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Lovelies, just dropping a quick note to state the obvious - my blog is completely in Instagram now and I am sharing reviews and images there. This is to follow my own social media behaviour, I simply do not have time to read any old-fashioned webpage based blogs myself and prefer browsing platforms like Instagram where images and information are easily accessible whomever the author is.

I will be keeping my old articles here for now but for more recent and new posts please follow me in Instagram. See you there! ♡

Linuschka Hamburg: Tester with japanese silk, seacell, supima and bio cotton

We were invited to participate in a test round for a yet unreleased beauty by Linuschka Hamburg. The tester was a size 6 wrap with an exciting blend of 40% bio cotton, 30% Japanese silk, 15% seacell and 15% supima. I was looking forward to the week with this wrap a lot since I had not had a chance to test Japanese silk yet but had big hopes it would not fail with a toddler. We were about to go for a countryside holiday involving no strollers and 8 + 7 hour train trips with multiple transfers so I knew we'd get to wear the tester a lot.

As we collected and opened the tester parcel, I was surprised by how the folded package was much thinner than I expected. However, a closer look to the wrap revealed already the lovely fluff and nubby towel-like texture it had. The tester is clearly a member of Linuschka's Avant-garde wrap family with its geometrical and abstract pattern and reminds to some extent Unovis Acapulco which was released just a few weeks before this tester arrived at our place. In the tester, white/ecru and pink colors are rather light when looking from further but more intensive from closer and also in stronger light. Overall, the first impression reminded me a lot of Artipoppe's Pink Towel especially from the appearance and touch, even though the blends of the two wraps are totally different.

Our wrappee is 18 months old toddler with good 12,5kg. We wore the tester mainly in double hammock tied under bum (with freshwater finish), simple rucksack, and front wrap cross carry tied under bum. Normally I hate tub finishes and avoid them wherever possible because I feel they easily pop back and the wrap job needs to be re-done. Thanks to the grippiness and texture of the tester, this wrap however held our toddler wonderfully even with just a simple knot under bum.

Fwcc tub with reverse side of the wrap out.

The wrap has a nice bounce which together with the grip makes the wearing a comfortable experience for both the babywearer and the wrappee, and our toddler enjoyed several wrapnaps while being carried in the tester. Against my expectations the wrap was easy to work with and it was not at all difficult to get the second layer of fabric on its place in double hammock. The wrap also basically pleated itself on shoulders!

When receiving the wrap after it had been to a couple of hosts already I thought it was pretty nicely broken in already. Still, it definitely got softer and floppier in the use and the surface felt less rough after our testing week. As our wrappee is in the on/off age, I also got to wear the size 6 tester on neck. Despite the no wool content it has something wool-like to it and served as a warming accessory during the sunny yet chilly day. The color of the wrap is subtle and not too strong and even my husband complimented it. Another plus in this wrap is certainly that, despite the exclusive blend, it did not feel too glamorous and you would not be afraid to wear it outdoors.

This wrap is definitely a toddler or heavier baby wrap for slightly more experienced users in my opinion because of the heavy weight and structure. I think it would be too much texture for small babies and beginners but works wonderfully when you know what to expect from grippy yet mouldable wraps.

Thank you for the opportunity to test this wrap! I have more action shots on my Instagram account and further photos and reviews by the hosts are available in the Linuschka wraps group. For more Linuschka beauties, please check their business page!

Wearababy: Vanamo Kide Neva

We were excited to have Vanamo Kide Neva woven wrap visit us two weeks ago. Vanamo is a woven wrap collection by Finnish Wearababy (Liinalapsi) and the wraps are designed and produced entirely in Finland. All Vanamo wraps are woven in a small weaving mill in Espoo, Southern Finland, and finished by hand by local seamstress. Until now my experience of Finnish baby wraps relied solely on the handwoven side where Finns are lucky to have numerous skilled artists. Therefore, my expectations for this machine woven wrap were also high.

Vanamo wraps are all made with natural materials of safe and high quality – in the case of Kide Neva this is soft GOTS certified organic cotton from a German spinning mill. Neva is a medium thick wrap, the density being approximately 262gsm pre-wash and 298gsm post-wash. This was ideal for us as a size 6 wrap, with our wrappee being close to 13kg. Kide Neva is machine washable like all Vanamo wraps and it can be ironed, too. We didn't need to do either of these as the wrap came to us after two other tester homes and was wonderfully soft already.

Kide Neva is a mixture of turquoise and black threads. The wrap almost shimmers and the surface is very lively, resulting in beautiful shades of green (some see it as blue) and I found the color flattering. The wrap felt somewhat thin, yet durable and with a lovely diagonal stretch which is a signature feature of Vanamo wraps. There was almost like something handwoven in the touch and look to me, maybe due to the weaving pattern which according to Wearababy is inspired by traditional Finnish woven textiles. The inspiration to Vanamo designs comes from Scandinavian nature and Finnish national tradition and myths more in general and, quite rightly, I felt there would hardly be a better place to test Kide Neva than our holiday to Finnish archipelago, islands and seaside.

We wore Kide Neva in multi-layer carries: front wrap cross carry and variations of double hammock. I found the wrap ridiculously smooth to work with as it glided easily on place even on top of wind-fleece and woolen clothes that can often a bit tricky to babywear with. Probably due to the texture created by the weaving pattern, the wrap-jobs also stayed extremely well on place without loosening even if we used the carries for 1.5-2.5 hours at a time. Each time our toddler napped in Kide Neva so it must have been lovely and comfortable not just to the wearer but for the wrappee, too! There was absolutely no aching on my shoulders or waist even if with many all-cotton wraps this is in my experience inevitable after more than 30 minutes or so carrying of heavier child. I did not test any single-layer carries with Neva though due to the length of the wrap and my personal preference to thicker wraps when carrying in single-layer with our toddler. We wore Neva during rather chilly and windy archipelago weather with occasional sun and felt the wrap gave a nice extra warming layer without being sweaty.

I am a bit ashamed to admit that, apart from touching a Vanamo Karpalo ring sling once without testing it, to date I had managed not to come across with any Vanamo wraps in real life even though they are to my knowledge the only machine woven Finnish baby wraps. Somehow my impression of them was still in the old Vanamo designs – multi-color striped patterns which made me classify them with Didymos, Storchenwiege, Ellaroo, Girasol and similar “hippy” style wraps that surely have their fans but are not something for me really. It was therefore wonderful to realise that with the introduction of Vanamo Kide series by Wearababy there is now also something machine woven made in Finland that appeals my eye aesthetically. Also from the wrapping qualities point of view this Vanamo wrap surpassed most if not all the similar price range wraps we've got to own or try. Kide wraps come in several colors and different blends so the only difficulty remains in deciding which one to go for - because I definitely want a Vanamo Kide of my own now!

Thank you to Wearababy for the opportunity to test this wrap and make me change my mind about Vanamo wraps! Thank you also to Babywearing diaries for smooth practical arrangements of the test round :)

Lovaloom: Unreleased woolen Petalon

We were happy to test for a week a yet to be released Lovaloom Petalon with pima cotton, bourette silk, cashmere and babycamel. Being a wool lover and part of team thick I was eager to see, feel and experience this 400gsm beauty live, and it surely met the expectations. We wore the wrap in different carries for several hours over the test period, both indoors and outdoors, awake and alert as well as for peaceful wrapnaps.

The wrap has beautiful natural creamy and light brown colors. It feels soft but blankety, densely woven but not overly warm. Thanks to the amazing blend, the weave has a nice texture making the pattern beautifully three-dimensional on a closer look. I am not sensitive to wool and could feel only very light itching on the neck in the beginning, which eases as the wrap breaks in.

As the gsm and blend suggest, this is definitely a wrap with excellent wrapping qualities for heavier babies, toddlers and bigger kids. Both single-layer carries such as FWCC or rucksack and multi-layer carries like DH or FCC feel heavenly with a 1yo/13kg this wrap - no digging on the shoulders but also no sweating since both cashmere and babycamel are breathable. Wrapping with this was of course a bit of exercise especially when working layers on their place or getting tails through shoulder passes, but I can imagine it gets smoother as the wrap breaks in. Because of the grippiness and thickness of the wrap I wouldn't recommend it for the very beginners in babywearing, also the wrap is somewhat too beastly for newborns and smaller babies. With a toddler, however, any carry we tried stayed nicely on their place and the wrap was forgiving for quicker wrap-jobs, too.

If I were to compare this Petalon with some other toddler worthy wool wraps I've come across, in my opinion this is denser and fluffier than for instance Solnce's Genesis Khal (cotton, tussah, babycamel) and grippier, crunchier and more texturised than for instance Petalon Sage (high merino blend), Artipoppe's Argus Tart (high cashmere, Egyptian cotton, merino and silk) or Linuschka's Owls with wool that I've had. I can imagine this Petalon makes a wonderful companion for any toddlerwearing wool lover and with the subtle classic colors it is a true all year-rounder.

Woolen Petalon accompanied by my gorgeous Petalon Corallo.

Thank you to Christina at Lovaloom for the opportunity to be part of this tester round!

Kapualove: Mr. Bowie

We were excited to have Mr. Bowie (100% cotton) by an Austrian/German weaving company Kapualove visit us for a week. Since we don't use strollers and thus carry a lot in general, Mr. Bowie got quite an intensive period with us and we wore the wrap for some ten hours in total within the few days.

As we move around by foot a lot, Mr. Bowie accompanied us when we walked to the city to meet friends and visit post office (to collect some fluffy mail, of course), when we took our doggie out, and our child also napped in the wrap several times. Mr. Bowie also made an entry in our local sling meet and was greeted by a lovely mama who already owned a Mr. Bowie in past. 

With our wrappee having reached almost 13kg, an all cotton wrap is normally a no-go for us, but I was eager to see if Mr. Bowie would make an exception. And it definitely did! We still mostly wear one-layer carries and I was pleased to notice Mr. Bowie didn't feel at all diggy and it continued being supportive even after three hours in a front wrap cross carry.

The wrap is lovely in a double hammock, too, even though the wrapping qualities of Mr. Bowie somewhat surprised me and my wrap job sagged in the dh after a while. Namely, this wrap has an amazing diagonal stretch which I loved. It gives your carries a nice bounce and definitely smoothens the shoulder experience when wearing a heavier wrappee. Mr. Bowie also stayed surprisingly well on outdoor clothes even if we wore it on the top of my softshell coat.

Monochrome/b&w colors or strong graphic prints are not something I would normally go for, so I enjoyed getting to wear a wrap having both these looks for a change. Personally, I would feel the amount of light colors in any wrap be too sensitive to wear but it surely helps a lot Mr. Bowie is washable at 60°! It is an easy-care wrap which you will not be afraid to go out with, no matter whether it is sunny or rainy. 

We were happy to have the chance to be part of the Kapualove TryMe Team 2.0 and I was impressed by how thoughtfully everything was organised, from the piece of fabric arriving via mail in advance to little greet notes and washing liquid that accompanied Mr. Bowie in the parcel. Thank you to Kapualove and Stephanie & Daniel for this opportunity!

Cotton Colors: Agni Blush

We had a pleasure to coordinate the test round for Agni Blush (100% cotton) by Russian Cotton Colors back last autumn.

Straight out of the bag Agni had a lot of texture and shimmer. Shimmery look seems to be a signature detail to Cotton Colors, judging from other Cotton Colors wraps that were released around the same time.

The color of Agni Blush is very vivid and the overall look elegant. Different shades of red and grey come out depending on the light. The size six wrap was very generous in length, allowing to try out different carries.

Agni visited in total eight families before returning back to us after two and half months. It had turned considerably soft, without losing its supportive and grippy touch. No pain even after carrying a past 11kg baby for one and half hours twice on a same day, which is not self evident for an all cotton wrap :) Agni is an easy-care wrap as it is machine washable and this is certainly another plus.

Thank you to Cotton Colors for the opportunity to test Agni Blush!