Jacket Inserts for maternity and baby-carrying


		Other Gear						Inter-converting L & R zippers

Fabric and notions for making your own jacket inserts

ExtemTextil (Berlin, Germany):
www.extremtextil.de
Outdoor Wilderness Fabric (Nampa, Idaho, USA):
www.owfinc.com
Peak Fabrics (Calgary, Alberta, Canada):
www.peakfabrics.com
Pennine Outdoors (Bentham, North Yorkshire, UK):
www.pennineoutdoor.co.uk
Point North (Holyhead, Anglesey, UK):
www.pointnorth.co.uk
Quest Outfitters (Sarasota, Florida, USA):
www.questoutfitters.com
Rocky Woods Outdoor Fabrics (Loveland, Colorado, USA):
www.rockywoods.com
Seattle Fabrics (Seattle, Washington, USA):
www.seattlefabrics.com
Shelby Kaava (Oulu, Finland):
www.shelby.fi
The Rain Shed (Sarasota, Florida, USA):
therainshed.com
Thru-hiker (San Francisco, California, USA):
www.thru-hiker.com

The criteria I used for inclusion in this list was the availability of good quality two-way stretch fleece fabric, three-layer Gore-tex ® (even though it may be cryptically described at the insistence of W.L. Gore and Associates) and/or separating Uretek zippers. Despite my best efforts, I am sure that I am missing other similar retailers. Those offering at least two of these three products should e-mail me and I will be happy to update the list.

Manufacturers / retailers who support the concept of free instructions for making your own jacket inserts

Outdoor Gear Retailers

The Mountain Equipment Co-op www.mec.ca, a members-owned, web-, mail order- and store-based Canadian cooperative manufacturer and retailer of outdoor and mountain gear (phew! That was a mouthful!)
The Gorge Outdoors www.thegorgeoutdoors.co.uk, a UK web-based outdoor and mountain gear retailer.
De Fil en Montagne www.defilenmontagne.com, a Montreal-based manufacturer and repairer of custom outdoor equipment

Baby carrier manufacturers and retailers

Discussion Forums

Make your own outdoor gear

Shelby Kaava (Oulu, Finland): www.shelby.fi
Textile Outfitters (Calgary, Alberta, Canada): www.justmakeit.com
The lightweight backpacker: www.backpacking.net (in addition to the Make-your-own-gear Forum, also check out the Make your own gear section of the web site)
Thru-hiker (San Francisco, California, USA) www.thru-hiker.com

Babywearing

The babywearer: www.thebabywearer.com is a site where you will find all sorts of information on babywearing and associated products, reviews of products, links to instructions for making your own slings and a busy discussion forum on all aspects of babywearing.

In addition, babywearing and sewing forums and resources (along with all sorts of other parenting info) can be found at:

Amity Mama www.amitymama.com
Mothering magazine www.mothering.com
She Knows discussion forum http://talk.sheknows.com

Other sites of interest

Crafts and fabric links http://craftandfabriclinks.com has lots of useful info and links to free instructions and patterns
The http://www.mamatoto.org web site has tons of useful babywearing information, advocacy products, training material, etc.