How should I wash it? This one is with silk, the other with some kind of wool blend. Above that, all should be hand washed!

We shall talk about our woven wrap care today – this topic is very important yet often neglected. Enjoy your reading. It will be long, however fascinating and I do promise it will be surprising.

For those who ain’t got time to read I recommend a video on our Kenhuru Youtube channel

You have bought a woven wrap straight from a manufacturer? It is new so it has to be washed before use. Do you know why? Apart from what may happen with fibres please keep in mind that a such wrap is handled by plenty of people before it reaches you. First, as a yarn during the weaving process, then as a fabric it is cut into pieces, sewn and then it hits the shelfs to eventually, after some unspecified time, land in your hands.

Dust, factory residues and human hands leave invisible marks on it. Finally it is supposed to wrap our little babies, isn’t it?
What else changes after washing the woven wrap apart from cleaning it from the long journey? Above all it gets fluffier, softer, nicer in touch. It may shrink a little bit, but when folded it will get much bigger. This if the so called LOOM TO BLOOM effect.

COMPOSITION, BLENDS – ALL YOU CAN FIND IN A WOVEN WRAP

As a manufacturer I always repeat – read the label, you will find there everything. It is true – on a woven wrap’s label there are all these symbols and markings, like hieroglyphics to be deciphered. They warn against disastrous care mistakes. It is worth to take a minute to figure them out.

Woven baby wraps may be divided into two categories:
– Easy care – 100% cotton, linen or viscose
– Non washing machine – so those which are hand washed – in short it is everything else like: silk, wool, other fancy fibres.
It seems to be a clear separation, it seems to be easy, still among those simple rules hides infinite number of felted or ruined wraps.
Now, let’s be serious for a minute – let’s get straight for the biscuits. We shall discuss each single blend – how to wash it, dos and don’ts and what to be absolutely carful with.

COTTON WOVEN WRAPS – CARE

The most plain and the most pleasant fabric for washing – these are the 100% cotton wraps. You can put them in the washing machine, preferably on a short, approximately 30 minutes, cycle in 30-40 Celsius degrees with a low spin up to 800. When the washing stops simply dry it flat on the folding laundry dryer. Of course hand wash is also possible if you wish so. Was it simple? Sure!

But what kind of detergent should be used for washing a cotton wrap? It may be a liquid one or a washing powder used for washing baby clothes. A good alternative is a wool and silk detergent.

What is IMPORTANT – don’t use fabric softener! The wrap will get slippery and it could get impossible to do a proper wrap job that holds in one place.

VISCOE/LINEN WRAPS – CARE

It seems to be simple as well – woven wraps with a cotton/linen or cotton/viscose blend may be washed exactly as those 100% cotton.
But what kind of detergent should be used for washing wraps consisting linen or viscose? It may be a liquid one or a washing powder used for washing baby clothes. A good alternative is a wool and silk detergent.

What is IMPORTANT – don’t use fabric softener! The wrap will get slippery and it could get impossible to do a proper wrap job that holds in one place.

SILK/WOOL WRAPS – CARE

Oh boy! This is it. The moment we discuss that nasty silk and that awful, felting in a blink of an eye wool. A horror… it is not 🙂

All you need to do is act responsibly and follow the general rules and you will see that there is nothing to be afraid of and nothing wrong will happen while washing these wraps. Just start with the most important thing.

DON’T PUT WOVEN BABY WRAPS CONSISTING SILK OR WOOL INTO THE WASHING MASCHINE!

It doesn’t matter if your washing machine is high-tech or if someone told you that you could do so. NO means NO. In all honesty I have to say – it is not worth your money to test it. I had checked what happens with wraps washed in the washing machine a steady number of times, so please, learn from my experiences, mistakes and failures.

Hand wash is the only alternative here for a safe keeping wraps consisting wool or silk. Water temperature should not exceed 30 degrees. For washing use exclusively a detergent that is suitable for delicate fabrics as wool and silk. Do not use softener. my recommendations are: Biały Jeleń for wool/down/silk, Eucalan Delicate or Ecover Silk/Wool. These three won’t do any harm to your wrap but only nurture it. Avoid typical market detergents since these may dissolve fabric’s dyes.

HAND WASH – BEHIND THE SCENES

Fill the laundry basket, baby bath or simply a bath with tepid water (remember – up to 30 degrees). Pour silk/wool washing detergent and stir until diffused, put your wrap in it and wash it by moving it lightly till it’s evenly covered with water. Leave it like that for couple of minutes stirring from time to time. Pour out the dirty water.

Rinsing – pour water in the similar temperature to that during the washing. What is crucial, don’t pour hot water then cold, or the other way round, since this is what mostly makes the wool and silk felted. Rinsing is analogous to washing, though there is only one difference, your repeat it two to three times.

When the rinsing is completed do not wring or twist but delicately press down with hands on the fabric to get the water out then roll the whole wrap into a dry towel pressing it down to the floor.
Both wool and silk should be dried flat. Do not put them on the sun to dry faster as it will definitely get damaged and discoloured.

DRY OR NOT TO DRY?

You ask me frequently „Can woven baby wraps be dried in a tumble dryer?” My answer is always the same „NO”. You may wonder why, since clothes don’t get damaged by it and nothing wrong happens.

Clothes that we wear on a daily basics are woven in a totally different weave and with different yarns than those used in woven wraps. Here the weave is much looser, the yarn several times thicker which makes the surface get prone to pilling. Tiny balls are forming on it and everyone associate this with cotton clothes of inferior quality because such after couple of washes are covered in similar grits. Exactly the same thing happens to a woven baby wrap if it gets dried in a tumble dryer.

Even though dryers are equipped in a wool or silk cycle steer clear of the aforesaid as in the case of the 100% cotton wrap. It will speed the drying up for sure however alongside shortening the life spam of those beautiful, full of cuddles with your baby, attachment parenting moments. That’s why we say absolutely NO to tumble dryers.

FINALLY TO SUM EVERYTHING UP – CREME DE LA CREME.

1. Wraps consisting only linen, cotton or viscose wash in the washing machine – in 30/40 degrees, low spin 800 – short cycle up to 30 minutes.
2. All other wraps wash solely in hands sticking to the manufacturer’s recommendations.
3. Do not use fabric softener.
4. Don’t dry the wrap in a tumble dryer or on the sun.
5. Use delicate detergents dedicated to a specific fabric – check the tag or a leaflet for the blend.
I hope that these advice will be useful for you. Have a successful wrap washing!