Review: Ankalia, Icarus -Nevaeh
Ah Nevs, where does one begin? After being a part of the Ankalia chatter group, hosting a few wraps & owning a Slate I decided I wanted my own 'loomie'.
What better place to start than the line the ladies have available in loom state (brand new)?
I hopped on, purchased my size 3 and impatiently awaited it's arrival.
When it arrived I carefully tore open the brown recycled paper which Ankalia has become known for, I was happy to have my first wrap from HQ.
Upon first inspection I noticed it is rather thin in hand, yet dense. The raised and dipped graphic pattern of Icarus added some grip and dimension.
Now admittedly, this is not a wrap that I opened and fell head over heels in love with.
In loom state it was quite dull, it sat that way for a while and I was tempted to sell it until another baby wearing friend convinced me to give it a chance.
In the wash it went. After a bath and steam iron the colours had transformed, some kind of metamorphosis. They were no longer dull and muted, yet bright and bold. Mind you, I wasn't a huge rainbow fan myself yet I can understand the sentimental meaning for mums of rainbow babies in particular. It also holds a sentimental place for mums who have overcome PND, something I had a brush with, but was lucky to overcome quite quickly.
After the wash and iron it was still crunchy, this is a wrap that requires some beating, in a FWCC and a DH tub i found it a little diggy on the shoulder's after a while.
Passes tightened easily yet occasionally there was a little dig burn in doing so.
As we travelled overseas I popped it in my bag, this became my new challenge. I tried everything; braided it, turned it into flowers, looped it upon itself, sat on it, lied on it. Hubby even joined in on the action sitting on it whenever it was around.
It took about 3 solid weeks through 4 countries to be broken in to a state I was happy with (using it as a blanket during flights helped).
Being overseas changed my perspective on Nevaeh completely. It was summer over there (whilst chilly autumn in Melbourne) so Nev took on a whole new lease on life.
It had become not only my beater, but the perfect summer beater. The bright colours looked fantastic in the summer sun. It held well in FWCC (tub), I could carry 'A' for hours in it and it would only drop marginally. It made the perfect slip knot in rebozo, the texture and grip was fantastic for holding. It even rucked, DH'd & held in Shepards like a champ.
It is now well loved, well broken in and in a state I'm happy using. So if you're thinking of buying a Nev, opt for pre-loved or put some hard yards in. Personally, I found it more difficult to break in than Velvet but I don't know how loved that was post-loom state. Definitely worth the effort though. And a little birdy told me that the ladies are close to doing their last run for Nev & Slate at Ankalia, so you'll want to grab one fast.
I would reccomend Nev for more of an intermediate wrapper, with an infant. Although a well loved one could come in handy for a newbie with a newborn.
And Apparently this is becoming my signature bw pose, as it's hubby's favourite time to snap a photo of me :P
