A useful guide to choosing which size will work best for you.
Wraps come in short, mid-length and long sizes. Where you fit in this scale depends on your body size and the size of your wrappee. You can calculate which size will fit you as your ‘long’ or your ‘short’ wrap by firstly working out your base size.
Standard wrap sizes for Firespiral are sizes 2-8. See our size guide here.
Short wraps can be considered as your ‘base size minus 4’ or ‘base minus 3’. (Example if your base size is 6, your short wrap will be size 2 or 3).
Here are some of the benefits of short wraps.
Mid-length wraps can be considered as base size minus 1 or 2 (Example: base size 7 will have a mid-length wrap sized 5 or 6).
Here are some of the benefits of mid-length wraps
Long wraps can be considered as base or base plus 1.
Here are some of the benefits of long wraps
These are all situations that will affect the choice of wrap length.
Firstly, How do you wish to use your wrap? Your options are:
Front carry
Back Carry
Hip Carry
Secondly, Who will you be carrying? Your options are (most commonly):
Newborn
Toddler
Preschooler
Our table below should help you to choose!
Newborn | Bigger baby | Toddler | |
front | Short, mid, long | Mid, long | Long |
hip | Not recommended* | Short, mid, long | Short, mid, long |
back | Mid, long | Short, mid, long | Short, mid, long |
As you can see from this table, there are a lot of options available with woven wraps!
Most sizes can be used in most situations. It comes down to personal preference and willingness to learn new carries.
There are a few situations where it is easier to say which length would work better.
Long wraps are better for carries that are going to be long – more layers tend to equal more comfort. Long wraps are also better for tying fancy finishes or carrying multiple children. Long wraps are also an excellent choice for new wrappers, wrappers of newborns and for wrappers who want just one wrap to last throughout their babywearing life!
Short wraps tend to be more convenient for up-and-down toddlers (as they fold down nice and small or can be worn as a scarf).
Having said this, all sizes offer front, back and hip carrying options. Wearing Wiki is a great resource for finding out about all the carries that can be done with each wrap size.
*the definition of a hip carry is a carry where one leg of the baby is on either side of the adult. This is not recommended for newborns as there is a greater chance of over-spreading their legs. For this reason, an off-centre front carry would be a better option in this situation.
