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 ?
Bijou Wear’s Decadence lives up to its name! I am already a huge fan of Bijou Wear since I have really loved wrapping with their hefty Eco2cotton and low Tencel blends. Bijou Wear is a company that is conscious of inclusivity, and they offer most of their woven wraps and ring slings in longer lengths that make their products accessible to babywearers of all sizes. I’d heard many good things about Decadence as it has been traveling around the babywearing world, so when I was offered the opportunity to try it because it “fits my preferred wrap qualities” I was thrilled! Yes, it definitely does fit my preferred wrap qualities (WQs). In case you are unfamiliar with my preferred WQs, here they are: thick, cushy, thick, blankety, thick, toddler appropriate, and thick. But really, Decadence is more nuanced than that, please continue reading…
Bumshot of Decadence Premiere in Wendy’s Double Hammock.
I received Decadence in the “Premiere” colorway, which is a black warp with lemon-lime-gold wefts that appear to change color depending on the light. I am a huge fan of black warps and monochrome everything right now, and the Premiere colorway goes well with the standard NYCBlack that we all don for winter, while adding an exciting bit of color to a otherwise dreary season.
Our first carry with Decadence Premiere was Wendy’s Double Hammock with a Candy Cane Chest Belt (Wendy’s DH CCCB), which is my favorite go-to back carry at the moment because it has a chest pass for extra support, two leg passes for a bouncy/leg straightening wrappee, and a candy cane chest belt (CCCB) to keep the ruck straps comfortably on my shoulders. As the weather has changed into to the cooler part of Autumn and the beginning of Winter, LittlerHill and I have begun to navigate wrapping on the outside of our winter clothes this year. I will cover what we have figured out with regards to winter babywearing in another post, but I want to say here that Decadence Premiere was very forgiving and patient with me while I took my time wrapping (LittlerHill was less so).
What made Decadence Premiere so patient was its texture – it is textured all over, but it does not have the same texture all over. Instead, each section of the pattern has a slightly different texture – it is smoother on the yellow areas and rougher on the black areas. I think that the texture differences are noticeable due to the large scale of the diamond-shaped geometric pattern. It is pretty cool and unique to be differently-textured throughout the pattern, and it makes Decadence Premiere not like any wraps I have wrapped with before. Decadence Premiere’s interesting texture made it super easy to slide my passes into place, and then held them there while I worked on tightening. Its ability to stay put means my Wendy’s DH CCCB was wrapped excellently (for a change!) and therefore it was super comfortable. LittlerHill even remarked, “this wrap is comfortable!” while we walked to preschool – there is no better endorsement than one from a picky toddler!
Decadence Premiere is textured differently in different areas of the pattern.
Decadence Premiere has little-to-no horizontal stretch, but has a good amount of diagonal stretch. This means that it has zero sag with a heavy wrappee, and can make a beautifully tight chest pass. LittlerHill felt super light on my shoulders, and I would have been happy to carry him in our Wendy’s DH CCCB for hours – I think any multilayer carry would have felt just as comfortable. Decadence Premiere is pretty thick, as I mentioned above, due to a double weft that gives it a nice cush for picky shoulders and makes it a perfect fall/winter wrap. Decadence Premiere also has a nice drapey feeling in-hand that makes its thickness feel manageable and not at all overwhelming.
I was intrigued with how Decadence Premiere felt so solid but also had beautiful diagonal stretch, so I wanted to try it in some single layer carries. We wrapped Decadence Premiere in Ruck tied Tibetan (Ruck TT) and in a Ruck tied in front (Ruck TIF), and as I suspected, Decadence Premiere shines in both multilayer and single-layer carries with my huge wrappee. LittlerHill didn’t budge at all, and all of the passes stayed in place even with the combination of a slippery coat and a bouncing wrappee. As amazingly comfortable and easy to wrap as Decadence Premiere was in Wendy’s DH, I ended up defaulting to various Ruck variations even with the super long tails, so I think I would pleased with Decadence Premiere in any size!
Decadence Premiere rocks a sloppy single-layer carry like Ruck TIF.
Summary
I think Decadence Premiere shines in any size – shorter for single-layer carries, and base or longer sizes for multilayer carries – and would be excellent with an infant through preschooler wrappee. Decadence Premiere is definitely on the thicker side and may be a lot to handle as a caregiver’s first wrap in a base/longer size, but I would otherwise recommend it to any wrapper and any sized wrappee, or to a newer wrapper in a shorter size if they were not yet used to handling the fabric. The Premiere colorway, lemon-lime-gold and black, is gorgeous for fall, goes well with neutrals, and gives the perfect pop of color without being overwhelming. Decadence Premiere would make a great first wrap for someone starting back carries, since the passes glide over each other easily but stay in place while the wrapper is tightening.
Decadence Premiere makes a beautiful chest pass and Candy Cane Chest Belt.Decadence Premiere is a cozy wrap for Fall & Winter!
carries tried: Wendy’s Double Hammock with Candy Cane Chest Belt (Wendy’s DH CCCB), Ruck tied in front (Ruck TIF), Ruck tied Tibetan (Ruck TT)
wrap qualities (WQs): cushy, thick, medium density, textured, dry, good balance of glide/grip, moldable, supportive, solid, good diagonal stretch but otherwise not stretchy, toddler worthy, no sag, no dig, medium-to-heavy weight
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.
