Introduction
Jacq and Rose (J&R) is a new British wrap company set up by Katie Meakin that focuses on the use of ethically sourced yarns and weaving geometric and naturally inspired patterns.
I have had the pleasure of hosting one of J&R’s first testers as it has made its way around the country. It’s had a very intensive short week of use here and I’m formatting this review in the tester questionnaire style.
First impressions; design; blend
Oh the colour! I took it out of the packet and was bowled over by the intense and bright teal colour. I absolutely adore teal as it appears in soft autumn (according to Colour Me Beautiful) though this is a summery teal rather than a darker version.
It is contrasted by a pattern of bright white triangles that start on one side as small and progressively grow in size as they reach the other rail. The pattern is opposite in colour on the other side and as it has flipped rails you can wear the wrap either way.
I’ll be honest; I wasn’t grabbed by the design when I saw it online as it looked quite plain and spare. Then I saw it on a friend at Carry on London and it suddenly clicked. It’s a design that absolutely begs to be wrapped for it works with the contours of the body to become striking and very interesting. I love it.
In hand it felt very soft and floppy with a medium weight of weave (it’s about 280g m/2); the softness comes from the combed cotton. It takes a lot to get me excited when it comes to a cotton wrap so I approached this testing week quite critically.
What it’s like to wrap with; carries; support
In short, it’s a total pleasure to wrap with. In the mornings when I’m wrapping Smallest I have to work speedily because we’re leaving for work/school and I’m almost always running late. Therefore my wrap jobs are often sloppy and just have to do; this isn’t the setting of filmic and graceful carries and perfect middle markers. I found it exceptionally easy to work with, as passes were easy to manoeuvre and tighten with the softness of the wrap moulding to Smallest and I.
I tried my stock quick carries whilst it was here. We start with a simple ruck as I find if a wrap is a bit of a turkey it’s going to show in this basic carry. A ruck needs vague precision, good tightening and a wrap that doesn’t budge. It totally accommodated my shonky job as I was battling a cross Smallest who was both disgusted by, yet wanting, her boots. A bit of a meh wrap would have slipped from my shoulders or she would have popped the seat; this was rock solid.
I carried her home one night in a robin’s hip carry. I like this carry for the evenings as it means I can interact with her whilst holding my eldest’s hand as I hear about her day. I had no problem tightening the half knot under her bum and it stayed, just as it had with the ruck. I’m a terrible one for half knotting as I’m used to blends that just stick. I often find cotton wraps don’t but Tri Tanote Teal has excellent grip and just holds its place.
One morning I totally tossed up what was supposed to be a Double Hammock with a Candy Cane Chestbelt as I misjudged the length and ended up having to tie off under her bum. This would usually result in a failed wrap job for me as I don’t have the strength to tighten knots behind me but I managed it and was elated; another half knot as I was running out of tail but it held like a boss.
Jacq and Rose – Tri Tanote Teal from MsCrow on Vimeo.
Determined not to be defeated by this DH and wanting to test TTT out with my eldest I carried her after school on a trip to the post office. At four and a half years old she’s not a light wrappee but she is very cooperative and likes to offer her views (review above). TTT is 3.6m so I just had enough to tie off at the shoulder but was concerned it would be diggy. The support from the wrap was excellent and despite my knees feeling her weight after about ¾ hour of walking I had no aching back or shoulders. Actually, it’s really lovely on the shoulders and the double knot was neat and not diggy. I didn’t have to retighten the wrap once.
Finally I tried an RRRR with Smallest this morning which is a carry that either works or doesn’t for me. When it goes wrong Smallest drifts down my back but she stayed in an excellent position and it was comfy. Best of all this carry really allowed the design to shine with the flipped second pass.
I find the wrap to have just the right amount of diagonal stretch and the width is just perfect; not overwhelming with lots of bagginess left over in a double hammock chest pass but enough to comfortably support my eldest’s back. The medium weight of TTT combined with the soft combed cotton means there’s enough density to give good support whilst remaining an easy to handle wrap.
Conclusion
I have thoroughly enjoyed testing Tri Tanote Teal; sometimes having a tester can feel like a chore if it’s not one that has wrapping qualities that I enjoy. That definitely isn’t the case here. It has a design that works, so well, and offers endless possibilities for future releases. A woolly blend in low contrast colours would rock for winter.
It’s a wrap I’d be confident to recommend to a beginner as it was a pleasure to use but equally to someone more experienced who wants a beater to chuck in the washing machine.
Further Reading
You can access J&R’s Facebook page here where releases are announced and the chatter group here.
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