April & October

A Life Blog

Review: Apple Blossom Wovens Twilight Black

Review: ABW Twilight Black

Apple Blossom Wovens Twilight Black weft

  • 100% cotton
  • $$
  • machine woven
  • Best for: all babies
  • Carries: all

I was blessed with the chance to play with some Apple Blossom Wovens’ travelers this past year and Twilight has got to be one of my favorites! Look at these colors. These colors are so gorgeous. Tot is getting bigger and doesn’t go up quite as much as he used to, much to my chagrin. My baby is growing up. He still asks to go up when he’s tired, sad, sick, or just needs some cuddles. Sometimes mama needs cuddles too.

With Tot getting bigger, I’ve been really enjoying some longer wraps. I tend to be more partial to shorter wraps because he asks to get up and down so often, but I love the extra fabric for more support. In this photos, I’m wearing him in a double hammock, because multiple passes go over him. I get support from the shoulders, the chest pass and I get to tie at my waist, so some weight is shifted around my waist.

Twilight shines in a lot of carries. Giselle’s with a waist belt is one of my favorites and it worked well there too. I didn’t have any issues with diggy shoulders – but I’m not sure I would consider it cushy. I’m a fan of the pleats over the shoulder. I feel like it gives more support and I have less chance of slack in my passes. There’s limited give with Twilight, it’s not too stretchy at all. There’s a tiny bit which helps the passes smooth out around the babe, but not so much where I’m constantly fixing my carries. Twilight is a pretty solid wrap — at least for now, it might change a bit as it gets more broken in. This wrap is right in-between being cumbersome and ace bandage-y. It’s slightly bulky, but I never felt like I had an issue with tightening my passes.

This wrap does not need any special care, but I think it’s too pretty to be considered a workhorse. Like always, I recommend following the company’s directions. It’s 100% cotton, so easy to wash. It isn’t prone to pulls either. I feel like the weave is dense enough, but like always with any woven fabrics – be cautious.

Twilight isn’t a hot wrap, but I wouldn’t necessarily consider it airy either. The tightness of the weave means that it doesn’t allow much air to pass through. But we didn’t get to hot or anything while wearing out in the sun.

Twilight is grippy. You can see the texture in the photos below. The passes don’t get stuck while you’re wrapping, but it does take a tiny bit of work. I wouldn’t consider them to glide. I might have had to wiggle a little bit, here and there to make sure my passes went where I needed them to go. It doesn’t take much to tie a knot in this wrap, but as you can see below, the knot is a little on the big side. With time and love, this wrap is on its way to becoming floppy. It is not a stiff wrap.

I wish this wrap lived here. These colors are my favorite. The wrap qualities are my favorite, they remind me of Midnight Sky (review here), which has basically found it’s forever home here. I love having this wrap in my base so I can do some carries that I haven’t done in a good minute.

SO pretty.

Apple Blossom Wovens: website / Facebook

Review: Emmeline Textiles Emmeline Metachrosis

Emmeline Textiles Emmeline Metachrosis

  • 100% cotton
  • $$
  • Machine woven
  • Support: Average
  • Best for: All babies
  • Carries: Great with carries with cross passes

Once I saw that Emmeline Textiles had a dual weft weave wrap, I knew I had to see it in the person. You see how the photo above looks almost like a darkish purple and ecru wrap? It’s red and blue woven together so from further away it’s this purple/gray, and up close, you can see the red and blue. Make sure you check out the macro shots below to see the different color threads!

Metachrosis isn’t much different from the other Emmelines woven wraps. She’s thin, but not too thin. She’s cushy, but not marshmallow-y. She has texture, but it isn’t overwhelming. Some stretch, but not enough to sag. Just perfectly enough of everything.

Metachrosis was nice on the shoulders. It didn’t dig too much at all. I wouldn’t say it was extremely cushy or anything, but it didn’t hurt to lug around 40 lb Tot. My shoulders were perfectly fine after an afternoon walk and nap. No complaints here. This wrap has a bit of stretch in it. It does have some bounce. You can stretch it through, so your passes mold to your body like an ace bandage. It always snaps right back into shape, with minimal sagging. I actually didn’t have any problems with sagging at all. I wouldn’t say this wrap is completely solid, due to the stretch, but I didn’t have to readjust my passes at all. It might slightly stretch out with use, but I had no issue there.

This wrap is like an ace bandage, like I said before. It molds to every curve. Look at how its tightened around his body. This is not a cumbersome wrap. There is some diagonal stretch in Metachrosis.

This wrap isn’t a beater wrap (one that can take a beating and survive), but I wouldn’t say it’s so delicate that it needs to be babied. There are white parts of the wrap, and always be cautious of snagging. You can never be too careful. This wrap is 100% cotton, so no special washing instructions. But as always, I recommend following the company’s washing instructions.

I’m a fan of the texture in Emmeline. She’s glide-y, so it’s extremely fun to wrap with. She moves easily and it’s incredibly easy to tie a knot. I’m pretty sure I perfected my slip knot in an Emmeline. There is just enough texture that this wrap isn’t slippery. I think that’s my favorite part. There’s a slight 3D texture to it, but it doesn’t pop out too much. I think it’s more obvious in Metachrosis because of the dual weft. All Emmelines are floppy. So far. I don’t know if there are plans for future Emmelines with different blends. But this cotton blend works. I’ve never met an Emmeline that wasn’t floppy and fun to wrap with.

Emmeline Textiles does it again, with another wonderful wrap. Check out these macro shots, because I’m a sucker for macros:

Emmeline Textiles: website / Facebook

Review: Bijou Wear Windmills Wildflower

Bijou Wear Windmills Wildflower

  • 45% merino wool / 55% cotton
  • $$
  • Machine woven
  • Support: Better than average
  • Best for: All babies
  • Carries: All

I had the chance to check out Bijou Windmills Wildflower, a magnificent woolie that is being released tomorrow! The Bijou Buzz (FB group/community) has been asking for a true purple – ask and you shall receive! Windmills is one of Bijou’s signature patterns and a lovely one at that. We received Wildflower during one of our hottest heat waves of the summer, so I was excited to see what wool had in store for us!

There seems to be a misnomer that wool is only for the winter – that it’s hot and itchy, not breathable. Most people seem to imagine a sweater some long lost relative has given you for Christmas when you were a child. This is not 100% true! Itchiness does occur if you have allergies to animal fibers, or extremely sensitive skin, but wool is temperature regulating! It keeps you warm in the cold and cool in the heat. Yes, it does, if you can believe it. Wildflower, with its cotton blend, is extremely breathable. I could even feel a breeze when I was wearing Tot.

Wildflower was comfortable to our shoulders – not extremely cushy, but not prone to digging either. It was a nice solid weight on my shoulders. It’s a pretty solid wrap, I can see it being softer and maybe a tiny bit of relaxing once it’s broken in more, but it’s SOLID. I didn’t have to readjust any passes. I threw Tot up in a shepherd’s carry and a reinforced ruck. He was even up in a regular ruck for a short period of time. There is a slight bounce, where it feels like it stretches a bit while wrapping (amazing chest passes!), but it does spring back into place.

The moldability is there for Wildflower. I can see it being more Ace bandagey, the more it’s broken in. I wouldn’t consider it to be a cumbersome wrap at all. The flexibility will come, you can definitely see it happening, the more you wrap with it.

Wildflower is a merino wool and cotton blend. It’s a superwash wool, so have no fear in washing this one! As always, I recommend contacting Bijou to see what their washing instructions are. But Bijou wool is pretty easy to care for.

Windmills is a textured wrap. It gives the wrap texture and makes your passes stay put. It’s not overly textured, where you have to wiggle some passes around, but to the point where you don’t have to worry about readjusting when the time comes. Nice and grippy. The wool makes Wildflower nice and snuggly. I found Tot snuggling with the wrap when he wasn’t up in it. As of right now, Wildflower is retaining its shape, but it will be more floppy with time. A lot of love will make this wrap easily flop around and about.

We loved having Wildflower visit us for a bit. I love purple, so there was that happiness to see Bijou have a true purple wrap. The wool was fun to play with and we’re truly going to miss having Wildflower around for nap time.

Bijou Wear: website / Facebook

Review: Beachfront Baby Everyday Wrap

Summer is coming to an end and we’ve been everywhere! So many adventures to be had, with school out. It has been so hot here lately and we were able to go to the beach. I had to figure out which carrier would help, with the family running around near the water. I was able to try out the Beachfront Baby wrap, which would keep us cool and keep me hands-free while my eldest played in the water.

Beachfront Baby was founded by a mother of 4 — who understands needing to keep your hands free to be able to do everything that needs to be done. Their water wraps are made in the USA by WAHMs (work-at-home moms). I got to try out their new Everyday Wrap, which is made of Repreve. It is super lightweight, so airy and quick to dry once it is wet. It’s strong enough to use on land and thin enough to use in the water.

I fell in love with the Gray and couldn’t wait to use it! We frequent splash pads, pools and the beach during the summer. The Everyday Wrap holds up to 35 lb, so it was able to hold Tot quite easily. He still wants nap time, so that was quite helpful. We took it to the beach and he was not wanting his feet to touch the sand. So up he went!

The Everyday Wrap comes in two sizes: one size and x-long. One size fits those who wear size S-L shirts and the x-long fits those who wear XL-2XL shirts. We went with the x-long size, because I love long tails and just in case daddy wanted to wear.

It was so convenient to be able to have Tot up and be able to play around in the water with Birdie. She loved that I was able to play while Tot took his nap.

Beachfront Baby also has slings for sale if you prefer ring slings to the wrap. The Everyday Sling uses the same material as the Everyday Wrap. They are a bit stretchy, so pre-tie the wrap or arrange the sling tightly to you and slide baby in.

Beachfront Baby: website / Facebook

Review: Rowan Bay Chrysler Marina

 

Rowan Bay Chrysler Marina

  • 100% Egyptian cotton
  • $$
  • Machine woven
  • Support: Average
  • Best for: All babies
  • Carries: Single pass carries for smaller babies, multi pass carries for larger babies

 

The company, Rowan Bay decided to do a worldwide traveler and I was lucky enough to participate. I was first on the list! It will be going around the U.S. before going to other countries. I’m excited to see where else it goes and all the other journeys it goes on.

Chrysler Marina showed up with a zippered tote bag and a notebook so we could write about our adventures. I’m a huge fan of the zippered tote bag, I love bags with zippers. It was big enough so I could carry a few wraps in it to babywearing meetings. I also love the idea of a journal to go with a wrap, because as a community, our wraps go all over – we let friends try them out, host them, they change owners. I would love to be able to follow the history of a wrap.

 

 

We got Chrysler Marina in loom state, so we had to wash and let air dry for about a day. In loom state, Marina was SO soft. I thought it had already been washed and ready to go – but there were instructions stating to wash it. It was even softer after that first initial wash — I didn’t even think it could be that way. It was so cushy on my shoulders. No digging at all. I would consider Marina a bit of a bouncy wrap. It stretches a tiny bit while wrapping – diagonally. It stretches a bit with use. You don’t have to readjust often, but I had to readjust once or twice when Tot was up for a good length of time. The slight stretchiness of the wrap made it wrap like an ace bandage. I had a really good chest pass with it. It hugs the curves of the wrappee (Tot) and just molds to both of us.

 

 

I wouldn’t consider this wrap delicate, maybe more of a work horse wrap. I can see myself using it constantly. It’s not pull prone at all, due to the weave. The darker colors make it harder to pick up dirt or any stains. The 100% cotton makes it easy to wash, but like always, I recommend contacting the company to see what their washing directions are. The 100% cotton makes this wrap warm, but not too hot. It’s getting cooler here as summer goes down, so it was perfect for the weather.

 

 

Marina has some texture, due to the weave, but the Egyptian cotton made the passes glide. It makes the passes move easily while wrapping. It was extremely easy to tie a knot. There is a slight texture, but the Egyptian cotton made the wrap almost shiny. It’s pretty smooth. Because of the softness of Marina, I would say that this wrap is cuddly. It was pretty floppy from the get go.

 

 

We loved hosting this wrap while it was here. We loved the pattern and the colors. It was the perfect introduction to Rowan Bay. Marina has moved onto its next host and I can’t wait to hear what other adventures it goes on. We will miss it.

 

 

Rowan Bay: website / Facebook