All About Woven Wraps

A woven wrap is simply a piece of woven fabric that you wrap around yourself and your baby.  Woven wraps come in different lengths, blends, thicknesses, colours, designs, weaves and more! The scope of variation can be quite daunting.

Woven wraps are one of the most versatile carriers there are. The fabric is wrapped around you and your baby to create a perfect fit. Any other carrier will have a fixed element such as a minimum waistband setting, or panel width, which may not suit your and your child. The same wrap can be used for hundreds of different carries. The same wrap can carry a newborn or a preschooler by changing the way you wrap them. Wraps are also the carrier with the greatest learning curve as you need to master some skills to use them well, but with a little practice these skills can last a lifetime.

Woven wraps vary a lot and many people have different things they like in their wraps. This can change as their baby grows! Some people prefer only long wraps, whilst others prefer shorties or both. Many people like different fibres such as linen or hemp in their wraps and others prefer cotton. This range of variations can mean that hiring or joining The Wrap Club are great ways to find out what you like in a wrap. We have Try Before You Buy Scheme available with some companies including Firespiral, Ali Dover and Sycha Slings

Wrap Sizes

Woven wrap sizes refers to the length of the piece of fabric. The length of the wrap and your size determines what types of carry you can do

Size Length (metres)

Size 1 2.0 – 2.2 m

Size 2 2.5 – 2.7 m

Size 3 3.1 – 3.3 m

Size 4 3.7 – 3.9 m

Size 5 4.2 – 4.3 m

Size 6 4.6 – 4.9 m

Size 7 5.2 – 5.4 m

Size 8 5.5 – 5.8 m

Base Sizes

Your base size is the size, or length, of wrap you need to do a Front Wrap Cross Carry tied at the back. The factors influencing this will be your size (both in terms of height and clothes size, with large people needing a longer wrap than more petite people), your skill at tightening (beginners often need more length than more experienced wrappers), and the size of the child.

A 6 is a common base size, but it may be worth going longer when first trying out wrapping as there is nothing worse than not having enough wrap left to tie off.  You can always tie up long ends!

Carries are often called size 6 carries, but these would more correctly be termed “base size carries”, as not everyone will be able to do a Front Wrap Cross Carry with a size 6, and some would be able to do this with a smaller size. Base + 1 would be a carry using a wrap one size larger than your base size and Base – 2 a carry two sizes smaller than your base size.

You can find out more about sizes and carries here and here

Tips for Getting Started with Woven Wraps

• There are many wraps in our rental and retail sections that are ideal for beginners which have distinct sections along the width of the wrap. Having recognisably different sections helps to identify which part of the wrap you need to tighten to ease the slack out can make the carry comfortable and supportive.
• Choose your carry well both for your child’s size and developmental stage, and your skill level. It is likely that you will find the skills easier to master in a front carry before trying back carries. Front Wrap Cross Carry is a versatile carry that can be used for many ages and helps you to learn many of the techniques involved in wrapping.
• Check out our article All About the Physiological Position to help identify the shape you are trying to achieve to support your child in a position suited to their age and developmental stage.
• If you are starting out from scratch a base size, striped or teaching cotton wrap is a great starting point!

Woven Wrap Blends

Woven wrap blends refers to the fibres from which the wraps are woven. Most wraps contain some cotton, but the different fibres, as well as the patterns used to weave the wrap, gives the wrap different qualities. Check out our Woven Wrap Blends Explained for more information.

Woven Wrap Passes and Terminology

When people talk about woven wraps you will see several terms being used that are specific to the world of wraps. Here are some of the useful ones!

Pass – a pass is describing what the fabric of the wrap is doing when it passes over your baby. All wrap carries contain at least one pass (see below for pass names)

Rails  – the top and bottom edges of the wrap, and the middle section between these two edges, along the length

Tapers  – the tapered ends of the wrap. Occasionally wraps don’t have tapers and this is often referred to as blunt ends

Strand by strand – a description of tightening the wrap. This means to work across the width of the  wrap tightening each section like you would tighten strands

Bunched Pass – instead of spreading the fabric over your baby sometimes it is left bunched up in a rope to provide structure in the carry

Loomstate – When a wrap is delivered brand new from the manaufacturer, it almost invariably arrives in “loomstate”. this means that it has not been washed, dried, ironed or worn, and so the fabric usually feels harder and coaser than it will once it is broken in.

Broken In– When a woven wrap has been washed and used the fibres become softer, then fabric often becomes floppier and easier to wrap with. When you hire a wrap it is likely to be broken in, most preloved wraps are sold as broken in. 

Wrap Passes from Babywearing International

Woven Wrap Passes

All woven wrap carries are made up of a mix of the following types of pass. These passes are defined by whether the wrap goes over or under your shoulder and over or under your baby’s legs

Hammock/Sling Pass – Over one shoulder, under the other shoulder, and over both of baby’s legs. Can be used bunched in combination with other passes

Horizontal/Torso Pass – Under both shoulders and over both of baby’s legs. Can be used bunched in combination with other passes

Ruck/Kangaroo Pass – Over both shoulders and over both of baby’s legs

Cross/Leg Pass – Over one shoulder, under the other shoulder. Over one of baby’s legs and under the other. The pass goes between baby’s legs. Can be used bunched in combination with other passes. This pass is not secure without other passes

Reinforcing Cross/Leg Pass – Under both shoulders. Over one of baby’s legs and under the other. The pass goes between baby’s legs. Frequently used bunched. This pass is not safe without other passes.

Try A Woven Wrap

Why not hire from our large selection? If you want to get a feel for different wraps why not try out a subscription to The Wrap Club?