Our friends came to visit this weekend and agreed to model for me. They are organic farming and sustainable construction experts. Mom is the knitter, though I did crochet Dad’s hat my very own self, several years ago. Dad is my dh’s old high school buddy. Their baby is a petite 10 month old who likes to stretch her legs out when she’s in the carrier which is why you’re not seeing great knees-over-bum placement. Click for a lightbox slideshow thingy…
During this joyful holiday season. MBD hopes that you and yours are peaceful and well during these long winter nights. As a special gift, we are offering free domestic shipping through January 1st. Happy New Year!
People have been asking me if there are any significant difference between the first and second batches of Calyx carriers. Very little has changed from the user’s standpoint. Most of the patterning work that was done had to do with ease of production, there were a few snags and time-wasters in the first run, so the shop did some work to find ways to get it all flowing smoothly. I think the shoulder straps ended up very slightly wider so they’d be easier to turn, and they changed some things about how it is put together.
There was a problem that we found that wasn’t major but did affect the way the carrier fit, and incidentally made it more difficult to sew than it needed to be. In the first batch, the webbing for the shoulder straps was crossed and set at a right angle into the center of the waist band. It did have a tendency to pull the waist away from the wearer’s body, and kind of bunched up the bottom of the panel so the shaping didn’t really cup the baby’s bottom properly. So, we moved the straps apart from each other and opened up the angle and it worked! Now the baby can sink down into the shaping, the straps support the leg, and the waistband lies flat. The foam in the waistband is slightly thicker, too, though it is still a softer open cell foam, not the stiff pool noodle stuff.
We also added 3 attachment rings, two at the top of the panel, centered where each shoulder strap inserts, and one in the bottom center between the shoulder strap webbing insertions. These are to accommodate the Kit Bag, a new product that we will be working on for release this spring. It will be roughly triangular or chevron shaped, mostly solid colored with perhaps a small amount of contrast fabric, and will cover the panel making it look more like a backpack. It will hold a couple of cloth diapers and a soaker, with one of our snap-in wet bags for dirties and one for wipes. There will be space for a hydration bladder, and a separate pocket for personal items- keys, wallet, that kind of thing. Possibly a changing mat.  There will be a separate shoulder strap to turn it into a messenger bag, and straps to allow it to hang from stroller handles. It’s in the idea phase right now, we’ll have a better idea of style and capacity in the next couple of months.
Yay! I picked up the Calyx carriers Saturday evening, and all the pre-orders went out today. There are 2-4 of each fabric still available, for immediate delivery. Order yours now! (All headrests are backordered, we’ll have those in January)