Review: Pretty Paisley Productions' Georgiana

Wrap: Pretty Paisley Productions Georgiana by Wood-N-Woven
Size: 4.6m (measures 4.9m post wear)
Width: a little over 76 cm
Fiber content: 100% cotton, 8/2 warp and 10/2 weft
Weave: 2/2 Twill
GSM: 285
The short version:  If you like wide, thick, but floppy handwovens with plenty of support and stretch, you will like Georgiana.  Would be overwhelming with a squish, but the snuggle factor is amazing.

Full version:  I was very excited to try this handwoven from a local company!  Pretty Paisley Productions has been dying baby wraps and is now expanding their realm to offer gorgeous handwovens.  She's offered some truly lovely work and this is no exception!

First impressions are always important and Georgiana did not disappoint.  The black weft twill really catches your eye and give the wrap tons of dimension, it is a visual chameleon.  It almost moves if you look to hard at it.  I am not a fan of rainbow, but the weave makes the colours pop without it being too flashy.  At first touch, I was very impressed by the softness and cuddle factor.  This is definitely a wrap that could be tossed on the couch after use and it would quickly be snatched up for a blanket.  Some twills I've handled had a bit of a rougher feel, but not Georgiana!

 I have petite children and I will say that I am preferring more narrow wraps recently.  The thickness and width would be ideal for toddlers, I feel that it would be overwhelming with a infant (especially the leg passes and knot).  You don't need a pillow for wrap naps here!  Almost like padded shoulders, the width really enhances the cush factor.  Even a good ruck was comfortable on my shoulders while I made dinner with a sleeping baby.  The stretch also makes it seem wider than it truly is.


 Even though there is a ton of stretch, I did not experience any sagging!  It gives a fabulous chest pass that really conforms to your body, very ace bandagey.  My carries were all high and snug, even over long periods.  The twill provides some lovely grip, but it wasn't difficult to wrap with and the passes went into place easily.  I am a big fan of candy cane chest belts and it was easy to thread through the opposite ruck strap, but holds a half knot beautifully.    

I have very high standards when it comes to weaving and Georgiana is well woven.  The selveges could stand to be a little neater, but evenly tensioned.  Bobbin changes are unnoticable and I did not see any weavers knots or stray ends poking out.  There is a small skip near the tail, but this is a handwoven item and I like to know real people were lovingly crafting it for babies to be cuddled in!

Ethos Babywearing Tester Review

When a local mama starting a woven wrap business asked me to be a tester, I jumped at the chance!  I love trying new wraps and seeing what's new in the wrapping world.  This has been a fabulous experience and I'm so grateful for Ethos Babywearing to have offered me this honor!  I am VERY excited to see this company grow!

Ethos Babywearing was started by a babywearing mama that heard the community's wish for affordable, quality woven wraps.  Babywearing should be accessible to all price ranges!  One of the most common complaints is that woven wraps are too expensive or that the more economical options are not as soft or supportive as the higher end brands.  Ethos Babywearing also feels it's important to give back and will be donating 10% of their profits from every release to a charitable cause.  The woven wraps will be fully tested and CPSC approved for the new compliancy  laws coming into effect October 1, 2014.

My girls and I were over at a friend's house for a play date when the Ethos Dusky Argyle testers arrived, the lovely W dropped was so excited to share them with us and we couldn't wait either!  It was like a bunch of kids at Christmas, ripping open the cellophane packages in the street.  My first impressions were WOW!  This is soft!!!  And so thin (I like thin wraps).  It's so difficult to get a thin all cotton wrap to have the support I need for toddlerwearing, but Dusky Argyle is a dense 254 gsm and fits the bill easily.

I grabbed E and threw her up in our go to carry lately, Pirate Carry.  Dusky Argyle needs no breaking in! It came prewashed and ready to wear!  At first touch you notice the silky texture and softness that makes it a truly snuggly wrap.  The passes glide easily, but I wouldn't call it slick or slippery.  It has enough texture to hold your carry without being difficult to make passes or tie easily.  One of my concerns was the thinness causing pressure points or digging at the shoulders, but I found it very comfortable!  Not cushy like marshmallows, but it had just the right amount for my taste.  It even came with sleepy dust as E fell right asleep.  I was able to carry her sag free for the "nap test" while we chatted and the other children played.  My only complaint is the thinness cause some digging at the knots on my chest while in a candy cane chest belt.  These test wraps have some nubbiness that will be resolved before release, however it does not effect function and I actually think it enhances the design. 

When I get a new wrap, I like to really focus on it and use exclusively for a while.  Dusky Argyle made this easy!  You really wouldn't realise it's a budget wrap if you weren't told.  It doesn't compare at all to the Little Frog wraps I've tried.  I've loved it in every single or multi layer carry I've tried!  The combination of amazing diagonal stretch and thinness really make it moldable, perfect for squish wrapping. 

Ethos Babywearing Dusky Argyle is planned to release next month with the projected prices: 3.6m $90, 4.2m $100, 4.6m $110, and 5.2m $120

Photos courtesy of Shelby Marie Photography  

Review: Lila Hemp Indio

Let me just start by saying purple is my favourite colour.  Somehow, my stash ended up very pink for a while and I had to fix it!  In the babywearing groups I'm in, there is a LOT of talk about Didymos Indios and their awesome wrapping qualities.  I'm also a huge fan of hemp!  Soft, supportive...  It's a great blend for toddlerwearing as well as comfy enough for little squishes.  I had a hard time picking between Lila and Flamenco hemp Indio, but due to the pinkish nature of my stash, I took a chance on Lila.  There's not a lot of information and reviews of Lila out on the web, so hopefully this will be helpful to someone out there!

When I bought Lila, I had already gotten three other wraps of various blends and thought I knew what a "crunchy" new wrap felt like.  Everyone talks about how cardboard like Natibaby linen blends are and I had found my Notes pre-order to be very easy to break in.  Warm wash and dry on low had done a lot for it, I hadn't even felt the need to steam iron it!  Even freshly out of the bag from Wrap Your Baby, it hadn't felt too crunchy.  It wasn't quite as easy to wrap with as my 100% KoKaDi had been, but it was still very workable and comfortable.  KoKaDi wraps are exceptionally soft even before washing, so I didn't want to compare my Merlin (hemp/cotton blend) to Lila right away.

My sweet husband had bought Lila for my birthday and it arrived about a week before then.  I had originally told him I wanted him to put it away and make me wait, but I just couldn't!  We had ordered it from Heart Hugs and I am super impressed with their customer service!  It shipped the next day and arrived two days later.  She had put a handwritten note attached to the decorative string tied to the box, which she had wrapped in crepe paper.  I was very impressed!  When I opened the box and had my first feel of Lila, I finally understood why people say an unbroken in wrap is like drapery.  It would make very good drapes or upholstery!!!  I am a very tactile person and was immediately put off my the Indio texture.  It was the most BEAUTIFUL colour in real life, but I was starting to feel like I had made a mistake in picking her.  Luckily I knew I should take a few weeks to fully make a decision and popped her in the wash to start breaking her in.

The first woven wrap I had ever used was KoKaDi Erna, a buttery smooth 100% cotton.  It was very easy to wrap with, not grippy at all.  Even my Nati linen could be considered smooth to wrap with, but has enough grip to hold where I wrap it.  So when I first wrapped with Lila, the grippiness was quite different for me!  Like the texture, I wasn't sure I liked it at first.  As time goes by and I work more and more with her, I find that the grippiness is a huge bonus!  When I finish my carry, I don't have to worry about constantly re-tightening and adjusting.  This baby sticks!  The grippiness makes it a perfect rucking wrap with my seat popper.  However, if we're doing our favourite hip carry (Poppins hip carry), I find it to be a bit hard to adjust and tie behind my back.

Since I am going to be a full time toddlerwearer in the next week, I am very particular about the comfort and support qualities of the wraps I buy.  I love cush, enough support for single layer carries to discourage sagging...  Shorties (wraps in a 1-3 size length) are also my go to right now, so I purchased a size 3.  I am currently wrapping a 27 lb 33 month old and a 16 lb 11 month old.  I loved the weight of my Merlin, but knew Lila would be a bit thinner when I bought it.  That didn't make me any less anxious when I felt how thin she was after I had washed her.  I have quite picky shoulders and many times ruck straps cause me some discomfort.  Erna was starting to get diggy and I was looking to avoid that!  Lila definitely surprised me!  Her first test was rucking my toddler to the county fair and I was pleasantly surprised.  Even in the heat, she was cool and breathable due to her thinness and airy weave.  But the best part was she was SUPER comfortable on my shoulders!  Not diggy at all, yet thin enough to not be a massive amount of fabric bunched up on my narrow shoulders.  Lila is the first wrap I reach for when my P needs some uppies and always goes to town with us just in case I need to contain her in the store.

All in all, I would highly recommend Didymos's Lila Hemp Indio for someone looking for a simple, stunning, and supportive wrap.  Shorty or full length, this breathable and airy wrap is sure to impress anyone wearing their toddler or infant for any length of time.  I am truely feeling the Indio love and hope to expand my collection thanks to this amazing wrap!