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  The long straps found on mei tai’s on half buckles can be intimidating in the winter months.  How to keep them clean?

Personally I just find a clean surface if I can but if I can’t I don’t worry too much. If my straps get dirty I spot clean them or wash the carrier (wash on cold on a delicate cycle – in a laundry bag if you have a top loader).  I haven’t had any problems getting the straps clean, even my white strapped carrier, the only stain I couldn’t remove was my fault (don’t give a toddler chocolate while wearing!)

However there are a few other methods you can use to minimize your straps dragging on the ground, most of them simple and easy. 

1/ Find something to rest your straps on.
 If getting out of the car, lay the straps on a seat, but any clean surface will do, such as a table or chair. 

Tie the waist strap on, then hold on to the top straps so they don't drag on the ground.

Then put on one shoulder strap at a time (if  doing one at a time, You can control where they go a little better and get it on without it dragging on the ground). 

After getting the shoulder straps situated, you can tuck the ends into your waist strap (and/or your pockets). Then grab your baby and untuck one strap at a time.  If the straps still come too close to the floor while you are putting the carrier on just untuck/retuck it back in until they are too short to touch the ground.

2/ Pre tie
Put the carrier on before leaving home (with baby inside so you get a good fit), remove the straps off of your shoulders, and take baby out, without untying. Or if you want to tie without baby just tie the the mei tai on you front the way you would if baby were inside, only leave it loose.  Leave enough room to slip your baby into the body.

When you get to your destination hold baby up on your shoulder, slide baby down into the body.  Make sure to position their legs on either side of the body so that their knees are higher than their bum. You may need to pull up on the top of the carrier to settle them down inside.

When you get to a clean and dry place retie so that the carrier is snug enough and the straps are in a good place, with practice, if you can leave it just loose enough to slip baby in, you might not need to make too many adjustments after.
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If you need to take your baby out you don't take the whole thing off every time, just untie or slip the shoulders off and once baby is out, loosely tie the shoulder straps back on so they aren't trailing the ground.
 
3/ Braided Strap Method
This clever method was shared through Wrapsody’s babywearing hack challenge. Link to the original article. https://wrapsodybaby.com/keep-mei-tai-straps-clean/ . This also works for a back carry.

1. Braid each MT strap (like you would a wrap) leave about 30cm unbraided (just enough so that when you flip the straps over you shoulder you can just reach the end behind your back). You can do this sitting in the car, or before you leave the house  2. Tie MT around your waist (the braided section will no mean the straps are short and not dangling on the ground)
3. Pop baby in MT
4. Flip one MT shoulder strap over your shoulder, reach behind you back with the opposite hand and grab the end.
5. Pull the end to ‘unbraid’ the strap and bring it around and under baby’s bottom as you normally would. Tighten the strap stand by strand if you have wrap straps.
6. Repeat with the other strap and tie off how ever you prefer.
7. Enjoy what ever you planned to do with clean, dry MT shoulder straps!

I love mei tai's but the long straps can make them annoying to carry about with no baby in it.  Here's a way to fold up your mei tai in a way which creates a useful handle which makes it easy to sling your mei tai over your shoulder when you are out and about or to hang up for storage.  This will work for any mei tai with a hood.  The mei tai bellow has a hoodie hood.  A flat hood will give you the neatest bundle but other hood styles work fine as long as it has ties. This will work for a half buckle too or any carrier with long straps.

Place your mei tai reverse side up.  Fold your straps toward the centre of your mei tai, leaving one shoulder strap free.

Fold the remaining strap into a loop and knot at the base of the shoulder.

Roll up the body of the carrier firmly.

Roll the hood tightly leaving the ties free.

Tie the hood ties to your looped shoulder strap.

Ready to go!

Toddler size Natibaby Dandelions with a panel of silk Zara She on the opposite side .  I originally wanted to make this for summer but it is now almost winter! Nevermind, my toddler in enjoying it anyway.  He is two years and five months.  I'm happy he still lets me carry him sometimes.  He is Mr Independant lately!

 My mei tai's, half buckles, and full buckles vary in how they fit and how easy they are to modify to fit different sized children. I don't recommend wearing too big a size in half buckle/full buckle.  Ideally a mei tai should also be the correct size but they are much easier to modify to fit than the other styles so can fit a wider size range.   Mei Tai's and half buckles have no darts in the smaller sizes (so your baby will be held close to your body) but the toddler size does.  Darts allow a wider/deeper seat without having to make the whole carrier wider and tend to make the whole carrier fit a bit bigger.  Carriers with darts tend to hold your baby slightly away from your body (which transfers the weight mostly to your hips) so I have added darts to all my full buckles to help keep the weight off your shoulders since you cannot offset this weight by tyiing the shoulder straps  as you can in a mei tai/half buckle.  

If you have Flared Straps (padded to wrap) on your carrier you can use the spread out wrap part of the straps the extend the width of the seat for a child who has begun to outgrow it.  It is not essential for a toddler to be knee to knee by the way (one of my daughter was happily carried occasionally up to five years old in a standard size carrier) but knee to knee does tend to be more comfortable and allows a better weight distribution for wearer and wearree.

Sizing is a guide only and is based on my average sized children plus some customer feedback  I am always looking for more feedback so if you have any thoughts on sizing I would love to hear from you!

In general if your baby is on the smaller side of average you may get a longer use out of a particular size or if your child is at the top of the charts it may be outgrown sooner.

Quick size guide - if you baby is under a year old size 1 is best,  if you baby is over a year size 2 is recommended, and if your baby is at least 18 months then choose toddler.  Prefer a mei tai that will you can use across a large age range? - choose size 2 (standard). Want more detail? See below!


Size 1- baby size - from newborn to young toddler.  Adjustable base option available (on custom carriers) for legs out carry from an early age. Click on the link for action photos and dimensions.  This design has a curved top edge and straight sides but a straight top edge option is available.  

Size 2- standard size - suitable for both babies and toddlers. This size has a wider and taller body to support the weight of your older baby and toddler well. Curved top edge for extra head/back support. This size fits best from around 6-8 months but can be used for younger babies with modifications.  To use with a young baby the bottom can be rolled up to make it shorter and cinched with a ribbon to make it narrower or baby can be carried with legs froggied inside the carrier.  The body is also slightly contoured so when you roll the bottom to make the mei tai shorter for a baby it will be narrower as well allowing a small baby to be more comfortably legs out.  The mei can be used legs out (with the bottom rolled) from around 4-5 months. This size mei tai suits babies up to around 2-3 years.  

Size 3 - toddler size - This carrier is taller and slightly wider than size 2, with seat darts for a deeper seat.  This size fits from at least 18 months to around 3-4 years.  Curved top edge and straight sides. 

Mei Tais are the most versatile in how they fit.  They will fit all sized wearers although if you are plus size you may like extra long straps for tying tibetan or if you are petite (less than a 23" waist) you may prefer petite waist padding to get your waist strap as tight as you like.

Mei Tais are easy to modify for a small baby by rolling the waist band to reduce height or by cinching the base with a ribbon to reduce width for legs out.  Mei tai's can be worn apron or non apron style (wearing non apron will increase the height and wearing apron will reduce it). I can also add an adjustable base to your carrier which means you can adjust the width and the waistband will always lie nice and flat and it's easy to roll if you need to too.

The smallest size mei tai I make is 15" as I feel this is fairly easy to modify to fit a newborn and will not be outgrown too soon.  A 14" carrier is a better fit for a very small baby and I did use this originally as my baby size but I found that my small to average daughter outgrew it by 12 months.  I can make this size on request though if you don't need your carrier to be suitable for toddler wearing.
 
Please note baby and standard size mei tais have no darts to allow a close fit.  I can make these sizes with darts on request but bear in mind they will fit slightly differently (in general they will fit bigger).

Half buckles are not as flexible as mei tai's in sizing and are meant to be worn non apron style.  Like a mei tai you can roll the waist and wear apron style but it will sit a little diffferently.  Like mei tai's this style of carrier is reversible - just remove the buckles and rethread the opposite way.  Small babies can be worn froggied or with the base rolled and cinched (for legs out).

Although half buckles are designed to be worn non-apron style t is still possible to comfortably roll the waist to shorten the carrier or to wear apron style since the waist is  padded rather than structured which can let you use the carrier sooner with a smaller baby.  Baby size (size 1) will fit from newborn (with legs froggied in or with base rolled and cinched for young babies) until 18 months.  An adjustable base in recommend for babies under four months old.  You will need to roll the waist for a better fit for babies younger than 4-5 months in a legs out carry.  Standard size (size 2) will fit best from around 8-10 months until around 2-3 years.  Toddler size fits from around 18 months (small to average sized toddlers will fit best in this size from 2 years.

Measurements for half buckles - The length of the waist belt is 73cm including buckles, but I can make that smaller or longer if you need it.  The length of the padded section is 63cm.

Please note baby and standard size mei tais have no darts to allow a close fit.  I can make these sizes with seat darts on request but bear in mind they will fit slightly differently (in general they will fit bigger).

Full buckles are the most convenient style of carrier to use but least flexible style sizing wise so I have added another sizing option (infant)  to suit for smaller babies.  You can cinch base with ribbon if the base is too wide but young babies cannot be carried with legs froggied.  Babies under a year fit best in infant/baby size.   18 months is really the minimum age for toddler size (unless your child is very tall) as the body panel is quite tall. Small to average size toddlers will fit best in toddler size from around 2 years and will generally not fit comfortably before this.

Infant (35.5cm x 37cm/14" x 14.5")  4 months -  18 months
Baby/In between  (38cm x 38cm/ 15"x 15") 6 months -  2 years
Standard  (40.5cm x 42cm/16" x 16.5") 10 months - 2.5 years
Petite Toddler/ In between (43cm x 43cm/ 17"x17") 18 months - 3 years
Toddler (46cm x 46cm /18" x  18") - 2- 4 years
Preschool (48cm x 50cm) 19" x 20" - 3 years - 5 years

Standard Strap (16"/40cm) fits from 158cm to 180cm tall,  Australian dress size 10 - 16.  If you are outside this size range you may need petite or extra long straps.  Petite straps are 14"/35cm  and 18"/46cm for extra long.  Fit adjusters/adjustable strap is available.  

Adjustable Size
The adjustable base and height option added to on infant or baby size carrier will make your carrier suitable for a smaller baby than stated above.  Babies vary in height so some babies may fit in the carrier sooner or later than others - just bear in mind that babies under four months must be well supported in the carrier with no slumping  for optimal positioning.​

Custom Size
You can choose use a shorter height size to suit a baby who likes arms out or to share between siblings (a toddler and preschooler for example).  Some popular combinations are toddler width and standard height or  preschool width and toddler height.
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My favourite half buckle (and helper!)

Flared Straps are my version of padded to wrap straps.  Straps that start off with a padded section and then flare out to a wrap strap.  They are most often found on wrap conversions but this style of strap can also be found on mei tais made from cotton duck or linen.  You can tie the straps in all the ways shown in my insturctions but you can also spread them across baby's bum for additional support.  It's very easy to do!  Follow these steps for nicely spread out and tensioned straps every time.

Put your carrier on and get your baby onto your back using your preferred method.  I like to hip scoot.  I am using a half buckle in this demonstration. Clip the waist belt on and let the carrier hang behind you. Hold your baby on your hip, then scoot your baby around to your back.  Using the straps pull the body of the carrier over your baby.  Keep on hand on baby until baby is secure.  

Pull your straps straight into the air and bounce a little (this seats your baby deeper into the carrier).

Bring the straps over your shoulders and pull them towards the floor.  Hold one strap between your knees and bring the other over your arm and down to pass over baby's leg.

As you bring the strap over baby's leg hold it by the top edge and pass it across baby's leg and back keeping your arm and your top rail high. Pass the top rail to your opposite hand.

Pass the strap over baby's leg keeping it spread out.

Lift baby's leg over the rail so the strap is now bunched under baby's legs.  If you skip this step and only pass the strap under you will loose tension.

Repeat for the other side and tie in front.

All done!.

My niece is staying with us for a few days over the school holidays so we decided to go to the Fairy Park at Anakie.  It's a nice place to go with little kids.  The girls liked the animated fairy tale scenes.  Although it is advertised as pram friendly the path between the displays is quite steep in places (the path winds up a hill leading to a castle on the top).  I remembered this from last time so I didn't even consider bringing a stroller.

On the way home we picked some strawberries for dessert.

And finally this is another reason why my sewing is a bit slow in the school holidays!  (Older children forgot to close the pantry door)

My children (and friend) helping to wash walls as part of our spring cleaning.  My youngest is hanging out in the sling and feels part of the action but isn't in the way or in danger of crawling out to the road.  Babywearing is great.  Without it it would be very hard to get anything done!

Here is the first photo of the second half buckle I ever made.  It has a structured waist - my toddler was too heavy for it and the waist would fold although it was still comfortable (I have since found a foam that holds up better).   I found it in the bottom of my cupboard and decided to try it out with my 10 month old.  It was super comfy! - and  it still comes with sleepy dust!

                                   A photo with my then two year old when I first made the sling.

 This the first buckle I ever made, also with a structured waist. The waist is a one piece waist.  I am working on a three piece structured waist which willp pack up smaller.  I like to be able to offer lots of options to customize your carrier.  The structured waist is the same shape as the padded waist I offer now.  I tried 3 different waists on this carrier before I decided which shape I liked.  I tried deeply curved, slightly curved, and straight (with a slightly curved bottom edge).  I liked the straight waist best and that is the waist shape I offer on my current half buckles.

Here is the padded waist which is standard on my current half buckles.  It is very comfy too.  And can you tell purple is my favourite colour?

I love wearing my 9 month old while I take my older children to the park.  It's great for pushing my kids on the swing.  I don't have to worry about what my baby is doing.  My baby loves the park.  He loves to explore the grass or go down the slide (usually assisted by his big brother).  When it's time to go home it's great just to scoot him onto my back and off we go!