog, dc in next space, turn.
row 40: ch 3, dec next 2 sts tog, dc in each of next 15 spaces, dec next 2 sts tog, dc in next space, turn.
row 41: ch 3, dec next 2 sts tog, dc in each of next 13 spaces, dec next 2 sts tog, dc in next space, turn.
row 42: ch 3, dc in each space across; 16 dc, turn.
rows 43-86: rep row 42. fasten and end off.

SECOND SIDE:
skip 12 spaces from the last st worked on row 33, join yarn in next space, ch 3 and work same as rows 33-51 for first side. fasten and end off. [you may wish to add or subtract rows after row 42 in order to adjust sizing but remember the stretch of the yarn.]

FINISHING: from wrong sides, sl st both ends of shoulder tog.

TRIM: with right side facing, either with same yarn or contrasting color and smaller hook, sc evenly around both openings, fasten and end off. [author's note: for me, "sc evenly" turned out to equal one sc in each dc st, one sc in the end of each plain dc row--which i think prevents stretching some--and two sc in the end of each dec row (bet 33 and 42 on each side). i worked the second sc in the end of each dec row into the dec st in order to prevent a big gap in the work.]

FOLLOW-UPS and FEEDBACK:
Jan tried this pattern, and then ended up creating her own:
http://www.sleepingbaby.net/jan/Baby/crochet.html

Robin of Phunwears said: "I used your pattern to make a baby sling for a friend of mine & I wanted to show you how it turned out ... Thank you so much for having the pattern."

The sling is pictured along with one of Robin's dress creations. See the full sized picture here.

Here's the pattern for anyone who wants it...feel free to share it with others, post it, etc., but please leave her copyright info on the bottom.

Crocheted Cotton Sling Pattern