I bet you’re wondering how I got the idea to make my own baby swing. Well, it went a little something like this:
Me: “Oooo we should buy Griffin a swing! He’ll love it.”
Hubs: “Why should we spend money on a swing when there’s a perfectly good park just down the street?”
Me: ??♀️??
Me 5 minutes later: *Scours the internet for cheap cute baby swings anyways. There’s no such thing. All ugly plastic looking things. Looks on Etsy and swoons over all the darling boho looking handmade swing. Looks at price: “$70 + $15 shipping??! Oh heck no! That’s ridiculous. If someone else made this then surely I can make this too.”
Pinterest searches the heck out of this. Finds other crafty mamas who have indeed made said swing and so kindly posted their step-by-step instructions for all to see!
Dives deep into the depths of the closet and drags out old sewing machine that hasn’t been used for years.
Spends hours YouTube searching “how to turn my sewing machine on” and “how to thread my sewing machine” and “what is a bobbin” and “how to thread a bobbin” and “why is my hand spin thingy locked” and “why does my sewing machine hate me”??!!!
Finally though I got all the answers and was on a roll when…
Husband walks in room: “Umm what are you doing”
Me with a mischevious grin: “You didn’t say we shouldn’t spend money on materials to MAKE a swing!”
Mwahaha I win!
Really though, you can learn to do anything on the internet these days. And seriously y’all, I am not a sewer. I think the last time I touched a sewing machine I was in my teens and I’m pretty sure my Grandma did half the sewing job for me. So if I can learn how to make a baby swing then you can definitely do it!
Instead of writing up my own step-by-step process for you, I thought I’d just link up the two tutorials I used.
I had some left over outdoor fabric from another project that I never did, oops. Because I had thinner material I had to double layer it and sew the two pieces together making a front and a back so this tutorial was perfect for me: http://www.themakerista.com/baby-swing-tutorial-giveaway/
I pretty much followed this one ^^ step-by-step. I thought it was pretty clear and easy and the product turned out great.
I also found this one though and liked that they used canvas material so it was strong and you don’t have to worry about sewing a front and a back side. I think this tutorial would be easier for that reason. http://www.hometalk.com/19025016/hand-sewn-baby-swing
Supplies you will need:
-2 yards of outdoor fabric if you’re following the first tutorial
OR -1 yard Canvas fabric if you’re following the second one
-(2) 1 1/8 x 48″ round dowel rods – need 4 cut into 16in long
-(2) 3/8″ nylon rope cut to 10ft each
or just buy the precut bag of 25′ Nylon/ Poly Braided Rope
-1/4 x 2″ steel ring
-2 rope clamps -Make sure to get ones that fit 3/8″-1/2″ rope
-hammer
-3/8″ metal spring link
– swing mounting bracket – if you plan to hand it from a porch or something, otherwise just some extra rope to hang around a tree.
Tools you’ll need:
scissors
sewing machine and thread
saw
drill with 3/8″ drill bit
I also made a cute little pillow to go with his swing.
I think my Grams would have been proud of this sewing job.
Wow, this is impressive Angela. This will probably take a whole day to build plus proper preparation.
Haha thanks. Just a few hours. It’s not that bad. You can do it!
Hi Angela, what a wonderful swing you have made out of this. Aside from the $70 + $15 you spent, were there additional expenses and what would you recommend for someone who doesn’t have the tree at the backyard to hang this? Thank you for the nice updates you have here…
I actually didn’t spend $70 since I made it myself so it was way less! But if you go to your local hardware store (like home depot or lowe’s_ and tell them what you want to hang then I bet they could help you find the proper hook and you could potentially hang it from a patio roof or something like that. Best of luck!