When choosing a stretchy wrap for your free hire there are several things to bear in mind.
All of these wraps are suitable from newborn, and are usually most suitable up to around 4-6 months. If your baby is happy, and you are comfortable, then you can use your stretchy wrap for much longer. However, they are designed to recreate a newborn baby’s familiar womb-like conditions, and help to ease them through the fourth trimester and into the world gently.
2 way stretchy wrap: what we mean
All of the wraps we offer are 2 way stretchy wraps, which are easier to use than a 1 way stretchy wrap for most parents. Some companies claim that their stretchy wraps are 4 way, but this is misleading – they are referring the diagonal stretch, also known as the bias, as two additional directions. However, all fabrics have some give or stretch along the bias, even non-stretch fabrics. All stretch fabrics stretch along diagonal lines. The distinction between 1 way stretch – a fabric which stretches along the width or short edge of the wrap – and a 2 way stretch – one which stretches along the length as well as the width – is helpful. Stretching along the length makes it easier to use the stretch of the fabric to make space for the baby in the wrap. Then the elasticity, or recoil, of the fabric holds baby close to your body.
The baby box wraps in the Scottish Baby Box scheme and the popular Moby wraps are 1-way stretch wraps. (If you want to count the diagonal stretch direction then all 1 way stretch wraps are 3 way stretch and all 2 way stretch wraps are 4 way stretch – this is, however, a marketing ploy – the idea is the more stretch directions, the better)
Stretchy wrap: how it feels
Cotton jersey or French Terry
French terry is a looped towelling like fabric on one side and smooth T-shirt fabric like on the other side. Both Boba and the JPMBB Basic wrap are made of French terry. This means that both sides are visibly different so you can see whether or not you have twisted the fabric. French terry is thicker than standard jersey fabric, therefore you might find these warmer than a plain jersey fabric wrap.
Cotton jersey is a simple knit fabric, in other words, a stretchy T-shirt type fabric. The Lifft stretchy wrap and Sling School stretchy wrap are both cotton jersey and are thin yet supportive. These are probably the coolest stretchy wraps available in our CalmFamily free stretchy wrap hire scheme.
Stretchy wrap length
If you prefer to tie your knot at the front, rather than behind your back, or if you are petite or under size 14, you may prefer a shorter version of a stretchy wrap. This means there is less fabric to work with, and that you don’t have such long tails of fabric after tying.
Lifft wraps have the option of a short size (4.1m), or standard length (5m). Similarly, Sling School offers a 5m or a 4m length choice. On the other hand, Boba wraps are 5m long and JPMBB Basic are 4.6m long. The longer wraps, such as the 5m versions of Lifft and Sling School, and the JPMBB basic and Boba work for people of all sizes, they will just have a different amount left over after tying off.
Stretchy wrap: how it looks
Colour palette
We want you to love the look of your stretchy wrap too. That’s why we have selected a varied palette to offer. Whilst, JPMBB come in an urban palette of strong red, black, and pearl grey, Lifft, on the other hand, are rich deep tones, such as jade, plum, teal, blue, grey, rose, sunshine and black. The Sling School palette bursts with jewel and jewel tones in rusty orange, blue, teal, black and purple, and in addition to the fabric colours, they have a distinct star shape middle marker in your choice of contrasting colour. Boba offer a range that contains both brights and more subtle muted tones. Additionally, however, Boba also offer a select few prints, so we have had rainbows and floral designs; they may be the option if you fancy something with a little more detail.
Contrasting coloured edging
Contrast coloured overlocking around the edge can help you find the edge of the wrap. This helps you find the right part of the wrap when positioning your baby. Lifft Stretchy Wraps have contrast coloured overlocked edging.
Origin and impact
Plastic free packaging
Lifft, Sling School and Boba have plastic free packaging, coming in cardboard boxes only. JPMBB packaging is not plastic free.
We send out all orders in a plastic postage bag. We reuse these several times when they come back with our hired carriers. Where possible, we ask customers returning their stretchy wraps to reuse the bag in which it arrived, to minimise waste. You can recycle all of our postage bags in local carrier bag recycling facilities. Alternatively, you could reuse them as bin bags or for postage.
Country of manufacture
- Sling School – Britain
- Lifft – Britain
- JPMBB – Turkey
- Boba – China
Ready to order?
If you aren’t quite ready to order sign up for a reminder closer to your estimated due date.
Sling School
Select a Sling School stretchy wrap on the CalmFamily free postal hire scheme.
Lifft
Select a Lifft stretchy wrap on the CalmFamily free postal hire scheme.
Boba
Select a Boba stretchy wrap on the CalmFamily free postal hire scheme.
JPMBB basic
Select a JPMBB basic stretchy wrap on the CalmFamily free postal hire scheme.
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