Wool is scary. Wool is temperamental. Wool is scratchy.
When I considered purchasing this wrap, I posted a question in a FB babywearing group about caring for wool. How do I wash it? How do I break it in? The responses were as long as my arm; not too much friction, not too much heat, careful about water, use a special soap and conditioner - blah, blah, blah. Oh my goodness what was I in for?
What I've learned in a nutshell is that wool has three enemies, but they work in teams: heat, friction, and moisture. As long as you keep the three separate, your woolie will be happy. No dryer because that uses heat and friction, no washer because that uses all three, don't hand wash in water too hot, don't wring it out when wet, etc. That being said, I've been too chicken to wash it yet. But, I've been braiding it and running it through rings for a few days.
Today it was finally below 85 degrees and 90% humidity, so we decided to give Audrey a whirl. Our Audrey is a size 5, which is on the long side for me. I wore E in a Christina's Ruckless Back Carry (CRBC) with the tails tied Tibetan rather than around my waist.
When I considered purchasing this wrap, I posted a question in a FB babywearing group about caring for wool. How do I wash it? How do I break it in? The responses were as long as my arm; not too much friction, not too much heat, careful about water, use a special soap and conditioner - blah, blah, blah. Oh my goodness what was I in for?
What I've learned in a nutshell is that wool has three enemies, but they work in teams: heat, friction, and moisture. As long as you keep the three separate, your woolie will be happy. No dryer because that uses heat and friction, no washer because that uses all three, don't hand wash in water too hot, don't wring it out when wet, etc. That being said, I've been too chicken to wash it yet. But, I've been braiding it and running it through rings for a few days.
Today it was finally below 85 degrees and 90% humidity, so we decided to give Audrey a whirl. Our Audrey is a size 5, which is on the long side for me. I wore E in a Christina's Ruckless Back Carry (CRBC) with the tails tied Tibetan rather than around my waist.
First let's talk about the fabric itself. Audrey is incredibly thin. I always thought wool would be thick and fluffy, but this is light and airy. The purple cotton is a lovely muted true purple and the wool is called olive, but is more of a gray-olive. It looks ecru in lots of photographs, but is much darker in real life. The photo above is very true to color. Our Audrey is almost brand new and needs a lot of breaking in, so there is a prickly feeling to it still, although while wearing it didn't bother me at all with the chest belt right on my skin.
I will be curious to wear this in other carries as well. CRBC is a triple-pass carry and inherently supportive, but this felt awesome on my shoulders. It felt flexible and bouncy without being saggy or diggy. After a 30 minute walk and a venti hot coffee, we were still cool and comfortable. This wrap is almost breezy! I swear the ventilation on it was amazing. As far as supportive goes, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being a stretchy wrap and 10 being Natibaby linen (I have purple dinos and there is nothing more supportive that I've tried!), I would call this a 7. Again, I need to try a few more carries to compare.
Overall impression is that this is going to be wonderful for fall and winter and is beautiful to boot!
I will be curious to wear this in other carries as well. CRBC is a triple-pass carry and inherently supportive, but this felt awesome on my shoulders. It felt flexible and bouncy without being saggy or diggy. After a 30 minute walk and a venti hot coffee, we were still cool and comfortable. This wrap is almost breezy! I swear the ventilation on it was amazing. As far as supportive goes, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being a stretchy wrap and 10 being Natibaby linen (I have purple dinos and there is nothing more supportive that I've tried!), I would call this a 7. Again, I need to try a few more carries to compare.
Overall impression is that this is going to be wonderful for fall and winter and is beautiful to boot!
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