Crunching Out Loud

All About Wraps

Wraps are a simple piece of cloth that you wrap around your body in a way to make a carrier for your baby. This is probably the oldest forms of babywearing, and still to this day one of the most popular. There are so many different brands/styles that it can be very stressful figuring out exactly what you want/need. I hope that I can relieve some of that stress!

Wraps were reintroduced in mainstream culture during the 70's when a German mama founded the company Didymos, which makes and distributes woven wraps. Now presently there are dozens of brands/styles/ and colorways to choose from!

Types of Wraps

Stretchy Wraps: This type of wrap, as you guessed, is stretchy. A lot of moms use this style as a stepping stone into babywearing (I did this). These are ideal when a baby is a newborn and/ or less than 15 pounds. Sense these are mostly made out of jersey knit they tend to get unsupportive as baby grows. Which is why its mostly used as a stepping stone into more long term babywearing. The carries you can do are also limited with a stretchy wrap. Front carriers are really only whats recommended. You can do some hip carries. However, back carries are NEVER recommended.

Gauze Wraps: Gauze is a wrap made from very light weight cotton. They are super thin which makes them wonderful for warm weather climates. Because they are so thin, gauze wraps also tend to get unsupportive with bigger babies. If you wrap very carefully and use a multilayer carry, then you can try to avoid some of the discomfort. You can use this type of wrap for front, hip, and back carries.

Woven Wraps: Wovens are the most popular style of wrap. You also have the most versatility with this style. You can very easily carry a newborn through a preschooler with this style of wrap. They come in a verity of sizes, brands, blends, etc. However they do come at a much larger price than the previous two styles. You can do front, hip, and back carries with woven wraps.

Brands

Im going to try to cover each brand for the different styles. If I have forgotten one please feel free to leave me a comment informing me. I plan to update this post often whenever new information comes to my attention.

Stretchy Wraps:

Moby Wrap: This is probably the most popular brand of stretchy wrap. You can buy it at babys r us and is very affordable. It comes in many colors to choose from. Some people complain that the moby gets too hot to wear for extended period of times. This is the brand that I started out with.

Boba Wraps: This is a basic cotton jersey fabric similar to the moby. These come in sizes based on shirt size.

Bali Stretch: a great well liked stretchy wrap. This is the ONLY stretchy that can be used in a back carry.

Gauze Wraps:

Babyette: This is a WAHM who makes wovens and gauze wraps. This is the only brand that I am personally familiar with although I know that there are more out there. She seems to be popular with the gauze using moms.

Bali Breeze: A well liked popular gauze wrap.

Woven Wraps: WARNING! this is going to be a huge list lol I have not personally tried every single one of these brands, although I have tried a lot. I only feel comfortable telling you about my own personal experience and what I have learned through other moms. If anyone has anything they'd like me to add then please leave me a comment or shoot me an email =)

Amazonas: have long tapers and are getting hard to find in the US. However I have heard that they are cheap and easy to find in parts of Europe.

Babyette: This is a WAHM who makes wovens and gauze wraps. These are produced in small batches and are handwoven. She seems to be gaining popularity in the babywearing community.

BB Slen: This is a great brand for newborns through toddler years. These are known for how wide they are. Most tend to be thinner but they are an amazingly affordable brand. Great for beginners.

Bebina: Thinner wraps (most of the time) and are typically harder to find. This brand makes the highly sought after astrology sign wraps.

Colimacon & Cie (C&C): Sturdy and affordable wraps. A lot of babywearers LOVE these wraps. These are wonderful for wrap newbies.

Didymos (Didys): One of the most popular and diverse brands of woven wraps. They come in all different blends (cotton, linen, silk, wool), weaves, colors, thickness etc. every single wrap is different. Didymos releases limited edition wrasp often, making them always sought after. Most of the wraps in my personal stash are from Didymos. I can not say enough great things about this brand.

Diva Milano: a Brand growing in popularity, this company is relatively new....and come with a price. These wraps are so sought after that I've never even seen one in person. They come in different blends (cotton, silk, wool, linen) and limited editions are released seasonally.

Dolcino: Although I've never personally tried one of these wraps, I have heard nothing but good things. This is a great beginner wrap and reasonably priced.

Girasol: Another big name brand Girasols are great beginner wraps. They come in amazing colorways with or without fringe. They tend to be on the thicker side making them quite hot in warmer climates. They are quick to break in and some colorways are highly sought after. Some people tend to think they aren't as supportive as other brands.

Ellaroo: Very thin wraps which make them a good choice in warmer climates. Not as supportive as some other brands. All come with fringe and are hand woven. I have one of these in my personal stash.

Ellevill: Come in four main lines (Zara, Jade, Karma, and Paisley) and all have different blends. They come in so many different colors and tend to be on the thinner side. These tend to have really long tapers...which some people love and some hate. They also are quite textured.

Heartness: Another new brand with a heavy price tag. If you're lucky you might be able to find a reasonably priced one. I have never tried one of these nor do I know much about them.

Hoppediz (Hopps): Are medium to thick work horse, toddler worthy wraps. They can be a pain to break in from what I hear.

Kokadi: Are a very popular German brand. They come super soft right out of the box. They do make limited edition wraps which make some of them very hard to find and sought after, which makes the price of some of them super high. I'm upset with myself for trading mine.

Lenny Lamb: Dense wraps that are starting to get popular again after a recent scandal a few months ago. They take some breaking in (like a lot of breaking in) but get buttery soft. I had one of these that I loved.

Natibaby: One of my all time favorite brands. They come in many different blends and patterns. They get amazing soft once broken in. They do tend to vary in thickness just like Didymos wraps. As of right now i have three of these in my stash.

Neobulle: Soft and easy to break in. Tend to be thick toddler worthy wraps. These are getting harder to find.

Oscha: Another high end brand. Oschas come with a very high price tag, even higher if you do not buy them straight from Oscha. They tend to be very textured and dense wraps. Oscha is known for great customer service. They come in a variety of blends and patterns. They also have limited edition releases (and you don't want to see the prices on those)

Strochenweige: Another reasonably priced work horse wrap. They are known for support. They require some breaking in and tend to be medium thick.

Uppymama: I don't even know what to say about these...the prices on them put oschas to shame. Seriously. If you buy them from the woman who hand weaves them (in Canada) then the prices aren't as bad, but you don't want to see what they go for on the markets. Its crazy. People tend to think that they are the most amazing things to ever be created though. idk, to each their own. I'll stick with my didys lol.

Vatanai: Typically thin wraps, these tend to be a great popular choice for summer wraps. I have one thats on the thick side that I love. These tend to have longer tapers than most. However, they do have one handwoven wrap called pamir. The price of that wrap is right up there with the uppys...if not more.

Which Brand to Buy

The best advice I can give is to just buy something that you're drawn to. If you absolutely love the wrap, then more than likely you will find a way to make it work. If on the off chance you don't like it then you can always trade or sell that wrap. Wraps have an AWESOME resale value which make them so great for people who can't afford a lot of wraps but not sure what they want. Now, if you live in florida then you're obviously not going to want a super thick wrap. Think of your climate, the size of the child you're wrapping, etc.

DIY

Wraps are pricy, so some crafty people tend to want to make their own. This is fine if you are trying to make a stretchy wrap. However most people don't recommend trying to make a woven. However if you do there are some things you need to know.
- the best fabric choice for this will be Osnaburg. This fabric is cheap and works great if you want to make a beater wrap. They come very basic which makes them great for dying. This is also a great way to try different wrap lengths.
-Table cloths also make okay shorty wraps. DO NOT sew two pieces of table cloth together trying to make a longer wrap. The seam will not be strong enough to hold the weight of a child.
-With caution you can very easily make your own woven wrap if you are on a budget or just want to add to your growing stash.

Sizes

Woven Wraps come in all different sizes. If you are new to wrapping you are probably going to want to aim to get a longer wrap, because more options will be available to you. Picking out the right size long wrap tends to go by shirt size more than height. However size has nothing to do with the wrap sizes that you can or can not use. Anyone can use any size wrap. The only thing that will very is the about of carries you can do with a specific wrap.

size 1 - 2.2 meters
size 2 - 2.7 meters
size 3 - 3.2 meters
size 4 - 3.7 meters
size 5 - 4.2 meters   this is the size i use for my long wrap. I'm petite
size 6 - 4.7 meters   this is the standard long size wrap for an average sized person
size 7 - 5.2 meters   plus size moms or daddies tend to use this size for their long wrap

Basic Wrapping Guidelines

- Just like with any baby carrier you want baby to be supported knee to knee. Babies bum should be lower than knee making an M shape.
- Make sure babies air ways are ALWAYS clear. The wrap should never cover babies face and chin should always be away from chest
- Babies should be arms in until the get proper head control
- The tighter you are able to get the wrap while you are wrapping, the comfier its going to be for every one. Take your time wrapping and get a nice and tight wrap job.
- When baby is on front you should be able to kiss the top of their head. This is how you know that baby is high enough.
- If baby is on your back you should be able to lean your head back and touch the top of their head. (this has exceptions)
- to get wrap more comfy on the shoulders you can always spread the rails and make them wider.
- Back wrapping can be very intimidating. it is best to master front carries before you attempt a back carry. The first time you try a back carry have a spotter to help you and do it away from hard surfaces.
- Youtube is a GREAT source!
- practice practice practice! it gets easier!

Common Carries

This is no where near all the possible carries but are basic or well known ones.

Front Carries:
Front Wrap Cross Carry (FWCC)
Pocket Wrap Cross Carry (PWCC)
Front Cross Carry (FCC)
Short Cross Carry (SCC)
Kangaroo Carry

Back Carries:
Double Hammock (DH)
Secure High Back Carry (SHBC)
Back Wrap Cross Carry (BWCC)
Jordans Back Carry
Rucksack

Hip Carries:
Poppins Hip Carry
Robbin Hip Carry
Rebozo

Hope this was able to help everyone!! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please feel free to leave a comment or send an email!!!

Blue and White Indio wrap scrap teething necklace

I recently purchased a wrap scrap teething necklace to match my son's favorite wrap. And when I say favorite I mean FAVORITE. Jackson sleeps with the wrap every single night. When he brings me a wrap to wear him in 90% of the time it's this one specific wrap. I've literally had to beg him to use other wraps. It's a crazy love for this one wrap!

Some of you may know that I'm a instaholic. I LOVE instagram. I have certain people on there that I love to look at their pictures all the time. It's so much fun! I love seeing all the mamas babywearing and breastfeeding. I've even made a few friends.

One of those friends is amazingly crafty. And is getting more so ever day. She makes so many things! Head bands, teething necklaces, door latch covers, etc. Shes awesome. Well one day she posted a picture of a ton of wrap scraps and said she had even more than that. Well, just on the off chance that she MIGHT have a scrap of Jacks favorite wrap I asked her. And she did!! I was so excited!

I asked her is she would make me a teething necklace out of it and she very kindly agreed to. She was so amazing to work with. She didn't have enough of the scrap to make the whole necklace out of the scrap so she went to a few different stores to look for the perfect ribbon to match. The customer service was amazing! She called everyday to tell me where she was in making it. which only took two days! She shipped immediately and I had it just two days later!

When I received the necklace I was absolutely in love with it. It was perfect. Jackson was SO excited when he saw it. He went and grabbed his wrap and begged me to wear him. It was adorable.

I would love to spread the wrap scrappy love! (she also does things with regular fabric) You can locate her Facebook page here. Hope you guys love them as much as I do!!