Note: This post was originally written 7/23/12 and transferred to this site 9/17/13.
In making baby carriers to sell, I'm constantly looking at two major
aspects - how to ensure the carriers are as safe as I can make them
while cutting out anything superfluous in order to mainstream
construction to keep costs down. These two areas of consideration come
to a crossroads in one of the most time consuming aspects of my Mei Tais
- how much stitching goes into the points of intersecting fabrics.
In
one Gracie and Sam Mei Tai, there are just over 70 FEET of stitches.
Some of the longer stretches of stitching are things I've considered
getting rid of, such as top stitching the entire perimeter of the
shoulder and waist straps. But it keeps everything looking tidier, makes
folding it easier, and as a mom on the run myself, those are features I
really appreciate. So the perimeter continues to get fully topstiched.
The area that is padded on the shoulder straps could simply be anchored
in a couple places to keep the cotton batting from shifting, but by
creating 3 "tubes" of stitching over the multi-layered batting, it helps
to keep it plumper while staying dense, lets it grip the contours of
the shoulder to prevent slipping, and really can extend the life of
batting that might get washed more frequently. So the padded area
topstitching stays.
Both of those are helpful in differentiating
Gracie and Sam carriers, but it's the attention to detail that goes into
those fabric intersections that I'm most proud of. In connecting just
one 4.5" shoulder strap to the body, there are 30 inches worth of
stitches. How do I pack so much sewing into one little concentrated
area? I'm glad you asked...
First, when I'm putting the components
together and everything is still inside out, I backstitch three times -
on the left side of the strap where it joins, over the center where
it's going to have significant weight bearing stress, and on the right
side where it joins.
Then
I turn everything right side out and topstitch around the entire
carrier. This creates another set of stitches 1/4-1/2" down the fabric
from where all that original seam work was. This is important because
too much sewing in one place ends up weakening the overall fabric rather
than working together to create tight bonds.
Finally, I go back and do full box stitches, catching the length of the strap I left inside the carrier for this purpose.
The
time that goes into these stitching features is considerable. It
accounts for 25-30% of my time at the sewing machine. I could increase
my profit margin or lower my selling price if I were to omit some of
this seemingly-redundant stitching. But I sell a carrier that I carry my
own children in, and that kind of concern over safety and attention to
detail is important to me. And that's the beauty of a handcrafted
carrier - it's made by someone sitting at her machine thinking about the
child that will eventually sit in what she is crafting, not by a
nameless individual in a factory doing just their part on an assembly
line.
