No Two Tencel are Quite Alike

So we know that two wraps can be 100% cotton, but in our hands those two wraps can feel completely different. And we know that 100% cotton wraps can have completely different wrap qualities. Sometimes those differences are due to the thickness of the threads, which can affect the weight of the wrap. Sometimes those differences are do to the weave, giving the wrap a stretch or a texture that affects wrap qualities. And sometimes those differences are due to the cotton fiber being used.

Tencel® is no different. But, if you're anything like me, you tried Tencel®, found it to be one way, and asserted that all Tencel® is that one thing. Forgetting that the many factors  that cause cotton to behave differently could cause Tencel® to behave differently as well.

My first experience with Tencel® was a Tula Lexington Boulder ring sling. I fell in love with how soft it was before even being washed. It held my tiny 5 month old tight against me. It molded around his body like a receiving blanket. It was wonderful! In my hands, Lexington Boulder had a slight texture that helps it grip the rings. It glided through the rings, but not so fast that it became slippery.

And then my baby grew. He gained height and weight and at around 20 pounds, the Tencel® started to sag under his bottom, causing the material to slip in the rings. I was constantly tugging at the sling to get it back into place.

Here's my tiny baby boy in our Tula Lexington Boulder ring sling. The cuddles were amazing!

And, if that wasn't enough frustration with Tencel®, I also had a Tekhni Adelphi Mist size 3 wrap that began sagging under my son's weight in every carry. No matter how much I tightened the rails, my son's bottom would sag deep into the seat, putting pressure on my shoulders and causing the carry to be very uncomfortable. Frankie was about 15lbs when I bought and sold the wrap.

I took very few pictures of this beautiful wrap. Here's a pic using it as a prop for Frankie's 9 month pictures.

I absolutely loved both the Tula and the Tekhni Tencel® wraps! They are extremely soft wraps and they are beautiful! They are also well made. I would recommend both wraps to a new mother wanting something soft to carry her baby in. I would suggest, though, that the Tekhni Adephi Mist be purchased in a larger size that allowed for carries with multiple passes to help reinforce the wrap. I think that would have helped. But at the time I knew very few back carries and I couldn't do much more than a ruck with a size 3 wrap.

I made the tough decision to sell both the Tekhni Adelphi wrap and the Tula Lexington ring sling.

And I swore off Tencel® for my growing baby.

Then, I met Bijou Wear and was sent a TENCEL® Blast Firecracker to test. I also played around with the Tencel® Windmills Lake Tahoe a friend of mine purchased.

I have already reviewed Firecracker and, as you know from that post, I loved it so much I kept it. Here's another shot of Blast Firecracker highlighting just how beautiful this wrap is!

Since my last post about Bijou Wear wraps, I have put Firecracker to the test! Just tonight I put my 40 pound, 5 1/2 year old up in Firecracker and walked around for a bit. I was so surprised at how easily I could wrap her and how well it held her! She did not sag and the wrap did not dig into my shoulders.

The passes on Bijou Wear's Blast Firecracker Tencel® stretch nicely over the baby/child and then stay in place. It is easy to tighten the passes - that is, I'm not fighting the wrap and sweating just to tighten my passes! The fabric is not perfectly smooth, but also not overly textured. The wrap creates a nice tight knot of medium thickness. 

I also had the opportunity to try Bijou's Windmills Lake Tahoe. Another Tencel® wrap with amazing wrap qualities. I spent a couple of hours with Windmills Lake Tahoe last Sunday. My first impression of Lake Tahoe was how it felt a little more solid and dense than Firecracker. This is likely due to the fact that Lake Tahoe has larger areas of solid color and fewer shapes in it than Firecracker.

Here's Windmills Lake Tahoe. You can see both the "right" and "wrong" sides to the wrap here.

Windmills Lake Tahoe has almost the same wrap qualities as Blast Firecracker. Both feel soft, mold around the baby's body, glide into place, tighten easily, and knot neatly. Windmills seems to need a little more breaking in and a tiny bit more muscle to tighten than Blast. Both wraps look beautiful and flawless on.

Both wraps are strong, which surprised me considering my past experiences with Tencel®. What makes Bijou's Tencel® wraps stronger than other wraps, I believe, is the way the wrap is woven with large geometric figures that help contain the natural stretch you find in Tencel®. That is, the wraps don't stretch continuously from one corner to another. They stretch just within the shapes and so they hold stronger. Blast stretches diagonally across the squares in an X shape. Windmills stretches around the entire circle of the windmill in every direction, but has little to no stretch in the solid areas.

BUT, I must caution that not all Bijou Tencel® is equal. And that's not at all a bad thing - the variation allows for each wrap to have it's own character. All the Tencel® Bijou uses is lovely, but it's not the same. Bijou Blast LP (the black and white Blast below) is woven with a silkier and smoother Tencel® fiber (the colored fibers are the Tencel®). I have only felt a piece of LP wrap scrap and it was so wonderful! I wonder how the silkier texture will affect the wrap qualities. I can only imagine that the passes will glide even more smoothly.

Also, the cotton used in Bijou wraps feels different than the cotton I felt in other Tencel® wraps. I would say that it is a firmer cotton fiber (in both Blast Firecracker and Windmills).

The moral of this story is simple: not all like fibers are equitable. Many factors determine the wrap qualities of a particular wrap. It's important to do your research, ask questions, and figure out what works best for you. Right now, Bijou Wear Tencel® is working for me!