Baie Slings Filigree Ivory and Milk Hemp Blends review

Regular readers of my reviews will remember that I was given three of the beautiful Baie Slings hemp wraps to test out, not just the delectable Ivory Trowen…

 

 

.. but also the lovely Filigree and Milk slings.

Filigree

Filigree is due for a release soon, and I think this was my favourite of all of them, personally, in terms of pattern and elegance. This is one of Juliette’s own designs, and the name describes it perfectly – filigree is a delicate and artistically arranged metalwork of motifs, which is often used in jewellery. You can see it in more detail below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is a warm ivory/pale golden colour, different in overall appearance to Trowen Ivory, due to the double face nature of the pattern and the more delicate, subtle interweaving. The threads are the same colour as Ivory, which just shows you how a different weave can really change appearances, as can the quality of light..

It is the same lush 25% hemp 75% combed cotton mix as Trowen Ivory, but feels a little different to work with. Trowen was light, airy, floaty, thin. Filigree has more presence. It feels a little denser and more solid due to the more compact weave, but to say that it feels heavy or cumbersome would be wide of the mark. We’re talking about degrees here…. Filigree’s texture makes it feel just that little more supportive, so I would say that a shorty wrap of Filigree would add a little margin of extra lift for a single layer ruck, compared to Trowen Ivory.

On the other hand, Trowen’s slightly looser weave adds just a teeny extra level of cushiness (softness) on the shoulders, making it super comfy despite its thin-ness. Both wraps are lovely, soft, supportive, beautiful. Both are easy to wrap with. Trowen perhaps has the edge in ease of tightening in multipass carries, but Filigree has perhaps a touch more grip.. so it depends what you like best and find easiest to use! Filigree certainly kept heavy children snug and high up in back carries with no downward settle (a little less stretch than Trowen). I measured its width at 68cm.

They are of almost equal density, which surprised me a little, as I expected Trowen to have a lower g/m2, but in fact, Filigree was marginally lighter at 242 g/m2 (Trowen was 248 g/m2), not accounting for the hemming etc. Again, minimal difference..  I really enjoyed using Filigree as a long wrap – it was superbly supportive and soft and floppy from new, not much breaking in required at all, unlike a lot of new hemps. It has the usual hempy slubbiness.

I’d be happy to use Filigree with newborns and toddlers and preschoolers – in single layer or multipass carries. It is rock solid and extremely stylish… perhaps a wedding sling?

Milk

Milk came to me in the form of a ring sling. The pattern is the same as for Magma and Calypso (red and blue, respectively), with the same organic swirly ellipsis design, and the same 25% hemp composition as the rest of this collection. Baie Ring Slings are 2m long to the short taper, and the tester was a gathered shoulder. It was very comfortable to use at once, soft and lovely.

I had no trouble tightening through the rings and my shoulder was happy even with  my 3yr old with the fabric spread nicely. There was no slip back through the rings, which is important, and the wrap gripped enough to avoid slide across my body. (Practice pays off when using a ring sling!) I wasn’t able to calculate the weight but Baie tell me it is 248g/m2, so all three hemp slings are of a very similar density. Milk is more like Filigree in feel than Trowen, and is lighter and floppier than Magma, which is a heavyweight wrap. It is cushy and more than suitable for both newborns and toddlers.

 

The finishing is as immaculate as ever, I’d expect nothing less of Juliette, who is now hemming for another very desirable woven wrap company.

Enough of the words. Let’s have some pictures! My lovely friend Beth did the honours with her handsome son with long Filigree, while I carried Maggie (3yrs) in the Milk ring sling.