Oh hello! We're busy over here in the watermelon patch soaking up the last few days of summer before school starts (full day kindergarten! sob!). One of the constant on our adventures these past few weeks has been Natibaby Kurpie Chic, courtesy of Marsupial Mamas. Is there anything like linen for summer? I don't think so!

Kurpie Chic is a 25% linen/75% cotton blend which means it is both supportive and breathable -- thin, but never diggy on the shoulders. (In fact, it reminds me a lot of my favorite hemp/cotton blend, Didymos Deep Blue Sea Fish.) It's got good glide, with the passes sliding into place and though I don't feel much microtexture when I rub it between my fingers I have never noticed or worried about things starting to sag. Because of this, I find myself reaching for it when I know I'm going to be outside for a while, being active and not in a position to stop and re-wrap, like on our picnic to Fort Monroe last weekend, where a friend shot these photos.

Kurpie Chic has done great in every carry I've tried it in (from a simple ruck to Maxine's Back Carry to Charlie's Cross Carry), but in my opinion, it shines as the perfect double hammock, as it's got a lot of recoil without being constraining. It's a 6, which is size base -1 for me, but wraps long because of its thinness and moldability -- I find myself being able to do lots of base size carries in it. Very versatile, which is appreciated.

On our picnic it got passed around a bit, and was used on all size babies and even wrapped a bump! I'd recommend it for any wrapper, of any experience level -- it's the perfect all-purpose wrap and would be great in a minimalist stash or as a wrap to last from newborn to toddlerhood. Just be sure you put in the time with it -- Kurpie chic came to me washed and prepped and fairly soft but basically melted the more work I did breaking it in.

Thanks to Marsupial Mamas for letting us play with this beautiful carrier! You can check out their entire selection of Natibaby, including some gorgeous exclusives, here.

A few more from our day of fun:




 Good luck to everybody starting school tomorrow!

To me, summer means stripes and our latest tester wrap from Marsupial Mamas, their exclusive Girasol Titan's Rainbow, is a gorgeous striped beauty that fits the bill. Titan's Rainbow is the sister wrap to Marsupial Mamas' previous Girasol exclusive, Cosmic Rainbow, but with a white weft that makes the colors feel light and airy and fresh while Cosmic Rainbow is darker and moodier. The wrap I tried was a size 6, which for me, is a base -1.

This wrap showed up just as I began to study for the VBE test and it couldn't have arrived at a better time. As I practice and perfect the different carries I need something moldable and easy to work with and this is definitely it. Titan's Rainbow is soft, floppy, flat in hand and thin with very little stretch. Passes glide and lock into place but the wrap is not overly grippy or slippery.

We wore Titan's Rainbow out and about a good amount while we had it. On a hot, 90+-degree day in Colonial Williamsburg it was comfortably airy, and it made a high, long-lasting ruck and supportive one-shoulder hip carry with my 20-pound baby. I did find that if I was going to wear Gus in a back carry for more than 40 minutes or so at a time, sandwiching the shoulders or tying Tibetan made it feel more comfortable on my (admittedly picky) shoulders. It makes a fantastic tight chest pass in double hammock or shepherd's carry, and a small, neat chest belt in pirate's carry with CCCB.




I would recommend Titan's Rainbow for a beginner wrapper (the stripes make it SO easy to keep track of rails), for the parent of a newborn looking for something that can grow with their baby, or for the active caregiver who wants something that can stand up to sun, sand, and water and isn't very pull prone.

Also: epic beach wrap alert! It has those summery stripes, after all.

Thanks to Marsupial Mamas for letting us try this beautiful wrap.