Composition: 60% combed cotton, 28% super fine merino, 12% mulberry silk
Weight: 245 g/m² post-wash (220 g/m² pre-wash) according to the manufacturer, 220 g/m² counted by us
Size: 5
Half Taiwanese back carry
Onyx is one of those legendary little-baby wraps, along with its Bird Garden sibling Mint with Tencel. The legend says that it is wonderfully soft newborn cloth while it is able to support even a heavy toddler at the same time. Naturally, we wanted to take a closer look at these birdies.
At the first sight and the first touch, it is truly a ˈspider-webˈ in all the ways this word means – it is skinny, soft, super-pliable – just the perfect wrap you wish to grab and wrap a sweet, cooing newborn baby into. You would have to play a blend-detective to find the merino inside – I dare say that even the most sensitive sissies will not feel a thing! The mulberry silk gives Onyx a hint of gloss that makes it look very elegant.
I have repeated this several times on this blog – I always praise skinny Vatanai wraps (for example, Labyrinths Skye and Taranaki and the Unalaska whales). Their weight is about the same as of Onyx and despite being very thin, they are surprisingly well-supportive (I personally call it ˈvata-magicˈ). Onyx is more complex in its composition than the two other above-mentioned newborn cloths Taranaki and Unalaska. In my opinion, this blend combination is wonderful, but I think that it would not survive staying with us during the first months of Emilka’s life when she was a cute little throw-up machine. It is possible to launder it in the washing machine, but I cannot imagine cleaning it from carrot or blueberry spit. Although it is certainly one of the most easy-care wraps with silk and wool I have seen so far (maybe even the most easy-care), I would be afraid to have such a wrap with a non-stop puking baby. However, the owner of this particular Onyx told us that it has been through a lot with her son and endured a lot of vomit, so maybe I am only too anxious. As far as pulls go, it does not seem to be prone to them at all, same as all its Bird Garden siblings.
Tying Onyx is easy-peasy – considering its composition, weight, weave and that it was broken-in to the maximum, that is a sure thing; I would not expect anything else from such a renowned piece. It really ties itself and I would not hesitate to use it for teaching beginners how to tie a wrap. It is no grippy sandpaper, on the contrary – it slides just adequately and holds fine in the carry. A single layer carry was not ideal for Emilka and her 9,5 kg, but after reinforcing it, we had great time wearing it. However, in my opinion, it would not be very comfortable with 15kg toddler, although it is much more supportive than its all-cotton relatives (review of the all-cotton Bird Garden Latté is here).
Regarding its looks, I already said everything about the evolution of my opinion on the Bird Garden pattern in the article about BG Mint and Orinoco. And the colour? I am generally a ˈless-is-moreˈ kind of person when it comes to aesthetics, so you can guess – I simply love Onyx’s elegant grey and white combination! I certainly have something to think about concerning a perfect newborn wrap for my potential second baby – Onyx will definitely be one of the first choices!
Our thanks for lending us the wrap for testing go to our dear friend Petra!
