Brand: Mad Hatter Warped and Woven (USA) Weaver: Tina Cherie aka Queen Hatter Material: Hemp/Cotton/EC Density: — gsm
About the weaver: Do I really need to write that? Tina Cherie and her weaving business are legendary! Since I’ve started to get interested in handwoven babywraps (and that was years ago before everyone started to weave and only a few well-known weavers existed, most of them in the US) Mad Hatter was the HSA brand. One of the first to weave a signature heart design and famous also for its wonderful colour combinations. But then like now, Mad Hatter was out of reach. First, Tina can’t produce wrap after wrap to satisfy all of her admirers. Alas, (semi-)costum slots were and are rare. Second, if someone offered a MH FS in the group (what also rarely happened, more often, MH were offered FT for another MH, ha!) it was (and is) beyond the budget of an average earning babywearer. Mad Hatter – the unfulfilled wrap dream of many of us… but one day, I got the chance to test one. I would be able to touch and wear one – OMG! Even if it only stayed with us for 4 days, I felt blessed and honoured to host Wisteria! You can understand, right?
Not the best DH 😉
My first impression: You all know, I’m #teampinkandpurple, but it didn’t matter. This wrap was drop dead gorgeous. Shades of turquoise and blue, you won’t find a single wrap with those colours in my stash, but this one is love. I have to overthink my colour pref, especially when I remarked it really suited me! And it came to me already fully broken in – very soft, which I wouldn’t have expected from a wrap containing hemp. It had a great grip, a little stretch and didn’t feel itchy or too warm on my skin. Medium thickness and quite heavy. I can’t see any irregularities in the weave – really nice handwoven art.
How does it wear: Tieing the wrap went well. I tried out DH with half saltwater finish and Ruck tied tibetan as I always do. I wouldn’t tie the Ruck without a tibetan finish with thicker wraps like this ’cause, as you can see, it’s just too much fabric gathered on my shoulders. It would quickly slip down and loosen the carry. But I prefer finishes like that anyway, I also often finish DH “half saltwater” (see on the pics 😉 I just need the wrap to be secured from slippery… 😉 The amount of fabric also needs to be folded a bit to fit around my body… While carrying, I felt a really comfortable support even with my quite heavy toddler. I still think I can recommend this wrap for smaller, lighter children, too but rather not for tiny babies. It’s sure warm to wrap up in those hot summer days but the hemp is less warm then a woolie. But this is just my personal opinion as wool should have a nice effect even on warmer days. I just don’t like it. I instantly sweat with wool on my skin.
Conclusion: Wisteria is a very nice wrap. I love, love, love the heart weave, the touch and feel, the grip, the perfect amount of not too much bounce, the blend and comfort while wearing a heavy child. Concerning my prefs, it’s a bit too heavy, a bit too much fabric which makes tieing less easier then with thinner wraps (but if you’re an experienced babywearer – no prob) and makes me recommend you to do finishes that secure the wrap. And I’d suggest you to use it with bigger children to get the best of it.
This test was done in july 2016 with my 18 kg and 4,5 years old daughter.
