Composition: 77 % cotton, 23 % polyester

Weight: 330 g/m² according to the manufacturer, 325 g/m² counted by us

Size: 6

Back wrap cross carry, Tibetian knotless finish

After Plectrum Neo and Tilia Chris, Caroli is the third of the Dekka wraps with neon polyester weft – praised by some, hated by others. PES (or some of its recycled variations like Repreve) is kind of a double-edged sword in wraps, in my opinion. On one hand, these wraps are easy to tie, they are usually comfortable to wear and perfectly easy-care, without the need to iron them whatsoever. On the other hand, such materials tend to develop lumps over time, mostly in fabrics with higher percentage of polyester (which is the problem of Tekhni wraps with Repreve that I otherwise love unconditionally).

Moreover, speaking from my experience, these artificial materials tend to hold in smells (both pleasant and unpleasant, of course), but maybe this is only the problem of my extra-sensitive nose. And, there are also people who physically cannot wear artificial materials because of skin conditions, for example, or have an ethical/ecological problem with them…

Neo and Chris were both among the first Dekka’s releases, about a year and a bit ago. They both became an instant hit and it is still very difficult to get one even now – pieces for sale pop up only sporadically, just as the real wrap unicorns, and there is an endless queue of potential buyers in the ISO album in the Dekka Facebook group. Caroli is no different – this one was actually sold out before its official release, on a babywearing trade fair in Prague.

I do not really want to compare Caroli to Neo, because Neo is Plectrum. All the Plectrums are denser and they just feel different while tying than the fluffy Tilias – speaking of the tying properties, wraps with Elementy pattern are closer to Tilias without any doubt.

Caroli is one of the third (ˈwinterˈ) Dekka collection, and its twill is a little bit denser – we commented on that in the review of elegant Elementy Luna. So, you can guess the outcome – Caroli is much less elastic than Chris. Chris is a wrapping delight and feels like a slightly springy cloud on your shoulders, capable of carrying three elephants and a well-fed hippo altogether. It is no wonder it is so popular among the wearers and that there are so many of them who ˈDISOˈ Chris as if there were no other wraps in the world. In my opinion, Caroli feels much thicker in your hand (but, it is really only a feeling, because the weight of the two wraps is identical) and I certainly had to put more effort in the tying than in the case of Chris – but to be honest, it was not that much more effort. It is still a great wrap; however, not suitable for beginners and probably not able to carry 3 elephants, but only two. In my eyes, Chris is unambiguously the more supportive one. I simply like slightly more elastic wraps – but the wearers who dislike such slings would certainly love Caroli. Maybe, they would not love how much it is prone to pulls, same as Chris – but this is something I got used to in Tilias and Elementy wraps a long time ago and I am willing to forgive it to them, thanks to their wonderful tying properties (and also, repairing a pull in Dekkas is a piece of cake 😉 ).

But! If I had to choose between Chris and Caroli, I would opt for Caroli – the combination with the deep black really suits the neon multicolour yarn; the anthracite in Chris (or better said, the ˈantracite effectˈ created by the black weft thread and the white warp) is not really my thing. And the Elementy pattern is also my favourite among the Dekka patterns. Why I would choose Caroli? Because the difference in the tying properties is not that abysmal that I would not be able to overlook it in Caroli. 😉

I hereby want to thank our dear fellow-wearer Dekka-holic Ivana for lending us the wrap for testing!