about weight bearing seams

[wild fire child]

I want a mei tai. A certain one...but it has 60" top straps and I want 80 or 82" straps. Is there a way to lengthen existing straps, or do they have to be taken off and new ones put on?

[orangefoot]

Off the top of my head I'd think it depends on where you want to add the extension. It is is at a point of pressure then that may not be so good.

If you can find a place that is on a flat place when it is tied I'd say that a diagonal join perhaps sliding the new starp inside the old strap with a good few rows of topstitching would be ok.

SLing makers feel free to jump in here and say that is not ok if it isn't.

(You could post on the sling forum here on MDC to ask too, there are sling sewers there)

[Lazy Gardens]

My objection to the mei-tai is the failure possibilities of the seam that holds the upper tie to the square of fabric. That's under a lot of stress.

To I'd remove the strap by unpicking the seam and make straps the length you need, sewing them by top-stitching them across the whole width of the fabric square. That spreads the load on the stitching across a large area.

If you can't do that, figure out where a comfortable place to splice is, overlap the new and the old strap by 3 or 4 inches and top-stitch the two together around the edges of the square where they cross, and then stitch an "X" across the middle of the square. Use a triple-stitch if you have one. That's how I sew loops of tape and straps for various hiking gear that will take hard abuse.