If you’ve read my It’s A Sling Thing review post, you’ll know just how much I love this fantastic business and the two wonderful ladies behind it. Recently, Em and Jenni have launched The Wrap Club as part of the ever expanding services that It’s A Sling Thing offer. Elise and I were lucky enough to win a 3 month subscription with our family Instagram account (@thescfamily) by entering the monthly #ItsASlingWin competition. The wrap club is designed to give woven wrap lovers the opportunity to try out different sizes, materials and brands without having to purchase lots of different wraps.
*We won a 3 month subscription to The Wrap Club. All thoughts are my own and I was not asked to write a blog post about this subscription service. I have chosen to do so because I’ve thoroughly enjoyed our 3 month subscription and want to share this great service with others. More information can be found in my disclaimer.
When you sign up for The Wrap Club, you receive an email asking you to fill out a short form. This asks some basic questions, including size preferences and if there are any materials you don’t want to try. This information gives Em and Jenni a good starting point for choosing which wraps to send for your subscription and means that you’re unlikely to end up with a wrap you don’t get on with. This is great for people with allergies and those who have already started to discover what does and doesn’t work for them.
I learned a lot from our three month subscription to The Wrap Club. So, I thought I’d share my thoughts on each of the three wraps we were sent to try.
The Wrap Club: Tula Migaloo Happy Rainbow, size 3
The first wrap we received was a size 3 Tula Migaloo Happy Rainbow. Tula are a well know, well respected name in babywearing. Their soft structured carriers are popular, particularly their Free-To-Grow. So, I was excited to try one of their wraps.
Having used It’s A Sling Thing’s Firespiral Verdant Cyano Birch Trees size 3 when Elise was a newborn, I was excited to see how this size would work with a bigger wrapee. To my surprise and delight, I was able to comfortable get a front wrap cross carry, tied under bum, out of this length! I’ve since discovered that my base is a size 5, so it now makes sense that I can tie this base -2 carry comfortably with a size 3.
The Tula Migaloo Happy Rainbow is a tencel/cotton blend. This was my first time trying a wrap with tencle in it. Tentacle is a fibre made from eucalyptus trees and is similar in properties to bamboo. It drapes nicely and feels soft and slightly cool to the touch, without having the same slippy qualities that some bamboo wraps have.
What have I learned from trying the Tula Migaloo Rainbow, size 3?
I’m not proficient enough of a wrapper yet to keep vertical stripes straight. All too often they ended up wiggly from my tightening more in different directions. Saying this, it may be beneficial for me to attempt new carries with a vertically striped wrap so I can see where I’m pulling the wrap more to one side.
While I now know that size 3 is still our base-2 size, I’ve discovered that I prefer working with a little extra tail that a size 4 gives. When tying a front reinforced traditional sling carry, I wasn’t able to put a tail between my knees. The wrap wasn’t long enough. Instead, I had to pin the tail to my shoulder with my jaw. I found this tricky and uncomfortable, although I think this would improve with practice. Plus, I found tying knots easier with more of a tail to hold onto.
I *think* I prefer tencel to bamboo. However, I’d need to try more tencel and bamboo wraps to be able to say for certain. There are a number of other factors that affect how a wrap performs (gsm, weave type, etc.).
The Wrap Club: Bebe Sachi Sister Strength, size 5
I was absolutely thrilled when I received this Bebe Sachi Sister Strength wrap in the post for a number of reasons. Firstly, this is the first (and only) handwoven wrap I’ve tried. I know Em is a big fan of handwoven wraps, so I was excited to see what all the fuss is about. I was excited to find out that Bebe Sachi (and Girasol) are both brands that make affordable handwoven wraps! I’d assumed that handwoven would mean high price tag, but now I know that this isn’t always the case.
The other reason I was excited to receive this wrap as part of my subscription was the size. At the time, I owned one size 5 wrap (Lenny Lamb Pearl from their basics line), but I just wasn’t reaching for it. The problem was that I didn’t know why. I wasn’t sure whether it was the size, the design or the wrap qualities. I hoped that having a different size 5 come to visit would help me work out what the issue with my Lenny Lamb wrap was, and it did!
I found myself reaching for Sister Strength much more than I thought I would, so the size wasn’t the issue with my Lenny Lamb. I also discovered that my base size (the size you need to do a Front Wrap Cross Carry) is a size 5! It turned out that the contrast in colour between the white and grey of my Lenny Lamb was too much for my photosensitivity and the pattern was causing me problems. In the photos online of Lenny Lamb pearl, the grey looks much lighter, which would’ve made the pattern manageable for me.
Having Sister Strength stay with us for a month wasn’t just a great way for me to find out my base size and discover the issues I was having with my Lenny Lamb Pearl wrap. It also pushed me out of my comfort zone and made me try a new carry – Front Double Hammock.
While Front Wrap Cross Carry is a standard beginner carry with a base size wrap, it’s one I don’t get on with well. I struggle to get the top rail tight and Elise is a wriggle pants so even when I do, she’s able to push it down and lean out. My go-to long carry is Front Reinforced Torso Sling Carry with a Pond Finish, but this is best done with a base +1 wrap. I can just manage it in a long base wrap, but I’m tying in the tippy tails.
While I still need to work on my tying of Front Double Hammock, I’m glad Sister Strength’s visit got me started on it. Sometimes it takes a little push to step out of your comfort zone!
The Wrap Club: Didymos Prima Hemp Petrol, size 3
Didymos Prima Hemp Petrol was the first hemp wrap I’ve tried, being a 60% cotton and 40% hemp blend. My first thought when taking it out of the parcel was how soft and thin it is. When I first wrapped with it, I was impressed by how strong it is. Particularly with how light and thin the fabric feels.
I love the look of the Didymos Primas, but I find some of the colourways visually difficult – if there’s too much contrast between the two colours, the tight knit pattern is just too much for me. To give you an idea, Prima Ivy (my cousin’s wrap) is the biggest contrast that I can manage.
So it was fantastic for me to be able to see a different Prima colourway in real life. As we’ve already discussed, how a wrap looks in photos doesn’t necessarily translate to how it looks in real life! I love the Petrol colour. The combination of blue and green comes together to create a gorgeous teal shade. I think this shade works perfectly with my glasses, which are also made up of green and blue shades.
I reached for Petrol a lot while it was with us and it was a great wrap for both front and back carries.
If you’re a woven wrap fan, I can highly recommend a subscription to The Wrap Club. I’ve asked for one (or money towards one) for Christmas!
There are four different subscription options available for The Wrap Club; 3 months subscription, 6 months, 3 months with a weird and wonderful add on and 6 months with a weird and wonderful add on.
With the 3 month subscription, you receive a different wrap each month for three months. This costs £23 per month for 3 months. Or, if you’d prefer, you can opt for the 6 months option where you receive 2 wraps every 2 months to try for £21.50 per month for 6 months.
I love that there are different options, not just to suit a variety of budgets, but also a variety of different lifestyles. Personally, I think I’d prefer the 3 month subscription. I like receiving a different wrap in the post every month and it helps me to focus on trying one thing at a time. If I had two to try, I’d probably end up using one much more than the other. I also like that after three months, I can have a break from The Wrap Club to use the wraps I own, with the new knowledge that I’ve acquired from my The Wrap Club subscription, before I purchase my next three months.
However, a friend of mine is tandem wearing her toddler and newborn. She’s just got a 6 month subscription as an early Christmas present and is loving having two wraps to use, one with each of her boys. One of the things I love about Em and Jenni is that they understand that every family is different and they do everything they can to provide products and services that work for as many families as possible.
You can find out more about The Wrap Club at itsaslingthing.co.uk.
Have you used a woven wrap before? What were your favourite length(s), blend(s) and brand(s)?
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