One of the many things I love about woven wraps is their variety. The materials they’re made of, their thickness, the weave structure and even the dye used. All of these can come together to create wrapping qualities unique to the wrap. We have been extremely lucky to try a number of different wraps in our relatively short wrapping journey, including some from Scottish wrap brand Oscha. So let’s delve in a little deeper for an Oscha Slings Comparison.
The wraps I’ll be comparing are made from a variety of different blends, including silk, wool, hemp, sea island cotton, tencel and Donegal wool. They weigh between 240-305gsm (grams per square metre).
All products marked with * have been gifted to me for consideration. More information can be found in my full disclaimer.
Oscha Slings Comparison: Victoriana Caithness*, 68% Organic Combed Cotton, 12% Sea Island Cotton, 20% Donegal Wool, 256gsm
Victoriana Caithness is from Oscha’s Luxe line. These wraps have an even higher quality than Oschas main line and are often made using more unusual fibres and more complex weaving techniques.
I first saw Oscha’s Victoriana Design on a fellow Geeky Wrapper and fell in love immediately (check out the Geeky Wrappers Facebook Group). While I often struggle with tight knit, intricate patterns because of my visual processing disorder, the colour ways of many of the Victoriana wraps minimise the contrast between background and pattern. This makes them comfortable for me visually.
Victoriana Caithness glides beautifully, making creating multiple passes easy. It has less texture than I expected from such an intricate design – to the point where I ended up with a very sloppy wrap job because I was expecting (and used to) more grip from the wrap. By the second time of using this wrap, I had no problems getting a well tightened wrap job.
With its 12% Sea Island Cotton, this thin-in-hand wrap is cool to the touch. While it’s densely woven, it feels breathable, though not quite as much as Roses Bouquet.
The beautifully soft Donegal wool gives Victoriana Caithness a lovely cush which, combined with the strength of the Sea Island cotton gives a lovely soft and supportive combination! If you’ve read my Rowan Bay Ptera Lovelace Review, you’ll know that I struggle with even the gentlest of wools on mid to high allergy days. Despite this, I was desperate to see how this wrap felt on warmer days. So when Lissie wanted to be wrapped during our recent heatwave and my allergic reactions were low, I reached for Victoriana Caithness.
While I know that wool is a breathable and thermoregulating fabric, thick wooly jumpers always spring to mind when thinking of wool blend wraps. So I was blown away by how comfortable Victoriana Caithness was to use on such a hot day! The combination of Donegal wool, Sea Island Cotton and Organic Combed Cotton is a winner!
Victoriana Caithness molds beautifully around wrapper and wrapee. As with Roses Bouquet and Vanilla, it benefits from careful tightening to get a really snug second skin like carry. Unlike Bouquet, Caithness is comfortable with a sloppy wrap job.
I love a wrap with a glow and the warp (length) threads give a beautiful glow to Victoriana Caithness.
Blend: 68% Organic Combed Cotton, 12% Sea Island Cotton, 20% Donegal Wool
Weight: 256gsm
In hand: Thin and cool to the touch with no wool prickle
Wrap Qualities: Cushy, breathable and soft
Shines as: An all year round woolie
Oscha Victoriana Caithness is currently available on oschaslings.com, as a ring sling (variety of shoulder options available) as a woven wrap in sizes 2-8. Prices start from £136.08.
Oscha Slings Comparison: The Roses Design
As all but one of my Oscha wraps are in their Roses design, I thought I’d start by talking about the way in which this Renee Macintosh inspired pattern performs when wrapping. This is just one element that contributes to wrap qualities, which will also be influenced by blend and weight.
Roses are a meaningful flower to us – our wedding flowers were roses, our garden started as a rose garden and we have bought a number of roses with special, meaningful names to us. So when I first saw that Oscha have a roses design, I fell in love straight away.
I’ve found there’s a consistency across the Roses wraps that I’ve tried. The design offers enough glide as to make carries with multiple passes easy. Once in place, the pattern gives enough friction to lock the carry in place – even with a wriggly, heavy toddler bot!
Oscha Slings Comparison: Roses Juliet, 75% Cotton, 25% Wild Ecru Silk, 242gms
My first Oscha wrap was Roses Juliet, a silk blend. An eBay bargain that was sold as a size 6 (4.6m), but turned out to be a long 5 (4.2m+). I didn’t realise this until about a month later, when it became too short for me to tie our go-to long front carry – Front Reinforced Traditional Sling with Pond Finish (base +½). With there not being a large number of base -1 front carries, it has sat unloved for a while. Now that we’re back carrying, a size 5 (now base -½ for us) is my go to for longer wrap carries in a Ruck Tied Tibetan Knotless. So it’s about to get the love that it deserves.
To wrap with, Juliet is easy to tighten (even with bendy hEDS joints) and molds beautifully around wrapper and wrapee. It’s supportive enough to work in single layers with a toddler, while also working well in multi layered carries.
Blend: 75% Cotton, 25% Wild Silk
Weight: 242gsm
In hand: Soft
Wrap Qualities: Supportive and mouldable. Comfortable on the shoulders.
Shines as: A great all rounder
Oscha Slings Comparison: Roses Vanilla, 50% Organic Combed Cotton, 25% Cotton, 25% Wild Silk, 240gsm
Oscha Roses Vanilla comes in a three different blends:
- 55% Cotton, 25% Wild Silk, 20% Linen
- 75% Cotton, 25% Wild Silk
- 54% Cotton, 46% Silk (prototype/tester)
My Roses Vanilla is the 25% Wild Silk blend.
While the blend and weight of Roses Vanila (Silk blend) are similar to those of Roses Juliet, there are some notable differences.
The first thing I noticed about Vanilla is its beautiful shine, seen in the silk of the warp threads, which are also cool to the touch. Juliet, while beautiful in it’s own right, doesn’t have this shine or coolness to it. There’s a definite texture difference between the warp and weft (width) threads, more so than Roses Juliet.
Cool in multi layered carries, Roses Vanilla (Silk blend) is a great option for all ages – particularly in warmer weather. Soft and supple, it moulds round a newborn beautifully, while also being strong enough to handle wriggly toddlers. This wrap makes for a great Double Hammock and is a beautiful addition to a special occasion outfit.
Roses Vanilla (Silk blend) is less forgiving of a sloppy wrap job than Juliet, but more forgiving than Roses Bouquet (see below).
Blend: 75% Cotton, 25% Wild Silk
Weight: 240gsm
In hand: Soft, light and airy. Cool to the touch.
Wrap Qualities: Thin, strong and mouldable, with a lovely glide and grip.
Shines as: A summer wrap for all ages
Oscha Slings Comparison: Roses Capricorn, 46% Organic Combed Cotton, 54% Tencel, 305gsm
Having loved the Tencel (a sustainably sourced tree fibre) blend wrap I borrowed from It’s A Sling Thing, I was really excited when Roses Capricorn, a 54% Tencel blend, came up for sale, second hand. It didn’t disappoint! This was the wrap that made me fall in love with Oscha.
You can find out more about my first experience of a Tencel blend in my ‘The Wrap Club‘ blog post.
Roses Capricorn is the thickest of my Oscha wraps and, while I can struggle with thicker wraps because of my bendy joints, I had no problems with this one. At 305gsm wrap it feels lighter in hand than many at this weight.
I’ve found that, while I generally need thin to medium weight wraps to avoid hurting my hands, these can be less comfortable on my shoulders. Particularly if I haven’t been able to tighten as precisely as I would like.
Oscha Roses Capricorn is a great combination of easy to tighten, comfortable and forgiving of a sloppy wrap job! For this reason, it was one of my go-to wraps when learning to back carry.
Roses Capricorn molds round wearer and wrappee beautifully. It’s soft enough to be a good newborn wrap, while having some cush to it that makes it a great supportive toddler option, even in single layered carries. If you prefer carries with more than one layer, you’re in luck – Capricorn has a lovely glide to it that locks in place and holds its shape with no sagging once secured.
It’s a dream to work with and a favourite of mine, particularly at Christmas time because of it’s beautiful red colour.
Roses Capricorn was released in February 2017 as part of Oscha’s Valentine’s collection and has been re-released subsequently.
Blend: 46% Organic Combed Cotton, 54% Tencel
Weight: 305gsm
In hand: Soft
Wrap Qualities: Supportive, moldable and comfortable on the shoulders
Shines as: A snuggly wrap for a wriggly toddler
Oscha Slings Comparison: Roses Of The North, 50% Cotton, 50% Hemp (GSM unknown)
Roses of the North is a bit of an anomaly – a juxtaposition if you will, in my experience of Oscha wraps. It’s the only Oscha wrap that I’ve tired that isn’t soft and moldable. When it arrived here, it was a bit of a shock. I was expecting something similar to Roses Bouquet or Firesprial Spindrift Twilight Seafoam – both beautifully soft, moldable and easy to work with, even after being washed. By comparison, I found my Roses of the North needed a lot of work to feel pliable and stiffens again as soon as it’s washed.
It’s important to note that Roses Of The North was a second hand purchase, so it’s unclear what stage of broken in-ness it’s currently at. And I will hold my hands up and admit that I am not very patient when it comes to breaking in wraps. It takes too much energy and puts strain on my joints, so I tend to avoid having to break wraps in as much as possible.
I have to admit that Roses Of The North doesn’t get reached for much. It’s stuck around because until recently it was one of only two long wraps that I own with visibly distinguishable rails, which are ideal for teaching with.
Having said this, Roses Of The North does have some fantastic wrap qualities, if you don’t mind putting the work in to get this wrap soft. It has a good amount of glide that makes tying multiple pass carries easy, even when stiff and locks in place when secured. Roses Of The North is strong and supportive, which makes it an ideal toddler wrap for long periods of carrying.
While this wrap, in its current state, isn’t soft or floppy it can still be a joy to use. It’s supportive, even with a sloppy wrap job (and mine are particularly sloppy when this wrap is freshly washed, as I find it hard to tighten with my bendy joints), light and breathable in multi layered carries. There’s also a subtle sheen to Roses Of The North, which adds an extra dimension to the already beautiful purple and teal colours.
Roses Of The North is the most textured and dense of all my Roses wraps, with Bouquet following closely behind. This is likely due to their hemp content of 50% and 40% retrospectively. Roses Vanilla has the least texture of all my Oscha Roses wraps.
Blend: 50% Cotton, 50% Hemp
Weight: Unknown
In hand: Textured and a little crunchy
Wrap Qualities: Strong, breathable and supportive with no stretch.
Shines as: A summer toddler wrap
You can see Roses Of The North in action in my Front Wrap Cross Carry with a Lexi Twist, Tied In Front YouTube video.
Oscha Slings Comparison: Roses Bouquet, 76% Organic Combed Cotton, 24% Hemp, 257gsm
While Roses Bouquet isn’t the lightest of all my Oscha wraps, it feels the lightest and thinnest in hand, when wrapping and in use. Bouquet weighs in at 257gsm, which is 17gms heavier than Vanilla and 15gsm more than Juliet.
The lightest (feeling) and airiest of my Oscha wraps, Bouquet is thin without being diggy when properly tightened. While I find most of my Oschas are moldable, I would say that Bouquet is more so than others, followed closely by Vanilla. This is ideal, as it makes getting a well tightened (and therefore comfortable) wrap job much easier. There is no cush to hide behind, so precision is needed to avoid uncomfortable shoulders.
Roses Bouquet became beautifully floppy with minimal breaking in. It’s soft, though not quite as soft as Juliet, Vanilla or Capricorn because of the natural, bumpy texture of the hemp. While it wouldn’t be my first choice for wrapping a newborn for this reason, I would reach for it over other, softer wraps, during a heatwave for a summer baby.
Hemp is a fibre that is typically strong, with no bounce and recoil. Roses Of The North and Bouquet are both no exception to this. While all of my Roses wraps have good grip and glide, these two hemp blend wraps have the most grip, while the Vanilla has the least. With Capricorn and Juliet sitting somewhere in the middle. Victoriana Caithness is comparable in terms of glide to Vanilla.
Roses Bouquet works equally well as a single layered and multi-layered wrap. One of my few wrap related regrets is that I didn’t nab it in a long length when I had the chance, because it would make an EPIC base/base+ wrap! Don’t get me wrong, I love it in a size 3, I just can’t stop thinking about how great the size 7 I missed out on would be. Particularly in the summer months!
While Juliet and Vanilla are very similar in wrap qualities, Roses of The North and Bouquet are worlds apart. I have to admit that I thought Bouquet had a higher percentage of Hemp, which may explain my surprise that they are so different from one another. Roses of The North and Bouquet are both strong and supportive, with no bounce and recoil, but the soft, floppy nature of Bouquet is a stark contrast to Roses Of The North’s stiffer, dry feel and gives each wrap very different wrap qualities.
Blend: 60% Organic Combed Cotton, 40% Hemp
Weight: 257gsm
In hand: Light
Wrap Qualities: Thin, strong, moldable and airy
Shines as: A summer option for more seasoned wrappers
As you can probably tell, I am a big fan of Oscha and their woven wraps! Check out oschaslings.com for their fantastic range of wraps, ring slings and tie on carriers, as well as lifestyle wrap fabric products. There’s something for everyone! I’d love to try an Oscha linen blend before our babywearing days are over.
Have you tried any Oscha wraps? What have you tried and how do they compare with the wraps I have?
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