Tag Togs – The Story so far ….

When I had my first child in August 2009 I didn’t even know babywearing was a thing! I knew I liked the idea of carrying my baby and keeping him close to me.  I was gifted my first babycarrier, it happened to be a Mothercare one so I thought this would be great, little did I know….

My first born was such a clingy baby, I couldn’t put him down without him getting upset, I remember many, many nights holding him in my arms and rocking him, walking with him and this was so exhausting, this carried on through the day too, he just wouldn’t settle unless he was next to me.  So back to the mothercare baby carrier, I decided to give this a go so that it would free up my hands at least they might get a rest, I managed to clip the carrier to me but oh my goodness could I thread my 1 month baby through the carrier getting his arms and legs in the correct holes without  him getting totally distressed, it also didn’t hold his legs in the correct ergonomic ‘M’ position, this carrier did not last long I think I ended up giving it to a local sling library as an example of a baby carrier to avoid.

A few days later I remember being at the local baby weigh in session and saw a lady with a baby sling on and both she and the baby looked happy and content, I thought I NEED one of these, so I asked the happy mum where I could buy one like it? She said ‘it’s a Sa-Be,  a local lady makes and sells them, I’ll put you in touch’.  The next thing I know is that a lovely lady called Becky arrives at my house with the Sa-Be stretchy sling and proceeds to show me how to use the sling, how to tie it on and to ‘pop’ my baby in, I couldn’t believe it my baby was comfy, well supported and content for the first time since he was born, and I had my arms back to make a cuppa!  It took a bit of practice to learn to tie it quickly, but a mirror helped and I was soon an ‘expert’!

I couldn’t believe what a game changer this amazing piece of fabric was, so much so I bought another so I could wear one and wash one.

It was during this introduction to the Sa-Be sling and babywearing that I happened to mention to Becky that I was thinking about setting up my own sewing business (I was currently on maternity leave, but I knew I didn’t really want to go back to working 40+ hours a week with a new baby), and I could possibly help her with her manufacturing. I started off making her dribble bibs in my kitchen with my baby strapped to me in the sling.  When he was a year old I handed in my notice and started working properly for myself, at this time I also realised that I would not be able to carry on sewing at home, we just didn’t have the room, so I found (with the help of Becky) a unit, and moved in.

As you can probably tell Becky and I became good friends and she ended up asking me if I could make her Sa-Be stretchy slings too, I was so pleased, I loved these slings, they literally saved me (and my baby). We made, packed and posted all her sling orders for her, I even helped her at events, talking to other parents and demonstrating how to use the slings.

Fast forward 3 years and my second child came along, I needed the sling more than ever, I didn’t really take any maternity leave because I was self-employed and employed 2 other ladies who did all the sewing now, and I did the cutting and packing.  I just didn’t have the maternity leave luxury this time, so I popped my second boy into the stretchy sling and carried on.  By this time the business was growing and we were now making items for other small businesses, it was around this time Becky asked me to make some baby clothes for her to sell at events, I wasn’t convinced, we hadn’t really made clothes and definitely not in jersey fabric as I thought it was a tricky fabric to sew.  Becky convinced me to give it a go and we made a small range of harems for her, and you know what sewing jersey fabric really isn’t that difficult.

It was becoming more tricky to work with my second child in the Sa-Be sling on my front he was quite big by 9 months and almost walking, I was struggling to see past him and I couldn’t get close enough to the cutting table to cut, I really needed to carry him on my back.  I did some research of the available slings at my local sling library which was run by another friend of mine, and decided that I didn’t like buckles because the dug in me and they could also become damaged and therefore dangerous if not checked before use each time.

So with the help of Becky (again) we developed the Mei Dai which can be used on your front or back and is attached to the parent by tying the waist and shoulder straps to the parent, this type of carrier is a little more structured than the stretchy wrap, more supportive for bigger babies and can be worn on your back as well as your front.  We added decorative panels to either one side or both of the carrier so they can be customized to the parents/carers tastes.

To make sure this Mei Dai was super safe for parents to use I got it tested to BS EN13209-2:2005 which it passed.

To complete our range of slings and carriers I then went onto develop our pouch sling, which again can be customized with a decorative printed panel of your choice, this type of sling is great for toddlers who want to be independent but get tired legs from walking, it’s easy to pop on and folds up nice and small so can be stored in your bag easily.

My boys are now 14 and 10 and there is no way I could carry them now, the 14 year old is taller than me.  I remember people saying to me when I used a sling ‘your making a rod for your own back’ ‘he will be clingy if you keep carrying him’ ‘you cuddle him too much’, these comments did make me question what I was doing sometimes, but all I knew was that by carrying my baby in a sling it kept him quiet and content, allowed me to get on with normal everyday tasks which made me feel like I was able to achieve something even with a small baby, I also loved the handsfree baby cuddles and feeling close to my baby after all we had just spent the last 9 months very close together the sling helped the transition for both of us.

If you are unsure if babywearing is for you (and I don’t particularly like this name, your baby isn’t an item of clothing!) I would encourage you to find your local sling library and there are loads around the country now, and try on some slings to find which one is the right one for you, there are many to choose from and all brands are slightly different.  More information on our baby slings and carriers can be found right here on our website.

Our range has slowly expanded over the last 13 years and now includes a range of grow with me harems and rompers, twirly dresses, taggy bum shorts, romper shorts, T-shirts, sleepsuits, pyjamas, dribble bibs, baby bags, washable wipes and wet bags, muslins and so much more, all are made by our team of experienced seamstresses right here in West Yorkshire.  All the range can be found here on the website, if you have any questions please get in touch we would love to hear from you.

We also make items for other small businesses, please get in touch for more info.

This photo is a couple of years old, but I couldn’t find a more recent one, note to self to get an up to date family photo.