Introduction
This is my first handwoven review y’all! I was really hesitant to try handwovens (HWs), because the stats and wrap qualities (WQs) can vary so much by weaver, weave, fiber, etc., making them unpredictable, and I really have a pretty good system for picking machine woven wraps that will work for me. Eventually, curiosity got to me, so I decided to try a handwoven wrap and I haven’t looked back – they definitely do vary in WQs but I have yet to try one that isn’t amazing in some special way. I like to imagine that this is due to the love and care that is put into a handweaving a beautiful textile the is designed for snuggling babies!
Eagle Ray Wovens is one weaver, Jenn Alexander, and has been around for only a short time (since June 2014 according to their Facebook page). Rings of Laughter is a sister piece to her International Babywearing Conference (IBC) 2016 Great Competition of Weavers entry. The entry piece, called Rings of Life, which differs from Rings of Laughter only in color and warp fiber, “received a perfect score on fabric quality, placing 7th as judged by the in person panel.” That is a pretty incredible feat, especially with many, more-experienced weavers in the competition. I assure you that from my experience with Rings of Laughter, her praise is well-deserved!
When I opened the package containing Rings of Laughter, I was blown away by the sheer beauty of the hand-dyed ombre tails. The Rings of Laughter ombre goes from light teal to medium teal to indigo teal. I have read that the tails in all of the sister pieces were dyed as one continuous thread so that the gradation would be extremely smooth – mission accomplished!
The warp on Rings of Laughter (and all sister pieces) is 8/2 Egyptian cotton, and is also hand dyed in variegated shades of cool brown. Each piece of the warp was named uniquely, with names inspired by the “duality of extremes [in parenthood] where your heart is ready to burst with love for you child and at the next millisecond you want to run far away, or at least hide in the closet and each chocolate without wondering what that thud was.” They are: Rings of Light (orange-red), Rings of Luck (emerald greens), Rings of Love (reds), Rings of Life (forest greens), Rings of Loyalty (chocolate browns), and Rings of Levity (blues). Rings of Laughter and all of the sisters have 8/2 cotton/hemp wefts, except Rings of Life, which is 16/2 cottolin. I am sharing so many details about the creation of this warp and this wrap because of the immense amount of significance it seems to hold to the weaver, Jenn. So much thought (and love!) was put into these wraps – a hand dyed warp, hand dyed, continuous thread ombre wefts of several different colors that speak to their names, and the gravity of the inspiration: the dichotomy that is a parenting experience most (all?) of us can relate to. It is so special to me that a gorgeous and meaningful piece of art like Rings of Laughter can be loved and cuddled by us!
I am still dipping my toe into the world of handwoven wraps, but the weave on Rings of Laughter is something I have not seen anywhere else. Jenn calls it a “complex Sharkskin weave” and the zig-zag pattern really does remind me of a sharkskin. The result of this intricate weave is a double-faced wrap, with one smoother side and one textured side. The two different textures were definitely noticeable in the WQs – from the first wrap, the passes glide and stick exactly right. This wrap is easy to adjust, and patiently waits for me to fumble around while I am tightening, without sliding out of place.
In my experience, handwoven wraps have some sort of magic to them that allows them to feel thin in hand (a wrap quality I usually don’t enjoy) while still being able to offer sturdy, airy support (a wrap quality I enjoy immensely). Rings of Laughter embodies these traits – it is very easy to handle and it feels slightly cool in hand (a quality some people call “soapy”). The thinness in hand is bewildering, because the candy cane chest belt (CCCB) is quite thick and the wrap feels cushy on my shoulders, even with 30 pounds of LittlerHill bouncing along as we walk! Rings of laughter has some degree of stretch, and I definitely noticed it while walking with my big guy in a Wendy’s Double Hammock (Wendy’s DH), but it was not so stretchy that I had to stop and retighten my carry. Rings of Laughter is solid and supportive enough to wear a big toddler for hours.
We have used this wrap on some of the warmest days of the year in NYC, but the thinness and awesome support were great for keeping us from becoming a sweaty mess, even with multiple layers around us in a front cross carry (FCC). I have found that many machine woven hemp blends (that I love!) do not perform very well in the heat, but even though it has a cotton/hemp weft, Rings of Laughter is very cool and comfortable on a hot day.
Jenn at Eagle Ray Wovens is clearly a very talented artist, and her work speaks to me on many levels. She seems to make thoughtful, inspired, beautiful, and technically advanced textiles, and I am super excited to see what she comes up with in the future!
THE STATS
weaver: Jenn Alexander of Eagle Ray Wovens
size: 5 m
width: 27 in (as listed by ERW)
soft tape in hand: 5.37 m (after wear)
weight: 335 gsm (as listed by ERW)
blend: variegated cool brown hand dyed 8/2 Egyptian cotton warp, with hand dyed, light teal-medium teal-indigo teal ombre accented tails 8/2 cotton/hemp weft
extra: unhemmed selvages and a coordinating tactile middle marker on both rails
wrappee: 30+ lbs of toddler
carries tried: Wendy’s Double Hammock with candy cane chest belt (Wendy’s DH CCCB), front cross carry (FCC)
wrap qualities: a balance of both grippy and glidey due to the double faced textures of the weave, supportive, cushy, moldable, bouncey, airy, cool to the touch, thin in hand but thick overall, solid, moderately stretchy, good recoil, toddler worthy for single or multi pass carries, squish worthy