ring sling with overlapping pleat shoulder

Today's message: I have closed the store for a week so that I can work on my directions -- I will be completely redoing them and that takes a lot of time. Plus my kids start school on Wednesday, and I'd like to be fully present for that :) You will be able to view swatches and select options, but the "add to cart" button is disabled. (That's how I keep orders from coming in.) I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Please fan my Facebook page if you'd like to get live updates.
Please read about infant safety in baby-holding devices (every parent, babywearer or not, needs to know about this) and sling safety!

Quick information:

Please read the sling construction page before ordering -- it covers the important details of how your sling will be sewn.

Have a sling whose fabric you love, but whose shoulder isn't for you, or a short wrap you want to turn into a ring sling?

Six sling sizes are available. Please check your size before ordering!

See pocket and accessories for pockets and other useful additions to your sling, and tail accents to add some color to the tail of your sling.

Welcome!

Please read this important sling safety information, and this about general infant safety in other devices!

Please read: A note about stock and reordering, and the fate of the babywearing industry

The baby carrier industry is currently in flux (please visit the Baby Carrier Industry Alliance for more information). The CPSIA (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act) requires that all durable infant goods conform to a mandatory standard. Slings and other non-front-pack baby carriers, which are now included in that category, do not yet have a standard in place, although a dedicated group of industry leaders has been working on one since 2008.

I attended the last meeting on August 27th, 2010, and it appears that that the standard will come up for a vote soon. At that time, assuming it passes (and I get the impression that it should), it will become a voluntary standard. The process by which it will become mandatory under the CPSIA will, I gather, take 1-2 years; then, all sling manufacturers will be required to meet the standard. I think the standard is a good one, and it is necessary -- there are far too many unsafe slings on the market, and the standard will go a long way to eliminating those and making existing carriers safer with better labeling and education. However, the downside of the testing industry is that it is not geared towards small-batch manufacturers. I asked one testing agency representative what a test would likely cost, and he said, in a very nonchalant manner, "Oh, about $2000." My jaw literally dropped. $2k is fine when you're a manufacturer with 50,000 units sending one to be tested; when you're a WAHM who might make 20-100 in that fabric, it's completely cost-prohibitive. There will be some tests that WAHMs can batch together if they use a common source, but the most expensive parts of the testing must be done on finished units, and those will have to be done individually. This will simply price the vast majority of WAHM-made slings out of the market, leading to a loss of the vitality and variety we have enjoyed up til now.

If you would like to help, please please please consider making a donation to the BCIA. This dedicated group of babywearing manufacturers, retailers, educators, and friends, is hoping to ensure that small businesses like mine are able to stay in business. My hope is that through the BCIA, we can negotiate fabric co-ops and discounts on testing, and perhaps make it affordable for medium-scale WAHMs at least to stay in business. Please see my Facebook note about why I joined for more information. The current climate is affecting all babywearing businesses. The recent Infantino recall made many uninformed people believe that all slings, not just badly-designed ones, are dangerous, and more than one company is now out of business because of it. I don't want to see others (my own included) fall as well. We need everyone's help to keep that from happening.

Since the standard will not be mandatory for the next 1-2 years, I will try to run my business as I have done for the last 10 years, and offer a certain (though probably lower) amount of variety in my fabrics. However, as the mandatory date draws nearer, I will likely have to choose one or at most two fabrics that I can have tested. I'm not sure where custom sewing and wrap and sling redos will fit in under the standard; obviously customer-sent fabrics can't be tested the way a large batch could be. I need to get some clarification on that. I am truly sorry to be the bearer of this news; I was hoping testing might be much more affordable and leave us the option of offering small-batch slings, but I don't think that will be the case. Again, I would urge all concerned customers to join the BCIA in hopes that we can keep WAHMs in business for the babies born in our near future.

Back to your regularly-scheduled web page...

As seen in the Jan/Feb 2007 issue of Mothering Magazine (one of the favorite slings!)

Cloth baby carriers are just about the most useful baby gadget on the planet. While they may be seen as a new invention in the United States, where strollers have long been the norm, practically every culture on the planet has a version, and they've been used for thousands of years. Ring slings are a relatively recent innovation, dating to 1980, but their ease of use and versitility have quickly made them a staple for parents in the know. [more on babywearing]

To find out more about SBP slings and to explore fabrics, colors, and other features, please use the links at the top and bottom of the page. I strive to make babywearing easy and affordable, and I think you'll find that my slings are a great value!

Why choose SBP over an Etsy or eBay sling? I started by writing just a few reasons, but the list was getting so long, I had to put it on its own page.

I take all forms of PayPal (funded, non-funded, PPCC, and e-checks), and credit cards through PayPal -- a PayPal account is not required!