Aquarelle Handwovens Still Waters Review

Aquarelle Handwovens Still Waters
Cotton warp / cottolin weft
22 months and 28 pounds


The first thing I noted with this tester is how vibrant and vivid the different shades of blue are and how the networked twill weave combined with those blues gives the illusion of tranquil waves of water. Also even at just 3.2 meters, folded up this is a bulkier feeling wrap.

In hand Still Waters is very textured, rather bumpy feeling and decidedly dry. There is very little stretch, but a solid feel. Still Waters has the characteristics of a densely woven wrap, though it is not quite tight and dense, but the complex weave has the heft of density. The texture, very apparent and raised will translate to a lot of grip while wrapping.

Back to those gorgeous blues, looking closely there are also some violets mixed in and a section all along the bottom rail with sandy brown blended in. The networked twill weave has a look of those Magic Eye posters I used to stare at as a child. Still Waters has a knitted sweater vibe and will fit in well with more casual styles and mix well with other textures and colors.

I used this wrap mainly in rucksack carry variations and it performed beautifully. I did have to put a bit more oomph into tightening knots, but this is also a wrap that could hold a single knot capably if needed, it's that grippy. I am currently not a typical wearer, I need a lot of cush and strength to wear for any amount of time with my toddler. I was able to wear Still Waters for good stretches of time. My toddler is also currently a bit of a seat popper and this wrap is rock solid, no losing seats, no slipping out of comfortable carries, once wrapped, no adjustments needed. I wore this on warmer sunny days and into the cooler Fall evenings and it did well with both. This is a medium to thick wrap, but for all the texture and weight there is a bit of airiness in the weave as well. The selvages are straight and neat, and the hem work cleanly done. Still Waters shows Elena to be an impeccable weaver.

If you are looking for a very toddler worthy shorty Still Waters is a great contender. There is loads of cush and wonderful support for heavier babies and toddlers. You will need to be okay with grippy, little to no stretch, and a heavier textured wrap - if those are wrap qualities you enjoy, you will get along very well with this wrap. This wouldn't be my preference for a squish, better from 6 months and up. Also I would advise those who prefer thinner, flat or smooth, and a lot of stretch in wraps to pass this one up.

Thank you Elena for the opportunity to try this blue beauty!

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Moth and Moon Fibreworks Fickle Nature of Faeries Review

Moth and Moon Fibreworks Fickle Nature of Faeries

50% Egyptian cotton/50% cotton / 5.2 metres

1 year and 25 pounds

*Note tested and photographed in February 2016.

Upon opening the package I was immediately taken with the rich colors, more vibrant and bold than I was expecting from photos I had seen of the wrap. My eye is drawn to the magentas, purples, deep reds, flowing into marine blues, but the colors of the deep forest are well represented with earthy greens evoking bracken and moss, and clay browns with the chocolate weft woven thru. Fickle Fae arrived with a red cedar wood chip engraved in detail with the Moth and Moon Fibreworks logo. I appreciated this additional token with the scent of the forest and the power to transport one to the magic of a woodland scene with one sniff.

The texture of the wrap feels lush and fairly smooth running my hands over it, but the look of broken point tabby twill conveys there will be some grip while wrapping and provides an extra depth of beauty with the rich colors.

If ever there was a wrap for an earth mama this is it. If you dream of homesteading on the edge of the woods, tramping through the underbrush, carrying your little one and searching for mushrooms and berries, this is the wrap for you. For those that appreciate the work and effort that goes into creating handwoven wraps there is plenty to appreciate here. You can tell Fickle Fae was woven with love and great care to details. I found no irregularities, but neat and beautiful weaving.

In hand Fickle Fae is weighty and substantial. While wrapping it is smooth and glidey, passes move and tighten easily, and chest passes hug close. There is grip evident in how passes and carries are held tightly as you are working to wrap, and lock snugly into place. The standout quality of this wrap for me was the cush. I wore my little in FWCC, double hammock, and ruck for long periods of time and it was so cushy and comfortable on my shoulders, even after a few hours. There is an airiness in the weave, tho it was one of the heavier handwoven wraps I've used, so I suspect Fickle Fae would perform well in warmer weather, but for me it was a perfectly lovely cooler weather wrap, cozy and soft.

Lovers of handwoven wraps would do well to take note of the weaver behind Moth and Moon Fibreworks, Brianna Getz, her love of the craft and skill shines in Fickle Fae. I recommend this wrap from newborn to toddlerhood. There is softness for newborns, but it's a real standout for heavier babies and toddlers with how cushy and supportive it is.

Thank you Brianna for the opportunity to test this beautiful and well made wrap!

Website: https://www.mothandmoon.ca

Chatter group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/680534515381967/

Fiolia Handwovens Vintage Gem Review

Fiolia Handwovens Vintage Gem
Cotton/ lyocell 285 GSM
1 year and 25 pounds

I was immediately impressed with how soft and airy Vintage Gem was when I first opened it up. The colors feel a bit different and unexpected, robin's egg blue and tones of magenta purple with some creamy nudes.

In hand Vintage Gem is silky soft and smooth. The weave is not dense, but loose and airy, overall it is a light feeling wrap, not weighty. The pattern is a herringbone twill pattern, but not a lot of texture as I ran my hand over, very slippery feeling due to the lyocell content.

 
This wrap will appeal to those looking for more unconventional color combos and the extra depth of hand dyed wefts adds a lovely color shift depending on lighting. The lyocell also adds a slight shimmer. The colors work equally well for cooler and warm seasons in my opinion.

I wore this wrap in FWCC, double hammock different variations, and ruck with my 25 pound wrappee. Drapes beautifully and so easy to work with, passes glide with ease. This is a wrap that needs a slightly more precise wrapper, tightening is easy to start, but you have to be careful to maintain tension well as the wrap has a good slip to it. I would have loved to test this one in Summer, I think the light and airy feel would be wonderful then. I preferred to use Vintage Gem in multi pass carries with my wrappee, rucks had tolerable comfort, but I could definitely feel it in my upper back and shoulders for those longer periods of wearing. For me this was already a soft wrap that got softer and floppier with use. The negative side of how airy this wrap is, the loose weave is pull prone, I had some close calls, though no actual pulls while it was in my care.

If you are looking for a quality, well made handwoven wrap that is light and airy and feels thin in hand with low texture and little to no grip, look no further than Vintage Gem. Very nice and neat selvedges and hems, you can tell the weaver has a good eye for details. What impressed me the most about Vintage Gem though was how tight and smooth I was able to get my chest passes with no bulkiness whatsoever, something I can appreciate both in Winter when I am wearing bulky layers already, and in Summer when I do not want a thick wrap. I do not recommend Vintage Gem to wrappers who don’t like lyocell/Tencel and texture lovers can also pass on this one. I recommend Vintage Gem in your base size for the best support and most comfort. I think this would make a lovely squish wrap, the softness and mouldability is really there for a newborn and it will work well as baby gets older.

 
Thank you to Rini at Fiolia Handwovens for allowing me to test the lovely Vintage Gem.

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Handwoven Melodies Behind the Wall (semi custom) Review

Handwoven Melodies Behind the Wall
100% cotton / aquamarine weft
11 months and 24 pounds, and 2 years and 37 pounds

I was lucky enough to win a draw for a Handwoven Melodies Behind the Wall semi custom wrap back in October. This was my first foray into handwovens and I couldn't have picked a better weaver than Morgan at Handwoven Melodies to take me thru the semi custom process. Behind the Wall is a wrap designed to help raise awareness about the issues of domestic and sexual violence and was inspired by the purple and teal colors of the awareness ribbon for these issues and named for the Tracey Chapman song. Morgan donated half the proceeds from an auctioned Behind the Wall ring sling to a worthy women's charity.

Morgan was an absolute delight to work with and patient with me as I asked to sample many different colors. The process of seeing different color wefts woven in was incredibly interesting. I couldn't believe how different the warp could appear depending on weft color. I ended up selecting a cotton aquamarine weft, and the result is a bright and vibrant jewel toned wrap. Morgan is a true artist in how she puts colors together on the loom. Talking with her about what colors would work best and enhance, or which would detract from the warp was eye opening and I really appreciated her thoughts and time talking me thru choosing the weft. From start to finish the entire process was much faster than I had anticipated. I was drawn a winner on October 10th and the completed wrap arrived November 18th.

 

 

In hand I was surprised how soft this all cotton wrap felt right away, no breaking in needed. I had also learned from Morgan that handwovens are wet finished and ready to wear when received. When something this beautiful arrives you don't want to have to wait to wear it, so I loved that I could wrap with it right away. I was also surprised how weighty it is folded up, I had 4.4 meters woven for me. The colors were exactly what I was expecting from the pictures, just slightly more saturated in real life, beautiful deep purples and bright teals and greens with a few hits of creams and dusty blues. The wrap is thinner and fairly smooth and appears very densely woven, but if you hold it up to the light you can see some airiness in the weave and there is a delicate texture clearly evident which I felt may help hold carries in place.

The colors together are beautiful as the pictures will attest. I've long admired the simple aesthetic of a herringbone weave and here it works perfectly. I received this wrap in the Fall, but can imagine wearing it all year round, the colors are just that good! This is also stunning dressed up or down, a perfect jeans and tee woven wrap in my opinion...a wrap that will make you feel pretty and put together no matter what.

I have worn Behind the Wall in FWCC, ruck, double hammock and DH variations such as TAS and CCCB. I had anticipated there would be a little grip and there is, nothing difficult to work with, just enough to stop this from being a slippy wrap. What stands out to me is that there is a nice feeling of cush on the shoulders, but this is not a thick wrap, more thin to medium. I wore both my 11 month old and my 2 year old. My 2 year old actually has brought this wrap to me on more than one occasion which never happens, as I got into wrapping with my younger son and I've had to beg my older boy to go up before. I was able to wear my 2 year old, who is 37 pounds in a ruck and the comfort was satisfactory, which I think says a lot for an all cotton wrap that is thin to medium in a single pass carry with no additional chest belt support. Floppy out of the box, Behind the Wall continues to get even more floppy with use. Excellent drape and effortless pleating. I love how small the knots are and a CCCB is just perfect in this wrap, not too bulky at all. As a lover of stretch there isn't a lot of stretch here for me, just a very small diagonal stretch, but I find for the most part I do not miss my stretch.

In summary Behind the Wall is a soft, floppy, and easy wearing wrap. Lovers of softness and airy cushiness will be delighted. If you are looking for perfect weaving and flawless selvedges this one is for you! I would not recommend this wrap to someone looking for a thick, very dense, or grippy wrap. Depending on your wrapping style this could well be a one and done wrap from newborn to toddler. It has the softness for a newborn, and is thin enough not to overwhelm a very small baby. For toddlers the support is here, even in a ruck and even better in multi pass carries. This wrap shines in a double hammock and I would recommend it most in a base or base - 1 size. Finally I really love supporting Canadian weavers and Morgan is also local to me in BC, so that's even better. Thank you Morgan for designing and weaving such beautiful creations!