For more detailed information about a particular type of baby carrier, as well as instructions for different ways to use it, refer to the subpages for that carrier. If you have instructions to share, please add them to an appropriate subpage or create an appropriate subpage for them.

There are several different general classes of fabric baby carriers:

1. Pouch slings. A pouch is a tube of fabric with a curved seam. It is worn over one shoulder like a ring sling, but there is no size adjustment to make after putting it on. (Some pouches are adjustable, to fit a range of sizes; most are fitted to a particular size.) Many people find pouches to be very easy to learn to use. Hotslings has photo and video instructions, as does Slinglings.

2. Ring slings. When most people think of baby slings, they think of ring slings. These popular slings adjust by pulling a tail of fabric through two rings. There are many different styles of ring slings, from the heavily padded to the totally unpadded, and from casual cotton to silk shantung. Here’s a link to the instructions, including video instructions, from MayaWrap. There is a useful list of photo dos and don’ts on Zolowear’s troubleshooting page. Here’s a link to the YouTube video instructions from Sakura Bloom; here’s a link to the video instructions from Oopa Baby. Here’s a link to a printable page of photo instructions in .pdf format from Peppermint, an internet sling store, for the tummy to tummy carry in a ring sling, plus nursing in a ring sling and threading a ring sling. Last, but not least, here's a clip from the Tummy 2 Tummy DVD showing how to do the tummy to tummy position in a ring sling.

3. Asian-style baby carriers. Commonly called ABC's, these carriers feature two or four straps that wrap and tie. A popular type of ABC is a mei tai (say ”may tie”), which has a body, two long shoulder straps, and two shorter waist straps. Mei tais work well for front and back carries, and hip carries are also possible. Kozy Carrier has great illustrated instructions, as does FreeHand Baby Carriers. Other types of ABC's include onbuhimos - which, instead of waist straps, have rings or loops through which the long shoulder straps are threaded - and podegis, bei beis and Hmong carriers - all of which have two straps that are long enough to wrap around the adult's shoulders and also under the baby's bottom. (ABCs are sometimes also called "Asian back carriers" because the traditional versions were most often used for back carries. Modernized versions may be referred to as "Asian inspired soft carriers" or other variations on that name.)


4. Soft structured carriers, a/k/a "technical carriers" or "buckle carriers." These buckle-and-strap carriers can be considered a subset of Asian-style Baby Carriers, because the basic form is much the same (a body panel with straps), but they function differently enough to constitute a separate category in most contexts. Most soft structured carriers (SSCs) have a firmly padded waist/hip strap which distribute most of the baby's weight to the wearer's hips; other buckle carriers have unpadded or lightly padded waist straps and feel more similar to a mei tai. Here are The Ergo Lady’s instructions and tips for soft structured carriers.

5. Long wraps aka wraparound slings. A wrap is a piece of cloth with no buckles, snaps, or straps, that’s infinitely adjustable and fits everyone. There are many different ways to tie a wraparound sling to carry a baby, depending on the length and width of the cloth and the body size and preferences of the person carrying the baby. Peppermint has good instructions for the basic carries, as does The Mamatoto Project.

6. Knot slings, including Mexican rebozos, shawls, and short wraparound slings. Many shawls can be used as baby slings simply by tying a knot in them. One method is to tie a slipknot in the sling so that it is fully adjustable, similar to a ring sling. Elly's rebozo instructions are a great resource for this method as well as many others. If the slipknot still slips after you tighten it, your shawl doesn’t work for this technique. Don’t worry, there are other ways to carry a baby in a shawl! Here are some instructions from The Mamatoto Project.

7. Pareos, including African kangas and even beach towels, which are sometimes used as torso carriers. Mamatoto has instructions for a torso (no-shoulder) back carry as well as a one-shoulder pouch carry.

For a random collection of instruction links, both in pictures and videos: on this blog. Please feel free to edit this note and to put the different links found on the website in any of the categories above.