My first impression was that there is a lot more black and less white than I was expecting…excellent, because I am not careful about keeping wraps clean. I threw it in the wash immediately, and dried it on a low tumble. Fresh out of the wash I noticed how textured it is – lots of micro-texture usually means a good amount of grip. After a wash, the next important question for me is always whether to give it a steam iron or not. I have found that I prefer some wraps ironed (Confetti, Hearts, Futurism), especially to help with breaking in (Trillium, Sparkleberry, Klee), and some I prefer un-ironed to preserve the airy pillows (Wingy, Surf Stripes, Fruit Stripes, P2). It’s important to note that ironing can change the feeling of a wrap completely. Since it wasn’t super wrinkled and felt reasonably un-stiff for a new wrap, I decided to give it a try without an iron to see how I liked it. I put LitterHill up in Wendy’s Double Hammock with a candy cane chest belt and I noticed that Backgammon has that kind of Velcro-stick that makes many Pavos so easy to work with: slippy enough for passes to glide easily over each other, but then sticks in place when you need it to. Delicious.
Even with just one wash/dry and no steam iron, I had no trouble tightening my chest pass, so I will say that while this is not an especially stretchy wrap, it has enough give to be easy to wrap with, fresh out of the tote. It’s a great width for a big kiddo – I could easily make a seat without sacrificing a high-on-the-back pass – but it’s not so wide that it would be overwhelming for a small baby.
Once I tied off, I instantly noticed the Pavo magic: no matter how thin/thick/rough/smooth/stretchy/stiff a Pavo wrap is, they seem to all feel like pillows on my shoulders. Zero dig. Another remarkable thing about this brand new wrap was that I didn’t struggle with it at all! I’m sure it will break in to a beautifully smooshy, floppy pile, but even with just a wash and dry it’s ready to wear.
This wrap is thin enough to be comfortable in hot weather, supportive enough to comfortably carry my big kiddo in a multipass carry, and has a nice amount of grip for ease in wrapping.
I’ll try to compare to other Pavos I’ve tried: #geekery
The thinnish but super support of Granite Apogee. Thicker than Futurism, thinner than LoFi.
More grip than Granite Apogee or Confetti, but not as much as Sparkleberry or Trillium. Maybe similar grip to Penumbra Shadow, but it’s micro-textured, so it behaves a little differently.
Less stretch than Ring System, slightly more than Shadow or Granite Apogee. Honestly the stretch reminds me most of the new Trilliums (Halo, Peony).
I definitely think it fills a gap in the Pavo lineup that I wasn’t even aware was there! Try Backgammon Intersection if you get a chance!
I love it un-ironed, but for the sake of a fully thorough experiment (#forscience), I think I’m going to iron it and see how it feels…more info to come ?
Lucky me! As yet unreleased Emmeline Textiles Amelia Pearl stopped in for a visit – in loomstate – and I had the pleasure of giving first ups!
Amelia Pearl arrived in the cute Emmeline Textiles packaging, including lace doily, ribbon, and stamped notebook.
Amelia Pearl is the second wrap in Emmeline Textiles’ “Ribbon Series” – the first was Eleanor Pearl, and it’s been a favorite here. Many of us in the Coterie (the fan group on Facebook) have been anxiously awaiting the next Ribbon release, and I am here to tell you: Y’all, it was worth the wait! Amelia Pearl is blowing me away, I don’t want to send it on!
There are a few similarities between Eleanor Pearl and Amelia Pearl: both come undyed in a beautiful natural color that definitely invokes their names – Pearl – and which gives nearly unlimited potential for Ali’s amazing in-house dye jobs at ET (I’m a huge fan!), as well as dye projects elsewhere (see photo below for my Tiny House Textiles-dyed EP). I remember reading that ET specifically chose thread for the rails and hems of Eleanor Pearl that would take dye , and I am hopeful that Amelia will be released with the same thread for equally amazing dye projects. Both Eleanor Pearl and Amelia Pearl also have the namesake “ribbons”, which are variations in weave that for stripes running the length of the wrap that add all kinds of interesting visual character and specific wrap qualities.
It is obvious in the side-by-side photo above that there are differences in the ribbon-weaves. Most noticeably different is the thicker, rougher crepe weave “ribbon” on Amelia Pearl!
As I mentioned, Amelia Pearl arrived in loomstate, and it was definitely more crispy than was Eleanor Pearl’s loomstate, but it didn’t really convince me that Amelia Pearl would be much different. I was super jazzed to try out what I believe would be Eleanor Pearl part deux…I mean, how much could those ribbons really matter? (It turns out, a lot). So, I washed Amelia Pearl as instructed by ET – enough to get the “hay smell” out and dried it with dryer balls, but it was still pretty crispy. Not to worry, I love breaking in new, super dense/hefty/thick/hemp wraps, so this 100% cotton was no problem for me! I wavered about giving it a steam iron and decided to wrap first and then decide if it needed one.
After one a wash and dry, Amelia Pearl was not ready to submit!
I am glad I wrapped (a stuffed panda) with Amelia Pearl before ironing because it made the before-and-after difference much more striking. I remember thinking as I wrapped with it the first time “where is the ‘pearl’? the smoothness? the slight give that makes Eleanor Pearl so easy to use? why is my chest pass so baggy? why does my chest pass look like I wrapped with a giant tortilla?”
The different weaves clearly affect Amelia Pearl’s drape! The crepe weave ribbons hug the ironing board much more tightly.
So, obviously, a nice steamy iron was in order, and it made all the difference. After a steam iron, the smoother sections reminded me *exactly* of Eleanor Pearl, while the crepe woven sections were clearly something new, and overall, Amelia Pearl was really ready to wrap with.
Wrapping with Amelia Pearl
We used Amelia Pearl for several back carries. This tester is about a base-2 for us, so the first multilayer carry we did was Shepherd’s carry. I was right about the steam iron – Amelia Pearl made a delicious smooth and moldable chest pass with a beautifully hefty knot. The passes glided easily over each other, but there was just enough grip to keep them from sliding out of place while I adjusted the carry. As I walked with my giant LittlerHill about 3/4 of a mile to a local storytime, there was zero sagging in our carry, even though it was the first time really wrapping with Amelia Pearl. For me, this means a wrap that is super easy to wrap with right away! After the dryer and a steam iron, not much more breaking in is needed to get a good wrap job.
Amelia Pearl makes a moldable chest pass with a beautifully hefty knot in Shepherd’s carry.
I need to talk about the crepe weave. I didn’t notice much of a difference in the texture in hand between Amelia Pearl and Eleanor Pearl, but I think the crepe weave gives AP slightly less stretch and slightly more support. Like I said above, I was just hoping for EP-v2, but this. is. so. much. better.
The crepe weave “ribbon” on Amelia Pearl gives extra support and a bit less stretch to this wrap compared to Eleanor Pearl.
We also tried a single layer carry, Ruck with a candy cane chest belt. As expected from my experience/infatuation with Eleanor Pearl, Amelia Pearl shines in a single layer carry even with a giant wrappee. It gives an excellently solid and supportive carry with enough cush on my shoulders to comfortably meander through rainy, winter NYC streets with my cuddly wrappee. My Ruck wasn’t tied super well, but it did not seem to make a difference in either my or LittlerHill’s comfort.
Amelia Pearl makes a beautiful Ruck wrap!Amelia Pearl in a single layer carry was perfect for a large wrappee and extra snuggles. Also, look at the pleats!
It is not easy to improve upon something that is already amazing (Eleanor Pearl), but Emmeline Textiles seems to be able to always go that extra distance. Amelia Pearl is a slam dunk/home run/touchdown! It is perfect for wrappees of any size, for short or long ups, for wrappers that enjoy a medium to thick wrap, is a gorgeous standalone neutral, and is perfect for limitless dye projects. I can’t wait to see Amelia Pearl out in the world when it releases later this month!
My first impression was that there is a lot more black and less white than I was expecting…excellent, because I am not careful about keeping wraps clean. I threw it in the wash immediately, and dried it on a low tumble. Fresh out of the wash I noticed how textured it is – lots of micro-texture usually means a good amount of grip. After a wash, the next important question for me is always whether to give it a steam iron or not. I have found that I prefer some wraps ironed (Confetti, Hearts, Futurism), especially to help with breaking in (Trillium, Sparkleberry, Klee), and some I prefer un-ironed to preserve the airy pillows (Wingy, Surf Stripes, Fruit Stripes, P2). It’s important to note that ironing can change the feeling of a wrap completely. Since it wasn’t super wrinkled and felt reasonably un-stiff for a new wrap, I decided to give it a try without an iron to see how I liked it. I put LitterHill up in Wendy’s Double Hammock with a candy cane chest belt and I noticed that Backgammon has that kind of Velcro-stick that makes many Pavos so easy to work with: slippy enough for passes to glide easily over each other, but then sticks in place when you need it to. Delicious.
