Review: Baie Slings Trowen Ebony/Teal

Brand: Baie Slings
Type: Trowen Ebony/Teal
Blend: 100% combed cotton
Size: 5

I bought a beautiful Trowen ring sling from Baie Slings back in September from their debut release, and that beautiful ring sling has quickly become one of my most favourite, most used and comfortable ring slings. I adore the pattern and how snuggly soft it is. I was thrilled when I saw the preview pictures of this beautiful Trowen in ebony and teal, and couldn't resist adding a Trowen wrap to my collection. I was particularly excited about the fact that this one is a heavier weight fabric, at about 270gsm.
I must have been one of the first to order this wrap, as it arrived quickly a couple of days later, and I fell in love with it immediately. The black and teal colour combination is really beautiful and very striking, and I was thrilled to find it was just as soft and mouldable as Emerald Trowen. This wrap is also finished to the same high quality and is absolutely perfect. The scale of the Trowen pattern is slightly larger on this wrap, and the bigger scale works beautifully.
I love the fact that the rails are each hemmed in a different direction, meaning that there really isn't a 'wrong' side on this wrap. It wraps easily, and pulls into place nicely, and the softness and thickness are amazing on my shoulders! I don't find many wraps comfortable in a simple ruck, but this one definitely was. It is very mouldable and has the perfect amount of stretch, meaning it is very supportive with my heavy toddler.
I have to say that Baie Slings is fast becoming one of my favourite wrap companies. I've only tried two of their wraps so far, but I have been so pleased with both of them. These wraps have such a high quality, luxurious feel, and don't particularly require any breaking-in. I can't wait to see what Baie Slings comes up with next!

Colour comparison top to bottom:
Trowen Ebony/Teal, SN Marina, SN Maya, Okinami Sia,
W&W Jade Storm, Roses Scarista, Trowen Emerald/Ecru.

A bit of background information: Bebe Sachi Khadi

 I've been asked a few times about my beautiful Bebe Sachi Khadi wraps, and what 'khadi' actually means. I always tried my best to explain, but the lovely Rita from Bebe Sachi has provided this really interesting article to give everyone all the background information on their Khadi wraps. I really love the fact that these wraps have such a wonderful story behind them - it makes them even more special to me.
If you would like the opportunity to own a beautiful size 6 Twight Khadi wrap, there are two auctions that have just gone live, being run by Bebe Sachi themsleves which help to raise funds for their very worthwhile project. Good luck to those who decide to place a bid! Twilight Khadi is one of my favourite, most special wraps.

Review: Oscha Okinami Sia Ring Sling

Brand: Oscha
Type: Okinami Sia
Blend: 25% wild silk, 75% cotton
Size: Size 2 converted into a gathered-shoulder ring sling by me.

I missed the original release of Okinami Sia, and when I saw new owners' action pictures I really admired the beautiful shade of turquoise used in this colourway. A couple of extra wraps were released on the Oscha website on Friday, and I was lucky to get a size 2, which I decided to convert into a ring sling (leaving me with a lovely scrap to use for a craft project aswell).
The Okinami pattern is such a detailed, sophisticated design, and it suits the Sia colourway perfectly. The silk adds a lovely glide to this medium-weight wrap, which I'm finding really comfortable even in a one-shouldered ring sling with a toddler. 
Sia was easy to convert into a gathered-shoulder ring sling , as it has a lovely drape to it, which gathered easily and neatly. It pulls through the rings smoothly, making it easy to adjust. It is already pretty soft after a gentle wash and iron, and I can already feel it getting softer with a little bit of use. This wrap would be great for carrying a newborn, right up to toddlerhood. I'm really thrilled with it!

Colour comparison top to bottom:
SN Maya, Nouveau Tiree, SN Marina, Roses Scarista, W&W Jade Storm, Baie Slings Trowen, GHI and Okinami Skye.

Monkey Mei Tai wrap conversion

I received this beautiful Monkey Mei Tai wrap conversion a couple of weeks ago, but only just managed to get some good pictures of it. The conversion is made from Girasol Natural Mamas wrap, and is toddler size, featuring Infinity Straps and a flat hood. It is amazingly comfortable, and we've already used it such a lot! The beautiful feather details have been created using hand-directed free motion embroidery by Helen herself. I've done a full review of my other Monkey Mei Tai conversions, and this one is equally as amazing and beautiful. I think the picture speak for themselves!

Review: Firespiral Pomegrantate Twilight Fractal Spirals

Brand: Firespiral
Type: Pomegranate Twilight Fractal Spirals
Blend: 100% Combed Cotton
Size: 3

I really adore my other Firespiral wraps, and have always loved the Fractal Spirals pattern which was used in Firespiral's original tester wraps, so when these beautiful pink spirals were released last week, I couldn't resist snapping one up!
It arrived quickly, and as usual for Firespiral was amazingly soft straightaway. The colour is beautiful, but really difficult to photograph. It is on the redder side of pink, but it is definitely pink rather than red. It is really striking when teamed with the navy blue Twilight colour. After a quick wash I couldn't wait to try it out.
Pomegranate is totally soft, mouldable and cushy, and doesn't really require any breaking-in. It is easy to wrap with, and very comfortable. It has quite a lot of stretch to it, which makes it extra-mouldable, but may also make it better in a multi-layer carry when using it with an older/heavier child for an extended period of time. However the lovely cush means this wrap is comfortable on my shoulders even in a simple ruck with Joey for a shorter time.
Another beautiful wrap from Firespiral. If I wasn't having to save my pennies for Christmas I would be snapping up one of their wool blend Fractal Spirals aswell!

Colour comparison top to bottom:
Nouveau Ember, FHI, Roses Danna, Ellevill Jade Lady, Etini Fuchsia, Pavo Syzygy.

Growing up...

I hope you've all had a lovely weekend. I've got a couple more reviews in the works, which I'll hopefully be able to add to my blog over the next week.
This week has been a couple of 'firsts' with Joey. He said the word 'sling' for the first time, when asking to go in the sling for a sleep. He doesn't have a lot of words yet, so I was really excited to hear him ask for 'sling'! He also brought his teddy bear and toy sling to me, and asked me to put them on him for the first time this week. Of course, I quickly tied teddy in, and Joey ran around excitedly. He turns two years old this month, and seems more grown up every day. I'm so happy that he still loves to be wrapped and carried though - long may it last!

Review: Woven Wings Dark Feathers

Brand: Woven Wings
Type: Dark Feathers (tester wrap)
Blend: 73% cotton, 27% wool
Size: 6

I feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to try out this beautiful Woven Wings wrap. Woven Wings are a brand new company here in the UK, whose debut pre-order recently sold out within 24 hours. They have already released two different patterns, and the one that arrived on my doorstep at the end of last week was 'Dark Feathers'.
I was immediately surprised at how smooth this wrap was to touch, as the pictures I had seen had given me the impression it would be very textured. However, this wool blend wrap is smooth, soft and mouldable and on the thinner side of medium thickness. However, it has a dense weave, meaning that it feels like a strong and sturdy wrap despite not being particularly thick. I wouldn't have immediately known it contained wool, as there is none of the classic 'itchy' feeling often associated with wool wraps, and yet on further inspection the wool became apparent mainly due to the wonderful blankety softness.
The first carry I tried was a FWCC. I immediately noticed that the wrap felt a little bit narrower than some of the other wraps I've been using lately. However, Joey is very tall (the height of an average 3 year old at 23 months old), and the wrap comfortably came up to the level of his arm pits, and I could have adjusted it slightly to have come up higher (I'm used to using particularly wide wraps recently), so I can't see the width being a problem for the vast majority of people. I preferred the wrap with the cross passes spread, just to give me a little more support for Joey's weight. The wrap was incredibly easy to wrap with. It has the perfect amount of diagonal stretch, and moulded into shape perfectly. It was easy to pull into place and tighten due to its fairly smooth feel, and I found it comfortable to use whilst Joey had a nap.
I also tried a double hammock carry, and this is where this wrap entered another league! This wrap is the perfect double hammock wrap! It is so soft and pulls into place so easily. I was able to pull the cross passes across my back and tighten it all up with ease, so that the weight was distributed perfectly across the chest pass and shoulders. The slightly narrower width also made no difference to a double hammock. 
I've really enjoyed using this wrap and it is quite different to many other wraps I've tried. It reminded me slightly of Oscha's Alto Bluebell in that it was a slightly thinner wrap, but still very supportive with a lovely glide, and yet Feathers feels like it has a denser weave compared to Alto Bluebell (although not as dense a weave as a lot of the Pavo wraps). Woven Wings already has an enthusiastic following, and after trying this wrap I can see why! I'm really looking forward to receiving my preordered wrap now that this beautiful Dark Feathers is flying off to its next tester.

Comparisons:

Colour comparison top to bottom: Dark Feathers, Oscha SN Shona, Oscha Roses Scarista and Artipoppe Akka.

Width comparison top to bottom: Bebe Sachi Twilight is particularly wide, Pavo Etini Fuchsia and Artipoppe Akka are average width (many of my Oscha wraps are also this width) and Woven Wings Dark Feathers.

Review: Pavo Textiles Granite Zebra

Brand: Pavo Textiles
Type: Granite Zebra
Blend: 100% cotton
Size: 5

After hearing so many rave reviews about the previously released Pavo Zebra wraps, I couldn't resist trying one for myself when the opportunity arose. After paying the customs bill (my first out of five Pavo wraps to get caught, so I can't complain really!), I gave the wrap its initial hot wash and steam iron and eagerly tried it out!
This wrap is very different to the other Pavo wraps I've tried. Its really soft, mouldable and easy to wrap with, without having to break it in. It feels slightly thinner than the other Pavo wraps, but is just as densely woven, and has a wonderful drape. It is definitely less grippy than any of the other Pavo wraps, meaning it glides into place in a multi-pass carry easily (rather than the arm-workout you sometimes get with Pavo wraps), and despite its smooth texture it still appears to hold in place perfectly. It is very supportive and comfortable on the shoulders despite having a little less cush compared to the Etini wraps. The colours are really classy and it has an amazing shimmer to it. It would be a wonderful wrap for a special occasion!
This is a beautiful, comfortable, easy-to-use, supportive wrap and is as perfect for newborns as it is for toddlers. Its amazing how such a dense weave can feel so blankety-soft, and I can see why its become one of Pavo's more popular designs. 

Review: Pavo Texiles Etini Fuschia

Brand: Pavo Textiles
Type: Etini Fuchsia
Blend: 100% cotton
Size: 5

When I first saw the sneak picture of this beautiful wrap a little while ago, I knew this one was the Pavo wrap for me, as the combination of the intricate pattern plus the strong pink colour is my idea of perfection! I was so delighted to be lucky when they were released, and even luckier that it got through customs without charges!
This wrap is everything I had hoped for plus more! It's beauty has to be seen in person to be believed. The pink colour is vibrant, and combined with the ivory colour, is really striking. This higher contrast colour combination really shows off the amazing Etini pattern to its best.
After its first hot wash and steam iron Fuchsia needed more breaking in than Magnolia Etini, which is often the way with coloured versus natural wraps. After a bit of braiding and pulling through sling rings, Fuchsia has softened up quickly, although I'm sure its going to become even softer and more mouldable with use.  The Etini pattern is fairly textured, meaning it needs to be pulled quite firmly into multi-pass carries, but it then stays in place perfectly, and the textured pattern gives this wrap amazing cush. It is really comfortable to use, and I'm sure as it continues to soften it will feel like less of an arm-workout to get the passes into place! Fuchsia is quite a heavy weight wrap, but doesn't feel as dense at some of the other Pavo designs. 
This is definitely my favourite Pavo wrap so far!

My Pavo wraps, top to bottom:
Etini Magnolia, Etini Fuchsia, Parterre Sylvan, Granite Zebra and Penumbra Syzygy

Pink wraps! Top to bottom:
Artipoppe Silvester, Oscha Roses Danna, Etini Fuchsia, Penumbra Syzygy, FHI v.1, Woven Products, FHI v.2.