what's the deal with woven wraps?

What is a woven wrap?
A woven wrap is essentially a long strip of tightly woven fabric used to wrap around your body and baby in a secure way. In this way they are similar to a stretchy wrap like a Moby or Sleepywrap. What makes them differ from stretchies is that they are not stretchy, and therefore can be safely used with larger babies and in back and hip carries.

There are many different brands of woven wrap and they can be purchased new from Europe. Each brand has their own qualities that make them unique and popular amongst babywearers. Wraps, when purchased new, will need to be broken in to get them soft and pliable. The difficulty of the breaking in process depends upon the wrap brand, weave, and fibers used in the weave. For example, Storchenweige wraps are notorious for being difficult to break in because of their tight weave. Once broken in they are one of the most supportive workhorse wraps. On the other hand a bamboo wrap takes almost no time or effort to break in, is a super cuddly and soft wrap, but does not offer the same kind of support as many of the other fiber blends.

How do they feel?
Woven wraps are incredibly supportive and comfortable for both mom and baby. The downside is that there is a learning curve and it takes practice to find your favorite carries and how to properly wrap the fabric so as not to get bunching, overlap, or loose rails. The upside is not only the comfort and closeness, but the fact that unlike most other carriers you can essentially customize your wrap to fit your body and baby. Also, this is truly a carrier that can be used from the day of birth until...whenever! As long as your child wants to be worn and you want to wear, a woven is a safe choice.



How I got started:

When I began what I consider my "real babywearing journey" after I discovered the wonder of the mei tai, I began researching different types of proper babywearing carriers. One of the types of carriers that I generally ignored on the list was the woven. Why? Because when you delve into wovens you delve into a whole new territory of foreign terms and numbers that make your head spin (remeniscent of starting out with cloth diapering). There is a learning curve just to shop for a woven, let alone actually learn how to use one. And furthermore, wovens are pricey.

However, I couldn't help but notice the obsession passionate love for wovens on the babywearing forums and within my own online circle of mommies. It piqued my curiosity and, with the help of a few fellow babywearing mamas, I began the search for my first woven.


My first woven wrap was a Natibaby 4.6 Sunset. After weeks of waiting for fluffy mail, finally the box arrived straight from Poland with my wrap inside. I eargerly ran in the house, tore open the box and...didn't love the colors. I wrapped up Brax (who was just a few days old) and couldn't get the love.


(sigh) Oh well. Maybe it'll grow on me right?


It didn't. So I made my first babywearing swaps sale (oh yes, there are babywearing swaps just like their cloth diapering counterparts) and funded a new wrap. Since then I have bought, sold, traded (and fallen in love with) many wraps just to try out the different brands, weaves, fibers and colorways. It is very much like cloth diapering in that you have to find what works for you. And wraps are like shoes: you wouldn't wear hiking boots to church or heels to play tennis. Every wrap has a different purpose and occasion for use.


Here is a list of just a few of the popular brands you can check out if you are interested in woven wraps: Didymos, Girasol, Storchenweige, Natibaby, Neobulle, Ellevill.

Wraps pictured: Top-Storchenweige Lemony Inka, Middle 3 pics- Didymos natural hemp indio, Bottom-Girasol Old Rainbow.