Woven wrap reviews | Sling Sally

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Manufacturer – KindsKnopf

Design – TulpenSterne Twin M

Colour – Green

Blend – 100% cotton

Weight – 295gsm

Width of wrap – 60cm

Size tested – 6

Retail price of tested design and size – 220 Euros

Provided to me by – KindsKnopf

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Initial thoughts on design, colour and feel

It’s a lovely design, and both sides of the wrap are equally attractive. I particularly like that KindsKnopf have hemmed the edges so that you can have either side facing out and still have a neat edge. The green is a lovely fresh green, and feels very appropriate for a spring release. This wrap doesn’t have much stretch to it and feels very strong. There is a slight texture to the design which should aid with grip for knotless finishes. The wrap arrived in lovely packaging; tissue paper and a special box, and with some lovely photographic instructions for some basic carries.

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Front carry thoughts

I tried a front wrap cross carry with bunched passes. I found the wrap very supportive and strong for my toddler. The knots felt secure, and I found it easy to use. This wrap had only visited one tester before me and was brand new when it arrived with her so has had very little use. Despite this I didn’t have any problems wrapping with it and it was soft, although it will certainly get softer and more flexible with time and use.

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Back carry thoughts

We tried out two different back carries in the short time we had this wrap visiting; a ruck finished knotless tibetan and a double hammock with freshwater finish. The wrap was very strong and supportive, I managed a high ruck and it didn’t budge at all, even with Reu enthusiastically looking and pointing at things outside. The ruck straps didn’t dig at all and it looked beautiful with the knotless finish. The double hammock showed off the design really well and again, the wrap held well and supported Reu’s weight really well. I found it easy to make the passes behind my back as there was minimal friction from the wrap.

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Knotless finish thoughts

The ruck finished knotless tibetan held perfectly, with no slipping or pulling at all. This is my favourite back carry and I found it very comfortable with this wrap, and it hung in a particularly attractive way.

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Overall thoughts

This is a very strong and toddler worthy wrap. The design is lovely (and comes in other colours), and would suit either a man or a woman, and I love the freshness of the green. I found it easy to wrap with and although it wasn’t at all stiff, I am sure it would become lovely and soft with further time and use. The main feeling I’m left with after this wrap’s visit to us, is how supportive it was, a real workhorse of a wrap.

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Manufacturer – Joy and Joe

Design – Fountains of love

Colour – Mustard yellow

Blend – 100% cotton

Width of wrap – 70cm

Size tested – XXL (7)

Retail price of tested design and size – £275

Provided to me by – Joy and Joe

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Initial thoughts on design, colour and feel

This wrap has a very classic design that would suit anyone, and it also comes in black and pink colourways for those with different colour tastes but I really like the yellow. The colour seems to shimmer in the light and the wrap is nice and wide (I measured it at 70cm). Despite not having been travelling for very long before arriving with me it was already beautifully soft and flexible. Joy and Joe say they have been working on an innovative new weave that will not need any breaking in, and judging by this wrap, they’ve cracked it!

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Front carry thoughts

I used Fountains of Love for a front wrap cross carry with spread passes. I found it really easy to use and tighten, there was no stiffness at all and the wrap was lovely and floppy to manipulate. There was enough stretch to the wrap to make it easy to work with, while still being strong and supportive. I used it with my toddler Reu, who is 15 months old and about 19lbs and it didn’t slip or pull at all, but it’s so soft it would also be lovely for a newborn.

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Back carry thoughts

I tried three different back carries with Fountains of Love, and as the tester was a size XXL (a 7), I got the opportunity to practice some fancy finishes. I did a ruck finished knotless tibetan, a double hammock with saltwater finish, and a back wrap cross carry with chest belt.

I found the wrap really easy to use for all these carries and totally supportive. I bunched the ruck straps and was really impressed that they didn’t dig at all, as sometimes happens with other wraps (I sandwich the straps to solve this when necessary). The double hammock was so comfortable Reu felt almost weightless! I sometimes struggle to open passes behind me but the width of this wrap made that much easier, and the passes were easy to make. This was my first attempt at a back wrap cross carry and I found it nice and easy to do. It was very easy to make the passes and tighten the wrap, and as before, I found the wrap comfortable and supportive.

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Knotless finish thoughts

I tried Fountains of Love with a ruck finished knotless tibetan, and due to the texture of the weave it held the knotless finish really well, with no slipping at all. I hope you can see from the pictures that the pattern is almost embossed. I find that sometimes when a wrap has a lot of texture to it, while this can make a knotless finish nice and secure, it can also make the passes harder to make and tighten due to the level of friction, but I didn’t find that at all with this wrap as passes were easy to make.

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Overall thoughts

Fountains of Love is a stunning wrap, both in design and ease of use. It’s so soft, it would be lovely to wrap a newborn in, but I also found it lovely and supportive for my bouncy toddler. Joy and Joe really do seem to have done what they have said with the new weave, it didn’t feel like it needed any breaking in at all. I have bought a new wrap from them in the past (Luceo non Uro), and while it wasn’t at all stiff it’s certainly softened with use, but is still no where near Fountain of Loves texture and ease of use. This wrap also got Ben’s vote and he loved the colour, design and texture of the wrap, and kept asking if we could get one (let’s see when they are released!). Overall, we all loved having Fountains of Love to stay, and were sad to see it go.

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