U gostujućem postu naše drage Helene Tkalčević, poznatije pod pseudonimom Marta Kokica, saznat ćemo nešto više o tkanoj marami novog švedskog branda Sjala. Recenzija slijedi…
[Please scroll down for a translation in English]
Sjalu sam otkrila nakon što sam u jednoj grupi vidjela cowl (šal/ ovratnik) napravljen od njihove tkane marame All Of These Lines Latte. Riječ je o novijem švedskom brendu koji se na babywearing tržištu pojavio s visokokvalitetnim elastičnim maramama s merino vunom, a ubrzo su krenuli i s tkanim maramama. U želji da doznam više o ovom, meni dotad nepoznatom brendu, učlanila sam se u njihovu grupu na Facebooku i počela pratiti njihov rad.
Nije prošlo mnogo vremena i napokon sam dobila priliku isprobati jednu njihovu tkanu maramu. Javila sam se na post u kojem su u grupi tražili testere i, nekim divnim čudom, moje se ime našlo na popisu izabranih. S obzirom na moj vrlo veliki interes očekivanja su mi bila velika, a letvica visoko postavljena. Tome doprinosi i činjenica da je maloprodajna cijena testirane marame u vel. 6 (4,6 m) 370 eura, tj. naime toliko stoji marama istog sastava i težine u drugim bojama. Cijenu za sada nije moguće drugačije odrediti budući da Rowan Viride još nije pušten u prodaju, te da je tržište HE (high end) tkanih marama na koju se Sjala pokušava ubaciti već prilično zasićeno.
Nije prošlo dugo, a prema Zagrebu je krenuo Rowan Viride, prekrasna i sjajna marama s 15% kašmira težine oko 290 g/m². Bio je to prvi put da sam probala kašmir, a najbliže što imam za usporedbu je marama s 27% merino vune.
Čim sam je izvadila iz crne platnene vrećice sa Sjalinim logotipom osupnula me njezina ljepota i sjaj. Bila je nešto teža od drugih marama koje sam dotad probala te se mogla vidjeti razlika u kvaliteti spram, recimo, niže ili srednje rangiranih proizvođača. Boju ove marame nije lako opisati, riječ je o jednoj vrlo neutralnoj pjeskovitoj bež boji, koja na trenutke, ovisno o svjetlu, djeluje roskasto i ima nevjerojatan sjaj. Na toj sjajnoj podlozi nalaze se listići vrlo neobične sive boje koja vuče pomalo na maslinastu. Inače Sjali je kao inspiracija za ovu liniju i njezin naziv poslužio list stabla rowan, vrlo zastupljenog u hladnoj švedskoj klimi, opjevanog i u nordijskoj mitologiji.
Na prvu, marama djeluje vrlo elegantno i, usudila bih se reći, svečano, te bi je bez problema mogli nositi i na vlastitom vjenčanju. Težine je oko 290 gsm, no ne djeluje predebelo i nije teško s njom rukovati. Iako nimalo ne “pika”, pod rukom se može osjetiti da nije riječ samo o pamuku, već da je izrađena od vlakana i neke “dlakavije” životinje.
A kako se mota? Kao san. Čak i kad sam je prvi put uzela u ruke bez problema sam s njom smotala Double Hammock, jedan od mojih omiljenih vezova sa šesticom. Sloj preko sloja nije zapinjao, a nakon zatezanja sve je kliznulo na mjesto te je držalo i u dužoj šetnji. Iako je, kako smo spomenuli, nešto deblja od standarda, to se ne osjeti kod zatezanja te se naramenice vrlo lako plisiraju. Stigla mi je prilično meka, ne “mekana kao putar”, no ima potencijala to postati nakon što se, daljnjom upotrebom, potpuno slomi. Vrlo brzo sam primijetila da joj fali “lomljenja” i da niti nisu još potpuno rastegnute jer bi moj model nakon početnog zatezanja upao malo dublje u maramu i spustio se nešto niže te ostao na toj visini. Inače riječ je o vrlo živahnom 14-mjesečnom dječaku kojeg nosim otkad se rodio i koji se jako voli naginjati, a svaku će rupu ili šlampavo zatezanje iskoristiti kako bi se pokušao osloboditi iz marame. Ovo što sam spomenula nije klasičan “sagging” koji se javlja kod nekih marama, jednostavno, Rowan još nije do kraja razrađen.
Ima vrlo dobru dijagonalnu elastičnost, ne preveliku i odličan omjer gripa i “glidea”. Bila je vrlo udobna i davala dobru potporu u DH, no to i nije neko iznenađenje budući da je to vez u kojem većina marama daje prilično dobru podršku te je pravi test zapravo kako će držati u jednoslojnim vezovima. Rowan nije iznevjerio ni u običnom rucku. Moja najdraža varijacija je ruksak vezan tibetan knotless završetkom. Čak i u samo jednom sloju Rowan je bio vrlo udoban, i iako nije cushy kao merino kojeg imam, vrlo je dobro držao težinu s mojih ramena. Vjerujem da bi tako bilo i nakon duže šetnje, te da bi marama dobro držala i većeg gegavca od mog koji sad ima oko 11 kilograma. Dojam je bio još bolji u varijaciji Double Hammocka vezanog na ramenu sa CCCB-om (candy cane chest belt). U tom se vezu pokazalo i kako marama ima jaku “čarobnu prašinu”, koja je u kratkom vremenu, omamila i moju veliku bebu.
Zanimalo me i hoće li marama imati dovoljno gripa kako bi držala klizni čvor što sam testirala u varijaciji FWCC-a (Front Wrap Cross Carry) koji sam vezala na ramenu. Klizni čvor je držao dobro, a marama se kroz njega mogla lako zatezati, odnosno nije zapinjala. I u ovom vezu, u jednom sloju, naprijed, davala nam je dovoljno potpore. Ne mogu reći da je čvor bio malen, al nije bio velik i nezgrapan kakvi znaju biti kod debljih i težih marama.
Sve u svemu, ovo je odlična tkana marama, koja bi, po mom mišljenju, najbolje zasjala u veličinama 4+.
Jedini prigovor mogao bi ići na porub, koji na jednom mjestu malo “pleše” te gornji i donji kraj nisu zašiveni na isti način, kao da se krojačica koja je porubila maramu nije mogla odlučiti koju metodu primijetiti (to je, pogađate, primijetila Iris, ja vjerojatno ne bi ni skužila). Također, oznaka sredine (middle marker) nije točno na sredini nego je pomaknuta za nekoliko centimetara. Sve to, u konačnici, ne utječe na ljepotu marame kao ni na svojstva vezanja (eng. WQ, wrapping qualities).
Rowan Viride bit će puštena u prodaju kao tkana marama vrlo dobre kvalitete, a izvrsnu kvalitetu koju i zaslužuje Sjali će donijeti nova krojačica.
Translation in English
I discovered Sjala after seeing a cowl made of All Of These Lines Latte in one group. It was love at first sight so I knew right away I needed to find out more about this brend. It is a swedish manufacter that is relatively new on babywearing items market. They started with high quality merino strechy wrap and graduately started releasing woven wraps.
I joined their Facebook group, started keeping track of their work and soon got an opportunity to test one of their georgeous wraps. I was so excited to find out I was chosen among a group of people to test their new blend. It was Rowan Viride, a beautiful wrap with just a touch of cashmere (15 percent). My expectations were high, not only because I really love their work but also because they have been succesfull in grabbing a piece of the fast growing HE wraps market. Also the retail price for Rowan Viride is around 370 euro (that was the price of Rowan Astrantia, wrap in same blend and weight as Viride).
It didn’t take long and Rowan was on its way to Zagreb. As far as I know it is the first Sjala to travel to Croatia. It was also the first time I tried a woven wrap with cashmere. Closest thing I have to compare the wrapping qualities is my merino wool blend.
Viride is said to be around 290 GSM and althogh it does feel heavier then most of my wraps it doesn’t feel too thick. As soon as I took it out of the black bag with Sjala logo I was astouned by it’s beauty. It’s shimmer is unreal. The color is really difficult to describe, it varies in the light from sandy beige to “pinkish” with grey leaves that almost look olive. As an inspiration for this design Sjala looked at the leaves of the rowan tree that is rather common in rough Swedish climate and has been mentioned in the nordic mythology.
At first, the wrap looks very elegant, you could easily wear it with a wedding dress or even as a wedding dress. Even though it’s not itchy at all, you can feel it’s not only cotton, and that there’s a “hairy” animal fibers hiding inside. It was soft, but not “kitten belly” soft. I need to point out I am only the second tester so the wrap hasn’t had much use before I got it, so I think it will get so much softer with more use and love.
So, how does it wrap? Like a dream. It is very easy to work with even when you are wrapping for the very first time. I have tried it first in a Double Hammock, one of my favorite size 6 back carries. I had no trouble getting the second layer over the first. It has a good amount of grip and glide, so it glides easily into place and stays there without sagging or having to adjust the carry. It held great in one hour walk and was very comfortable. It pleats well and, even if it’s not as cushy as my merino, it kept the weight away from my shoulders. I did notice it still needs a bit of breaking in because my wrapee did sink a bit into a wrap, but it was only because the fibers are still streching and they are not yet fully broken in. I forgot to mention that my wrapee is now 14 months old and has about 11 kilograms. He is also a leaner and a wrigler and will try to escape the wrap if you don’t thighten correctly and leave him enough slack.
It has a very good diagonal strech, not too much, but I’m guessing it will gain some more strech when it is fully broken in. It felt even better in a DH variation tied at shoulder with CCCB. In that carry the wrap proved to have strong sleepy dust as the baby was out in less than 10 minutes.
The real question was how it will hold in single layer carries. Even in a simple ruck Rowan did not dissapoint. I tried my favorite variation, tied tibetan knotless finish and it was still very comfortable. I believe it was be just as comfortable with a bigger baby in a longer walk. Next thing I wanted to see is whether it would hold a slipknot. To test that we tried a variation of FWCC tied at shoulder with a slipknot. It had enough grip for knot to stay in place but it was easy to thighten through it. I can’t say the knot is small but it was not too bulky either. It was also very supportive in a one layer front carry.
Overall, Rowan Viride is an excellent wrap and my opinion is that you get good value for your money. I would recommend it in 4+ sizes, not because I think it would not be a good shorty but because I believe it shines in longer size carries especially if you like longer tails.
The only remark would be about the seam on the rails. In one place, as my friend noticed and pointed out to me, it “wobbles” a bit and the ends on the tails aren’t finished in the same way, as if the seamstress could’t make up her mind which method to use. Also the middle marker was slightly off center. This is only a tester and none of these things can actually be considered as flaws since they have no effect on the beauty of the wrap or the wrapping qualities.
Rowan Viride will be sold as a second quality wrap. The new seamstress will give Sjala’s wraps the first quality they deserve.
Nošenje beba (i djece) 