Corvus takes flight but not before some Elliott geekery

Sweet departures

I’m going through a stage of “can’t keep all the wraps”. Maybe it’s the impending third birthday of Smallest or that I wish to play with lots more wraps. Or both. Nevertheless, in a fit of brash listing, up went my semi custom Lawilde Elliott Corvus.

I love this wrap. So much so that I tracked down the matching shawl and bought it too so that whenever the wrap departs the concept, reality, of Corvus will never leave. Charlotte, of Lawilde, absolutely nailed my vision of oily black wings in motion. Combined with the cashmere, mulberry and bourette blend, and the easiest going wrapping qualities I’ve come across, it’s been a stellar wrap to use. Over time it has become like butter and holds a lot of good memories with a lot of the most vivid ones in Scotland where we’ve holidayed very happily a few times. It is also a wrap imbued with sleep dust and love.

Just before it got listed, I was contacted by the lovely Rowena to ask if I’d like to compare her semi custom Elliott to Corvus. Never one to say no to a little geekery I looked forward to the mystery wrap to arrive; all I knew was that it was exactly the same blend. In the meantime Corvus sold but the buyer was super understanding about waiting a couple of days so that I could compare the two before Corvus flew.

Comparisons

Merlin arrived this morning and after photographing it, and then both together, I video called Rowena for a bit of co-geekery. Despite possessing the same blend they feel different and in part that’s because Merlin has some breaking in to do. Despite a density and blend that is easy to wrap from the get go, Corvus went on a significant journey after two washes and a lot of wearing.

In Merlin, the grey bourette is a little thicker, perhaps more textured than the navy bourette in Corvus. Corvus is much smoother and of course there’s less contrast – black cashmere, navy bourette, teal and gold mulberry silk. Merlin has more contrast with grey bourette and rose mulberry, blue cashmere and mulberry. This pairing means you have clearer undulations of the Elliott pattern whereas Corvus was to mimic the flashes of wing so the clarity isn’t the same. The mulberry plays differently; in Corvus it is ostentatious – the gold more prominent – than the nestling of more matched hues of mulberry in Merlin.

In wearing, I have so far discovered nothing between them. The same gloriously bandage like wrapping qualities, neat shoulders, tiny knot and tender support. Two identical blends, two wildly different wraps in looks and feel, both beautiful. I’m dying to feel how Merlin breaks in.

Meanwhile, if you haven’t tried a Lawilde Elliott, you really should. It seems I can’t quite get them out of my head for as soon as Corvus sold, I went and bought a different Elliott. One bird flies as another prepares to land.