Advice before buying my first woven wrap?

[martineba]

Hi!

TL DR: proficient newbie wondering if I should get a size 5 or 6, and asking for recommendations about favrics brands and places to buy.

I've been carrying with a borrowed wrap for the last 5 months or so.
It's a size 5 mokosh, pretty sure it's 100% cotton and quite thick - I don't really know, but I'd guess around 250 gsm maybe?

I've become quite proficient with tying a fwcc, but that's all I do - I tried a back carry a couple of times, and Robin's hip carry, but I need much more practice, and my baby doesn't really like it when I fuss around with the wrap while tying it, and she complains a lot.

Anyways, I really like carrying this way, it's far more comfortable than any of the other carriers we have/tried, and it's time to buy my own. So I have a couple of questions:

1. I'm wondering about the size - should I get another size 5, since I am able to use it (albeit with short tails) or size up to a 6?
   Will a 5 limit me in the future with e.g. back carriers or when my baby grows? She's 7 mo atm, and I plan to keep on carrying her for at least a couple of years hopefully.
2. Another thought about size is getting a shorter wrap, like a size 3 or something - since I like the option of taking it with me without the bulk.. but I'm not sure about the carries that can be done with it - are they more advanced? Less comfortable for longer periods?
   I suppose most people eventually have both a shirt and a long one?
3. Regarding fabric - I tried a lighter weave one, and much preferred the thick one, it felt a lot more solid. However, it feels a little rough, and I'm wondering if it's the composition of the fabric, the thicker, or that different companies have different weaves and some are just softer than others..?
4. What brands do you like? Are there places to buy secondhand internationally which are not eBay? (there's very little on there as far as I've seen)

Sorry for such a lot of text, and thanks for reading!

 

[goobiebean]

@martineba As your baby grows, you will find that you need more length to do the same carries. If you like the kinds of carries that you can do with your base size, then you'll probably get more use out of a size 6.

However, a base-2 is a really versatile size, especially for quick stuff around the house. I think having a shorter wrap and a longer one is the way to go.

The roughness is more to do with the fibres and weave, not the thickness.

My favs are Didymos and Oscha. I think Facebook groups are generally the most active for second hand wraps.

 

[richgsr7]

@martineba

1. I either recommend getting your base size ( sounds like a 6) or a base -2 size (4).
2. Base -2 is very versatile ( probably a 4 for you). It's great for 1 shoulder hip carries ( Poppins and Robins TUB and CHCC) and for 1-2 layer back carries ( ruck TIF, half Jordans, Pirate carry)
3. After the first 6m, I also prefer a mid to heavy weight GSM. My first wrap was a thin 230, all cotton. It is now not comfortable to wrap my 20+ lb 1yo. Now I prefer a ~300gsm all cotton or a ~250gsm cotton/silk blend.

If it feels rough instead of soft and floppy, you need to break it in more.

At this point, I would stick to thicker wraps ( 250 GSM +) You can get away with thinner ones if they have a supportive blend: hemp, linen, or silk.

1. Check out FB marketplace for used wraps. There's usually a few budget groups that are location specific. It's a buyer's market right now so you should be able to get some sweet deals.
   I really like oscha, didymos, and Lenny lamb for wraps. If you're in Europe I think yaro and little frog are available too.

 

[martineba]

@richgsr7 Thank you!
So silk makes the fabric stronger? How about wool?
I forgot to ask about an aspect of the fabric - it's pretty hot where I live, and rarely goes below 10° C even in the middle of winter (or what's left of it here, what with climate change and all).
Are there blends which are considered less warm, without sacrificing strength and/or thickness?

 

[richgsr7]

@martineba I have a 220 gsm 40% linen 60% cotton blend from didymos and it is cooler than a thick all cotton blend. It is soft and floppy but I don't like it because it's way more stretchy than solid. I'm hoping I'll use it more this summer.

Silk, linen, and even hemp are more temperature regulating than cotton, so they will all be "cooler" in a single layer carry. In multi pass carries I don't think it makes a big difference.

Check out wrap track for reviews of some wraps before you buy!
https://wraptrack.org/Model/ratings/1418
This is 100% accurate for my first wrap- look for something more toddler worthy.

 

[martineba]

@richgsr7 Thanks!

I thought linen was supposed to make for stiffer wraps rather than stretchy?

And thanks for the reference to wraptrack, that's an awsome resource!

 

[martineba]

ok, so I've found my current wrap on wraptrack, and apparently it's 50% cotton 50% linen(!). I guess that's why it feels so strong and supportive, but also somewhat rough..?

I do quite like the support, so maybe I'll look for something with some linen in the blend.

 

[richgsr7]

@martineba If your wrap has 50% linen and feels rough, try breaking it in more!

http://www.bwistl.org/10-ways-to-break-in-a-woven-wrap/

Tumble dry until damp, then steam iron! I found that worked the best for linen.

 

[richgsr7]

@martineba So did I . I just wanted to show how you can't predict how a wrap will feel just from the fibers.

 

[eddymeng]

@martineba Yes and no. Silk and linen are considered good for hot weather. But they have no bounce. They are very stiff. Lots of people like that but it requires you to wrap very precise to be comfortable.
At the end me it is a personal preference.
I am of the opinion you will be hot when you wrap no matter what, the blend doesn’t really make a huge difference in that.

 

[alexander7791]

@eddymeng I thought linen would be stiff and hard to deal with but my linen /cotton blend oscha is incredibly bouncy and not stiff at all. I did get it used, I don't think it was heavily used before but maybe it was broken in a bit for me. That said, I don't know if it's much cooler than plain cotton. I don't live in a super hot place.

 

[kenmd]

@eddymeng Anecdotally: We started out with a borrowed cotton wrap (Storchenwiege Leo) and then switched to a 60% cotton 40% linen wrap (Didymos Fische Nebbia) after a few weeks during summer. Both have a very similar weight per sqm (220 g/m² vs. 210 g/m²) but the linen blend feels much lighter and did not feel as hot during 30+ °C days. I would not have expected that much of a difference, to be honest, but the linen wrap really helped in hot weather.