Quite recently, I wrote in one discussion on Facebook that I enjoy hand woven wraps more and more because the machine woven ones cannot surprise me basically by anything anymore – and that such wraps would have to be “the bomb” to take my by the heart. Well, it did not take a week and this “bomb” came – these three Dutch wraps from Agossie.

Agossie is a lesser known and generally not very mainstream high-end brand. I knew about one Milkweed in the Czech Republic, but otherwise I think there is just a handful of wraps from this manufacturer in our country. It is always very interesting for me, to try wraps from such manufacturers, but regarding Agossie I was very excited and looking forward to testing very much. Which is basically the situation that leads to disappointment, right? Not in this case, because these Agossie wraps turned out to be everything I wished for, and more.

Agossie Gemini Mono

Composition: 100% cotton

Weight: 329 g/m² (counted by me)

Size: 6

Double hammock

I will begin with the wrap that looks the most “ordinary” at the first sight. However, after touching it for the first time I was quite sure that this is no ordinary cotton wrap. It seems thin, maybe medium thick at most, but if you count the weight, you discover that it is definitely toddler worthy. I keep repeating that I do not like “flat” wraps from time to time – but! Although Gemini’s weight is comparable to any Dekka wrap, the types of their weave could not be more different. Agossie truly is “flat”, the weave is dense and durable… BUT! What a wonder, it does not feel thick in hand at all (unlike some high-weight Lulunas, for example). On the contrary, it is wonderfully pliable, easy to tie and tighten, glide and grip in perfect balance and feels slightly elastic in the carry, while it is supportive enough even for a heavy toddler. And a bonus – it does not wrinkle! This was a great wrapping experience, right from some other babywearing dimension than I are used to live in when it comes to “normal” all-cotton wraps.

I was also surprised by the pattern – at the first sight it also looks “ordinary”, nothing really intriguing – very simple, almost trivial… But all it takes is to tie the wrap – and suddenly it looks so great! No simple black and white triangles anymore; the pattern looks somewhat 3D, nearly as some optical illusion. Bottom line – I was blown away by Gemini!

Agossie Origin Helen

Composition: 73% pima cotton, 27% linen

Weight: 320 g/m² declared by the manufacturer, 333 g/m² counted by me

Size: 5

Front cross carry with a ring

Origin – much more surprises her! My dislike of “flat” wraps? And wraps with linen? Did I ever say that linen wrinkles madly if the wrap is not broken in and that I hate ironing it after every wearing? Agossie probably denies all the rules of the universe because I simply fell in love with this wrap – and I was very sad that my fellow babywearers from our regional group were very reluctant to test it – probably because of the very light colour and – to be honest – its conservative pattern (also it was supposed to be size 4 when it came to us, although it is in fact a normal size five with its 425 cm, which I measured).

Well, Origin is in fact “flat”, too, and very heavy (but in contrast to Gemini it is obvious from the first touch that this is a toddler piece par excellence); moreover it is quite rough to touch – therefore it does not slide – like at all (it came to us brand new and not broken in at all). But again, to my surprise, it took only a few tries by 3 other wearers and it was suddenly much smoother – I can imagine that after it finishes its tester tour, it will become a cuddly sweetheart.

Did I also say that according to my experience most linen wraps are not elastic enough? Once again, Origin surprised me how wonderfully elastic it felt in the carry! While tying it, I had an only problem – that it does not slide (me complaining about a grippy wrap? yup, this was a little bit too much even for my taste). But after you finish tightening it (which was not surprisingly that difficult – maybe because the wrap is so elastic), your toddler would probably need scissors to get out of it – it is a true “toddler prison”! Do I need to mention how supportive the wrap is? I am quite sure that it would have no problem carrying several elephants. But what really blew my mind is that it wrinkled just minimally, even though it was not broken in at all! Same as Gemini – a wrap from a whole new world that really changed basically everything I ever thought of “flat” and heavy wraps with linen.

Agossie Milkweed Nienke

Composition: 53% cotton, 31% mulberry silk, 13% lyocell, 3% cashmere

Weight: 380 g/m² declared by the manufacturer, 383 g/m² counted by us

Size: 4

Short back cross carry

Milkweed is simply stunning, both thanks to its colour and pattern, and also thanks to its slightly shiny structure – a luxurious piece at the first sight, indeed. And it also smells so nice – I have probably never held such silk with such a wonderful smell in my hand before! It is smooth and soft, but it is a true toddler piece – in contrast to Gemini you can tell by the first touch; it is very thick and someone with very narrow shoulders could probably have problems folding it there comfortably. This is no “purse piece” you pack “just in case”, not at all.

As to touch, Milkweed is quite the opposite to Origin – it is very very smooth and seem slippery while tying; however, by some magic it holds in the carry in one knot without any problems. It feels slightly elastic on the shoulders and as to its supportiveness, it is only limited by how neatly you tie the carry or which carry you choose. Honestly, my back was not comfortable at all after one hour in SBCC but it was not due to the properties of the wrap but of the carry which puts all the weight on the wearer’s shoulders (and carrying 13 kg without a “waist belt” is quite demanding even for well-trained wearers).

Hereby we want to thank the FB group Nosíme a testujeme  (i.e. Babywearing and Testing) for the opportunity to test these elegant wraps!