Review from Nerdy Black Mom
Apple Blossom Wovens sent me their Midnight Sky Kaleidoscope Royal (aka “MSK Royal”) as part of their traveling wrap program. This is their Midnight Sky warp featuring a gradient from a rich pinkish purple fading to a deep midnight blue with small streaks of magenta and white. Royal features a royal blue weft woven in ABW’s new Kaleidoscope weave, an intricate pattern that when you look at it closely it creates the feel of looking through… well… a kaleidoscope.
How Does It Look?
Some wraps are classic. Some elegant. Some scream glam while others invoke the feeling of your favorite fandom. Meanwhile, MSK Royal ignites the imagination. The color gradient of the warp perfectly recreates the colors of the sky at midnight, with a hint of purple at the horizon for good measure. The kaleidoscope weave pattern then takes this wrap’s beauty to another level. The intricate and ever-changing pattern of the royal blue across the weft creates the feeling of being in a nebula as new stars are being created. The streaks of white created by the “floats” in the weave become the streaks of starlight as you approach light speed in your starship of choice. Midnight Sky takes you on an interstellar adventure. To me it brings back memories of stargazing with my dad on a clear summer night and daydreaming of one day joining Starfleet and traveling at warp speed while watching episodes of Star Trek. MSK Royal is beautiful, breathtaking, and downright mesmerizing.
How Does It Feel?
Apple Blossom Wovens is known for creating machine woven wraps that feel like handwovens, and MSK Royal is no exception. The thick threads and small floats interspersed through the weave create a feeling of a cushy handwoven. MSK is fairly thick in hand and blankety soft. Despite being thick, the weave is surprisingly airy. My tester was a base+2, so there was a lot of fabric and it was a little hot while doing our “Can I vacuum the house in it?” Test, but I imagine that as a shorty or mid-range wrap it would not overwhelm you.
Texture-wise it is a delightful middle ground of dry and soapy. It’s not too silky smooth, but it’s also not rough. When you run your hands across it it reminds you of your favorite woven blanket or scarf. It is not irritating in the slightest against bare skin. It is reminiscent of ABW’s linen/cotton blend Soulshine Magenta (link), only it lacks that little bit of toughness that the linen gave Soulshine. However, it is still wonderfully sturdy. It creates thick, cushy, soft ruck straps and molds easily to you and your wearee’s bodies.
Is It Comfortable?
MSK Royal is decidedly worthy of toting around a 30lb toddler! While it may be Soulshine Magenta’s gentler, bluer cousin, it still can hold its own. I could wear NMB all day in this wrap. The thick cushy shoulders and lovely moldability that I mentioned above make for a wrap job that doesn’t start to rub you the wrong way or irritate you over time. I would wrap myself in this on the daily, if I could. Would that be weird? I’ll answer that for you. No.
On the grip-glide ratio, MSK Royal once again is the perfect middle ground. Since this was a base+2 I did multi-pass carries almost exclusively. It was easy to maneuver even with extra length. I could work the second and third passes of my carries into place with ease and do little micro adjustments later on without being hampered by too much grip. However, there was still just enough grip for the passes to stay in place once I got them where I needed them to be. It’s got a nice bit of diagonal stretch. Not super ace bandage stretch, but enough to create a feeling of the wrap hugging you and your baby with its blankety softness.
Care and Keeping
MSK Royal is 100% cotton. I’ve washed it twice already and it is as simple as a wash on cold/delicate and a tumble dry on low. YES you can tumble dry this wrap! I received this wrap already washed and dried, though if you get one new you will have to follow ABW’s instructions to wash it to set the weave. Don’t skip this step. Don’t. The slightly looser weave of this wrap that gives it its signature look and feel can make it a little pull-prone, but it is very easy to work a pull back into place if it does happen to get snagged on a ring, zipper, or broken nail. I would not let that deter you from trying this wrap.
The Verdict (aka TL;DR)
Pros:
Beautiful!!!!
Seriously the color and weave spark the imagination
Sturdy and toddler-worthy
Moldable enough for a smaller baby
Blankety soft
Nice balance of grip to glide
Not too dry not too soapy
Easy Care
Cons
Loose weave structure can be a bit pull prone
May get a bit hot in multi-layer carries
I cannot get enough of Midnight Sky Royal and am anxiously awaiting its release so I can get one for myself. Apple Blossom Wovens has figured out a way to capture starlight within a woven wrap. It’s easy to work with, feels soft and comfy in hand, is soft enough for a squish but strong enough for a toddler. This is a wrap that can take you through the entirety of your babywearing years and then snuggle you once your babywearing days are over.
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