Brand: Woven Wngs
Type: Light Feathers
Blend: 73% cotton, 27% wool.
Size: 2
I pre-ordered this beautiful wrap back in October, during Woven Wing's first ever release (which sold out in less than 24 hours), before I had even had the chance to try out the tester wrap that travelled my way (reviewed here). This is one of two designs released so far, and it arrived safely back in January (well within the predicted time frame for the preorder).
Light feathers is such a pretty wrap. It has a lovely delicate, detailed pattern, and is the colour of a Blue Spruce tree (one of our favourite plants!). It arrived in perfect condition, with neatly stitched hems, and feeling beautifully soft, not needing any breaking-in at all! The merino wool doesn't make this wrap feel itchy, but does add a lovely blankety feel. Its not a particularly thick wrap, and has a fairly tight weave.
On first appearance the wrap seemed narrower than any of my other wraps, and measuring at 61cm, it is probably the narrowest wrap I have at the moment. However, as you can see in my photographs, this has not prevented me from getting a lovely deep seat, and still having the wrap all the way up my son's back. Light Feathers has a lovely amount of diagonal stretch, which seems to help create a lovely seat, meaning the narrower width is far less noticeable than you would expect when wrapping with it. The wrap is also quite a short size 2 (currently measuring 2.63m, soft tape in hand), but I can still comfortably tie a ruck tied at the shoulder. However, if you are someone who likes longer tails to tie with, you may want to order a size longer than you would normally choose.
I am really enjoying using this gorgeous wrap. It has a very luxurious feel and finish, and supports my toddler's weight beautifully. It makes a very supportive one shouldered rebozo carry, and a slip-knot adjusts easily. The middle markers are lovely and neat and it arrived in a very sophisticated black cloth bag.
I am really intrigued to see what Woven Wings will be doing next! I can't wait to see more blends and patterns, and I am sure that Light Feather won't be the only Woven Wings wrap to become part of my collection. Congratulations to Woven Wings on a very successful first release!
Brand: Baie Slings
Type: Wild Red Roses
Blend: 100% Combed Cotton
Size: 6
As those of you who have read my blog recently will probably know, Baie Slings has become one of my very favourite wrap companies. Their wraps have everything I love in a woven wrap: beautiful patterns, slightly thicker than average, cushy, blankety soft, and a pleasure to wrap with. I made myself resist the previous release of Wild Roses (in ebony & ecru), hoping for a more colourful release of the pattern in the future, so when I saw this beautiful red and cream version, I couldn't resist! I also saw it being nicknamed 'War of the Roses', which was even more meaningful, as one of the the key battles in the War of the Roses was fought in the field outside of my childhood home!
As Baie Slings were aiming for wraps to arrive in time for Valentine's Day, these wraps were not pre-washed like usual, so it went straight in the wash on arrival, so that it would be dry and ready to wear the next day.
Wild Roses has the amazing blankety softness we've come to know and love from Baie Slings, requiring no breaking-in at all. The rails are again hemmed in opposite directions, meaning there is no 'right' or 'wrong' side. I found Wild Roses particularly easy to wrap with, even more so than Baie's Trowen wraps, as the cream side has a lot of glide to it, meaning that passes pull across very easily. A double hammock took no effort, and held my toddlers weight really nicely when in place. It feels slightly thinner in hand that my teal/ebony Trowen wrap, despite being the same weight , probably due to the less-busy pattern, but it still offers a perfect amount of cush. Due to its softness, this wrap would be just as lovely with a newborn baby as it is with my toddler. Another beautiful wrap from Baie Slings!
Brand: Little Fellows
Type: 'Ah Hum Golly Gosh'
Blend: 50% cotton, 50% hemp
Size: 4.5metres
When a lovely friend offered me the chance to be part of her custom order with Little Fellows last summer, I jumped at the chance! Little Fellows are handwoven by a lovely lady who lives just down the road from me in Gloucester (UK). Lisa appears to have a real eye for colour and design, and some of the wraps that have been emerging from her loom are truly works of art. I was confident that our wrap would be beautiful, but also couldn't wait to find out how it wrapped!
This beautiful wrap has a warp of different shades of turquoise, green, black and grey, and I chose a purple weft, with a turquoise-green weft panel for the middle marker. The end result it stunning! The overall finish is practically flawless, and the hems have been neatly stitched. The tails are blunt (as opposed to tapered), so my 4.5metre wrap, works perfectly as a size 5. It arrived beautifully folded in its own little drawstring bag featuring the Little Fellows logo, along with a little teabag - a lovely touch!
On first arrival, the overall wrap felt slightly beastly. The coloured hemp felt slightly stiff, although the weave is light and airy, meaning the wrap still had a lovely drape to it. Over the last few weeks I have steam ironed it (as hemp tends to love heat), braided it, pulled it (gently) through ring slings, twisted it, and even put it under our bed sheets so that our warmth and weight would help to soften it up. I can now say that it is softening up beautifully. The hemp no longer feels stiff, and the wrap feels like a lovely big blanket. The hemp gives the wrap some texture, but also a lot of support.
Wrapping with it, and particularly tying the knot, was quite tough to start with, but is now a real pleasure. It makes a lovely ruck wrap, as the softness and thickness give a lovely cush on the shoulders. Now that it is broken in, I can do a Double Hammock variation with ease, as despite have a little bit of texture, the wrap pulls across easily, and stays in place. Although it still feels like quite a thick wrap, its not difficult to wrap with due to its airy weave. My large 2 year old feels practically weightless when wrapped in this beauty!
I would highly recommend Little Fellows wraps. It feels special to have such a beautiful wrap made by a lovely lady who lives so close by (and many of the pictures taken here, feature Gloucester Cathedral, as it felt right to go and get some photographs in the city where it was made!), and the overall finish is beautiful. The coloured hemp takes a bit of work to tame, and I would probably want my wrap to have softened up some more before using it with a very small baby. However, it makes a truly amazing toddler-worthy wrap! I've bought a few Little Fellows wrap scraps, which I believe are 100% cotton, and these arrived feeling beautifully soft, and would be perfect for a younger baby!
After a slightly bumpy start, Little Fellows appears to be going from strength to strength. I really can't wait to see what else appears from Lisa's loom next, and hope that one day I get to add another Little Fellows to our collection.
