April & October

A Life Blog

Review: Emmeline Textiles Besought Dots

Emmeline Textiles Besought Dots

  • 100% cotton – blend of mercerized and unmercerized cotton
  • $$$
  • Machine woven
  • Support: Average
  • Best for: All babies
  • Carries: Great with all!

Look at these colors y’all! This wrap is gorgeous! This wrap is the last of the Peacock collection. Look at that blue. That purple is a hand dyed weft, by Emmeline Textile’s own Ali. I just love looking at this wrap. I was able to check out this wrap before it was released, and I fell in love. It was just the perfect wrap for me. The colors, the texture, the support. It was a really amazing wrap. Unfortunately, it left us too soon to go wow people at a meetup. I would’ve loved this wrap to stay forever.

Look at that seat! The shoulders weren’t diggy at all. It isn’t a floofy, marshmallow cushy wrap, but the shoulders weren’t diggy. The shoulders felt solid. I think it has to do with the limited give of this wrap, with a tiny bit of stretch. I think the limited give is because of the hand dyed weft, and the slight stretch is from the peacock warp. It’s a pretty solid wrap, also due to the hand dyed weft. I feel like that slightly stiffens up the thread, so it loses some stretch and bounce. But not necessarily in a bad way.

You can really see the purple here. It has this sheen that is so pretty! You see it mostly in the sun. This wrap has moldability. It breaks in pretty easily and starts molding to you almost right away. I feel like that’s true with most of the Dots wraps by EmTex (Emmeline Textiles). It hugs your curves (and babe’s!), which you can see in the photo with the seat above. That’s where that stretch comes in, that I mentioned earlier.

This tight weave makes this wrap not so pull prone. It’s 100% cotton, so there are no special washing directions — but as always, follow the company’s recommendations. They know best! I feel like you don’t need to keep a special eye on this wrap. It’s not light where it’s constantly picking up dirt. But I also feel like it’s just so fancy, because of the colors.

I love knot shots! I feel like it really helps you be able to tell how thick a wrap it is. The knot is on the smaller side, fairly simple. So it’s a pretty thin wrap. It’s airy and breathable. So you don’t have to worry about sweating to death in it.

I would consider this wrap to be a glide-y wrap. The wrap moves easily and it’s easy to get those passes where you want it. It’s super easy to tie a slipknot in this, which I think says a lot. It’s not slippery. The slight bit of bumpy texture makes it not slip. It’s pretty soft and smooth, but those little dots you see, make all the difference. This wrap was floppy from the get go. It barely needed any breaking in and wasn’t stiff at all.

Look at these macro shots! You can see the different shades of purple in the hand dyed weft and that peacock shade is amazing. I also love the little dots – they’re my favorite part of this wrap. Dots is one of my favorite patterns by EmTex. They are thin to medium, supportive, soft, soapy. There are a few left in the shop as well! Check it out if you get the chance.

Emmeline Textiles: website / Facebook

Review: Coco-N Garden Zen Neptune

Coco-N Garden Zen Neptune

  • 35% ELS cotton, 35% linen, 30% cotton
  • $$
  • machine woven
  • Best for: all babies
  • Carries: all

I was so excited to check out Garden Zen when it came to visit us! I haven’t played with a Coco-N wrap before, so this one was totally new to us. I was completely surprised with how floppy it was, right out of the box, despite it not being fully broken in yet. It was also pretty dense, due to the weave – but still floppy nonetheless. I think once the linen breaks in more, this wrap could be even more floppy and just overall amazing.

First glance: I loved the colors of Neptune. That teal blue is amazing and I love everything grey — so this was perfectly up my alley. It was soft to the touch when I first opened it. Nice and warm – almost to like a blankety state. Dense – so it’s possible to be an amazing blanket, at that stage. I would say single passes for newborns/infants and multi-passes for toddlers/preschoolers. Soft enough for a newborn, but strong enough for a toddler.

I threw Tot up in a double hammock, tied under bum. He’s getting to be on the heavy side and we need to do multi-passes more often than not. The passes over the shoulder pleated nicely, which caused an illusion of cushiness. When it visited here, it was a tiny bit diggy, but I can imagine over time, once it breaks in – it will fill great on the shoulders.There is limited give on Garden Zen. I’m pretty sure that has to do with the linen in the blend. I didn’t get any stretch from this wrap, while I was wrapping. This wrap is on the solid side. No tightening, no readjusting. It seriously stayed put.

The moldability on Garden Zen wasn’t quite there yet. You can tell this wrap isn’t fully broken in. I felt like if I just had more time with it, we could’ve softened it up and gotten almost to the ace bandage stage. It’s still a little bulky and cumbersome – I believe due to the blend. You can see, in the photos that I wasn’t able to tighten up my passes as much as I wanted to – but that solidness makes this wrap perfect for toddlers.

I could see this wrap as in between a workhorse wrap and delicate. Delicate in the sense that it might be pull prone due to the weave, but it’s unlikely. It’s hard to tell. The wrap is dense, so it’s unlikely to get pulls — but the way the weave is, anything is possible. I would say workhorse, because I can see myself using it all the time, thrown in the backseat of the car, on the couch and nothing should happen to it. The denseness makes me feel like it’s impossible to hurt.

This is not a hot wrap. There should be no heat retention at all. You would think that it would be, because I keep mentioning how dense it its, but with the cotton and linen? It makes it possible for air to pass through and not retain so much heat.

The pattern of the weave makes Garden Zen a pretty grippy wrap. It takes a little bit of work to get the passes in place, but once they’re in place, they stay put – which is convenient with a wriggly toddler. It’s extremely textured in hand, Tot loved to run his hands back and forth on it. He said it felt “cool”. As of right now, I would say the wrap retains shape, but it’s definitely on its way to becoming floppy.

Look at that middle marker! I love the logo on their tag. You can see a lot of the texture that I mentioned, just in the photo.

The weave is quite interesting. I feel like it was almost like a chameleon… Depending on which way the wrap was tilted/facing the sunlight, it was almost like a different color. The weave makes it almost look like the thread shifting and it’s like a complete illusion. It’s to show the different colors of the threads.

I wish this wrap would come back for a second time in a few months so I can see how it is when it’s even more broken in. I think it would become super soft, but so supportive. That’s the direction it felt like it was going in.

Coco-N: website / Facebook

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