Mrs Mária Nagy is simply a legend in the Czech-Slovak world of hand-woven wraps – once you enter it, it is virtually a must to own one NAMAK or at least try a few on your own shoulders. As I wrote in the article about the HamaMama wraps – every HW wrap is an original, usually custom-made and woven according to the requests of its future owner; therefore it is possible that its properties may not be the right fit for everyone. These two particular wraps were custom-made too, and hereby we want to thank their owner for the opportunity to try them. Right fit or not, in this case there is nothing to discuss – as to the properties, these two pieces are basically perfect, in (not only) my opinion.

Night Flowers

Composition: Tencel/bamboo

Weight: 313 g/m² (counted by us)

Size: 7 (511 cm measured by us)

Rucksack carry/Tibetian knotless finish

I say it every time I encounter this blend – the heavier my child is, the less I prefer wraps with Tencel (and boy, I really wanted to like some of them!). But to be honest, the more wraps I tie and try, the more I am sure that the only thing I know is that I know nothing. 😀 In case of Night Flowers, it is probably the combination of Tencel and bamboo that makes this wrap a babywearing fairytale.

I must say that the weight I counted surprised me quite a bit (although it is probably not quite accurate – try to count the exact weight of a wrap with fringes and applications! 😀 ) – however, not that much in the end. Tencel tends to do this – that a wrap feels quite heavy in one’s hand despite being thin. Sometimes it makes the wrap feel like a flat, heavy blanket, but this is not the case of Night Flowers. This beauty is fluffy, soft and easy to tie and tighten – one of our experienced fellow-wearers managed to tie even a tiny newborn weighting less than 3,5 kilos without any problems. It held in the carry even in one knot and it was an utter pleasure to wear it with my 10kg toddler.

Regarding its looks, this wrap really makes justice to its name – it is dark, but very subtle and feminine at the same time thanks to the embodied flowers, while the metallic fibres looking like drops of midnight dew make it a real woven gem.

Magical Song

Composition: cotton/bamboo

Weight: 402 g/m² counted by us

Size: 6 (469 cm measured by us)

Front cross carry

Let’s have cup of brutally honest tea – hand-woven wraps sometimes look more or less bio-eco-fairtrade-out-of-the-woods-like. Some call it “natural look”, “earthy colours”, “pattern drawn by the hand-dyed weft”. Yes, such a wrap does not deny its hand-woven origin – on the contrary, it basically screams that it is no lame machine-woven product but a unique piece, one of its kind.

I might have finally given the right name to my problem that prevents me from being a part of the HW community to the full (although I own several HW beauties myself). I just cannot be honestly excited about a wrap that looks like a dirty curtain (at least from the distance) while on the other hand, I always consider that for the weaver and the owner it is a unique piece that has a soul, at least a half of heart, a hectolitre of morning dew and about a hundred pages from a fairy songbook woven in between the threads. I reeealy do not want to sound mean – on the contrary, I feel quite sorry that I cannot say much positive or at least diplomatic about something that a very particular someone invested tens, maybe hundreds of hours in. Of course, there are many ugly machine-woven wraps (or better said, wraps generally considered ugly by most people) but, well, a machine does not have feelings… 

Magical Song is also unique, but in a completely different sense of this word. The subtle rectangle-waves make probably the most beautiful pattern I have every seen in a hand-woven wrap and the dark weft creates almost a psychedelic 3D effect together with the rainbow warp. Every time you tie this wrap, it looks a little bit different; it almost seems that it changes with every move and every ray of light. The embroided middle markers are just a sweet cherry on this delicious cake. If you look for a true woven gem, your search is over – this is it.

It is a really thick piece, not only “on the paper”. No newborn spider-web, nothing suitable for tiny babies and beginner-wearers. It is a true toddler fatty capable of supporting a herd of elephants. However, it is no thick heavy blanket that would stand alone if put in a corner, but a soft pliable cushy sweetheart – I am quite sure that no-one would guess its weight above 400 gsm; I certainly held many wraps much less cooperative and pleasant in the carry with much lower weight than this one. Yes, you need to pull tight while tying it, but once you tie it, it does now move an inch, does not slide much and feels a little bit elastic in the carry. It does not sag even in single-layer carries even with a toddler (I had no problems carrying my 10kg girl in the rucksack carry) and my shoulders felt like covered by a bamboo cushion. Bamboo, that is truly a magical blend – Magical Song is not only magical when it comes to its looks, but when talking about its properties, too.

This was a wonderful, unique wrapping experience that we are very thankful for!