Sunday, May 25, 2014

Review: Oonlamoon 100% cotton wrap Svethmegh

Prae sent me one of her beautiful all-cotton Oonlamoons to try and from the moment I opened the bag I was besotted. Simple and lovely, Svethmegh came encased in a white cotton wrapper and was like cotton wool to the touch.

Fresh from the wrapper and unwashed, this felt light and squished into a soft crumple of fibre easily. The selvedges are perfectly straight and unhemmed and this wrap is beautiful, earthy and very organic-feeling. 

How on earth does it have such a magical downy texture? The warp is a machine-spun cotton (alternating beige and natural tones in very faint stripes) but the cotton weft is not only hand-dyed using plant-derived dyes, it's also handspun, imparting fluffiness and cush without adding weight or bulk. Pre-wash, subtle texture variation is apparent throughout the weave, but after a single wash the threads appear very uniform and have fluffed up considerably. 

Prae works with women in Northern Thailand communities, where weaving provides an income in agricultural downtime. The cotton is sourced from local farmers and for this wrap, dyes were manufactured from  the leaves of the indigo plant (blue), fruit of the Ebony tree (black). 

So, after throwing Svethmegh in the wash and impatiently waiting overnight for it to dry, it began an illustrious wrapping career with FWCC. (Please remember my wrappee is 2yo and 12kg/27lbs.)

Holy cush. This is like didymos' famed Natural Hemp India without any of the painful breaking-in, and with much less weight and heft. At 78cms wide and 225 gsm this is a delightful toddler wrap, no stretching to make a seat or spread passes. 
The blue middle marker is an easy and quiet nod to utility, and this is love at first wrap. Key words: marshmallowy, tactile, pillowy, comfortable. But it's not all that hard to shine in FWCC, so the next test: an hour's leisurely stroll. 

Off we went in a double hammock with candy cane chest belt; it's not difficult to get a comfortable wrap job, but the back passes might feel a bit catchy to an inexperienced wrapper. A good L-tighten makes a tight, Velcro-secure carry, and we walked for a good hour without a shift, sag or dig. My verdict? Start stalking, and watch Oonlamoon with interest.

A brief addition: at an expo where I was asked how big is too big to wear, Svethmegh happily rucked a tall 4yo for half an hour. She cuddled my neck and I swayed a whole bunch of new parents into the versatility and longevity of the simple woven wrap as parenting tool ;)


Want to score one of these (a) free and (b) without stalking? Hit the widget: HERE!

94 comments:

  1. it sounds absolutely delicious. thank you for your review!
    they only thing i might add would be a link to instructional videos for the carries you describe for all of the newbies out there (like me!)

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  2. I love to see information about wrap size and weight, like gm2 so I can get an idea of how thick this would feel. We would LOVE to win, thanks for all the giveaways!!!

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  3. I would love to find out if this product is fair trade and the corporate responsibilities that the manufacturer offers its workforce.

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  4. I love to know how easy it is to break in, but you covered that already! This wrap looks so devine!

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  5. I like to know if it is wide and toddler worthy. Supportive, diggy, cushy, etc. Does it wrap long or short. Need a lot of breaking in or soft and floppy out of the box?good for warm or cold days?

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  6. I'd love to know if it's dye-able. It's lovely as is but as a rainbow would look a million times better (cos who doesn't love rainbows?)

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  7. Wow! It looks amazing and sounds heavenly to wrap with! Would love love love!! :)

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  8. It sounds amazing! This review makes me want to try one too!

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  9. This wrap is stunning, I'd wear this all the time. I'd love to see some instructions on carries as I only know three :)

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  10. My biggest things I look for in a review are ease of use, comfort, and durability which you pretty much covered! Any input on long-term durability? How does this hold up to rigorous use?

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  11. I love seeing info about the wrap's thickness and weight because I don't like super thick or heavy wraps.

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  12. Great review! I find your reviews are always quite thorough. I like to hear toddler worthiness (with a 10kg 8 month old and a shoddy back/shoulders this is important ��) and how thick/thin the wrap is.

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  13. I'd say your reviews are pretty thorough. I'd love to give Oonlamoon a try. Thanks for the opportunity!

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  14. Thanks for an awesome review! Really helpful...although not helpful in some ways, as I am now DISO this wrap!!

    Most useful are your comments on how it easy (or not) it is to wrap with and how comfortable it is. I would also love to hear more about the qualities of the weave - how breathable is it? Likely to be prone to pulls?

    Thanks again for this great review. I'll be saving up my pennies and hoping to find either a preloved wrap, or to score a future release!

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  15. I am fairly new to wrapping and don't understand all the lingo. I would love a review on what a good first (and potentially only, as I'm not sure I could afford several) wrap would be and simple instructions as to how.

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  16. I love to know how the wrap feels in hand!

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  17. Gorgeous! Would want to know if it's dyeable and sizes offered!

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  18. Maybe add something about the breathability/thickness?

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  19. Can I order a wrap in my colors?

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  20. I would just like to know if this is suitable for a beginner to do FWCC and how good it would be for long term use, as i am someone who cant afford a lot, and if i bought one wrap that would be it. This would be the only thing i need out of your reviews. At the moment though, they are wonderful reviews anyway!

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  21. Love the review. I like to know about texture, stretch, grip and support. Love seeing the various carries you try, gives a great idea of the wrap~

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  22. You pretty much covered everything I like to read in a review (How it feels, the weight, is it toddlerworthy, what kind of stretch/bounce/cush does it have). You hit it right on the money!

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  23. Instructional videos, and the different colors. Weight!

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  24. I like to hear about how it feels and how heavy or light it is

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  25. good review. I think you could add just some factual info. All the descriptive terms are nice, but weight/length/width are all good #'s to know. :)

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  26. Love your details review on the wrap quality and on the technical spec like measurement and grammage.

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  27. Great review, I totally want one! I like to hear about how long you can comfortably carry in a wrap, we do lots of long all day carries only with short nappy change and snack breaks so I like to know how a wrap fairs at going the distance. It's promising that this wrap can do an hour with no dig but I wonder if it would last a few hours.

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  28. I love the details on the wrapping qualities as well as the suitability for squish/toddler etc. You've covered everything I'd want to hear!

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  29. Please add price range and videos. :)

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  30. What a beautiful review. That wrap sounds dresmy!! I would agree with possibly adding tutorials to the 2 carries you used for the newbies. (like me) I also agree with the above post that a price range would be nice to see.

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  31. Great review. Would like to know more about its weave, as in how airy is it, would it work in certain climates, is it prone to pulls, etc. Thanks!

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  32. I enjoyed the review but I would love to know about price ranges and what other wraps there are

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  33. Wow ... I want one now after reading your review :) would be sooo fantastic to bring on the plane ride to South Africa and on safari :)

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  34. I'd like to know the with and grams.

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  35. Great great review! Love your whole blog truly so detailed Ans gives me a better idea of how I'd wrap my toddler

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  36. Fantastic review!!! I Love the details and descriptions you give.

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  37. I'm a newbie at wrapping, so for me the basic things I need to know before I buy are:
    What age babies its good for
    What weather its good for (I supppose gsm and weave type probably help with this but I have no idea what's what at this stage!) ie is it ok for an Aussie summer?!
    What kind of breaking in it needs
    If its good for a beginner or more someone experienced
    If its good for quick carries or if it'll last a few hours without getting uncomfortable

    Thanks for the reviews!

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  38. I love how you have painted a picture so well that I can almost feel it!

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  39. Totally sold! If only they sold them in Canada...

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  40. Oh, and I'd be interested to know if it has tails. I love the tails on my Ellevill

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  41. As always thanks for the wonderful review. That wrap looks amazing, and I think it would be perfect here in Florida where it's hot 50 weeks out of the year.

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  42. I wear a 4 years old, and I was wondering if this wrap could be easy and comfortable to use under these circumstances :)

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  43. Great review. I like to know what size / age babies a wrap would suit, whether it is beginner-friendly and how it would go in a hot climate :)

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  44. More information about how to cater for babies that are much bigger than normal for their age

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  45. Same with wanting to know if it can be dyed, it looks great though! Did you use it as a wrap and a ring sling?

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  46. I like to know if a wrap is supportive (which you covered) and if it's good for hot climates (which I wasn't clear on from the review).

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  47. I feel like your reviews are always thorough, but the only thing is if its dense or airy. I'm in Florida so that's a need to know for me. Thank you!

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  48. my fav thing about your reviews is the various carrys i think you do a EPIC detailed job on reviews and theres not much i can think of adding or changing <3

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  49. You always do a wonderful job on reviews, but I am always curious about how hot or airy certain wraps are. We are coming up on summer here, and they can be wicked!

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  50. I can't fault your reviews maybe a little less technological talk a little more laymans terms? Also how much we would expect to pay for a beauty! Love ya work!

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  51. If it's good for warm or cool days.

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  52. You seem to have covered everything! But I second (third? fourth?) the weight. And would like to know what the tails are like as well- boxy? Long tapers? How much stretch does it have? what kind of weave is it? Thank you!

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  53. Great review!would like to know the weave and the size of the wrap. And whether it is suitable with warm weather. Another thing is the price & where one could buy this. Thanks!

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  54. I would also love to know if this company is fair trade & if this woven is dye-able. Other than that, your reviews are fantastic!

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  55. I would wear this everyday! I need a woven wrap so bad!!!

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  56. Beautifully said and really makes you want to try the wrap! I would love to see a kind of chart for sizing and possibly a few instructional videos to the different carries you used :)

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  57. Great review - I would just have liked to see a picture of it all laid out to see the color/patterns better.

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  58. I really like that you included width and gsm, those are helpful to know. I love the info about the company, how it is woven and dyed.
    I would also like to see a picture that shows more of the wrap laid out. Also, knowing if it is stretchy and what tapers are like. Since this is a new company, some ideas of price range, what they anticipate stockings to be like, etc. would also be helpful.

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  59. I love the fact it's organic AND doesn't need to much, if any breaking in. I think you do a thorough job reviewing. If anything to add it would be what the choices on colors/patterns, if applicable. Thank you!

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  60. I thinks its a good amount of information, I've got nothing to add ;)

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  61. I'd love to know which carries it's perfect for and how to do them (newbie baby carrier here!).

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  62. I think you do a great job reviewing these wraps you get, I would love to hear more about the feel, and how easy or hard it may be wrapping a very active toddler!!!!!!!

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  63. Great review - it sounds delicious! I would like to see better quality photos, maybe with some other wraps for comparison, to get a better idea of what the color looks like in real life.

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  64. Great review! If anything else, I eould want to know how suitable it would be for younger babies and breathability. Add links to demos on carries.

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  65. I like to know how well it holds up to wear.

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  66. A video of you wrapping with this wrap might be neat to see!

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  67. I've my L plates on when it comes to wrapping, i find the way you describe the way a wrap sits, how it feels, and what you think it's greatest strengths are all very informative. The best thing for me on my learning curve has been hearing where a wrap particularly shines, it helps me to understand how best it would or would not suit what i imagine i need from a wrapping experience. :-)

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  68. I thought your review was very thorough! Thank you! The only thing I would wonder about is if it would be good for a beginner!

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  69. Sounds amazing! Would love to win it so I can fall in love for myself...

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  70. I appreciate geeky details like weight and weaving structure, yarn size etc. Thanks for the review.

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  71. Thanks for the review - could you talk about what other weaves/wraps they have in their upcoming release ?

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  72. Great review. I love reading about cushiness, thickness, & toddlerworthiness.

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  73. I think you covered everything in your review! My most important question is always width, for getting a good seat with my toddler

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  74. I'd also like to know the weight and yarn size, as well as what the tapers are like. I'm a sucker for natural/linen/neutral colored wraps. This Oonlamoon is seriously gorgeous.

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  75. I like to hear about the weight of it and how heavy it feels on you.

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  76. I think you covered all the bases... Maybe an idea of price range would be ideal.

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  77. I think your review covered most of it! I would love to hear what downsides there are, if any and some sort of overall rating system would be helpful too.

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  78. I wanna see more videos/picture tutorials! And more giveaways of course ;)

    Thanks for the opportunity!

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  79. I like to see some brand comparison in reviews because I get a better picture of what its like!

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  80. Interested in comparison to other branded wrap would help us get more of a feel for the wraps you review. Thanks so much!!!

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  81. Excellent review. I'd be interested in how it works for a wee one as my squish is about 14lb now.

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  82. great review! maybe comparing to other brands? I do think you make an amazing job :))

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  83. Great review! I got all the info I needed to decide I would absolutely love this wrap! :-)

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  84. I'd love to see something like a "star rating" for ease of use for a newbie wrapper! 1 star = advanced wrapper (if it's grippy, heavy, thick etc) 5 stars = complete newbie would only need to master the wrap technique, not how to handle the wrap as well!

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  85. I know little about wrapping so anything you think I should know should be included. lol :)

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  86. I'd like to know how warm or cool it was.

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  87. I would love to see comparisons between wraps, especially around the shoulders. I have EDS, so balancing the weight of my baby is important, and the comparisons would give me an idea on what suits :)

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  88. Sounds dreamy but how does it stand up to temperatures 30°C and up? Here in the Caribbean it's been extra hot this year and I really want a wrap that can keep us nice and cool

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  89. Great review thanks. Does it come in other colors? Sounds lovely and soft as well as strong; how thick is it?

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  90. Hi Chelsea,
    What is the name of the carry with the ring at the bottom of the review? Thanks :)

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