Glossary of Wrap Terms & Acronyms
Glossary of frequently used terms:
Airy - A wrap with a loose weave will have airy qualities, breathable.
Bounce - A wrap that has bounce will have a little stretch, recoil, and a touch of cush. Bounce is related to stretch. They key difference is that when stretched, a bouncy wrap will ‘recover’ or spring back (to varying degrees). See Stretch.
Blankety - A wrap that is thick and warm. Can also be a wider width. Usually has a close, tight weave. Blankety wraps tend to feel warmer when wearing. See Dense.
Broken thread - Typically, a pull that gets caught on something and breaks. Broken threads may be fixed by knotting them off and weaving in the loose ends.
Colorway - The color family of a warp; the colors and design down the length of the warp.
Cush - A wrap with a soft, marshmallow like quality.
Dry - The opposite of soapy. Feels like taking moisture from skin. Chalk.
Dense - A wrap that is considered dense will have a tight weave, not airy.
Fancy finish - A wrap finish that shows off the tails in a fancy way, such as a Saltwater Finish, Date Night Finish, Candy Cane Chest Belt, Pond Finish.
Glide - Smooth. A wrapping quality that makes for easy passes.
Granny Knot - Right over Left, Then left over right. A basic knot.
Grip - Sticky. A wrapping quality that holds knots such as half knots and slipknots well.
Hip scoot - A way to get a baby on your back, typically used for older babies.
Kangaroo - A carry that consists of a seat, and the fabric spread over your child’s back, tails going over both shoulders.
Leaner - A wrappee who leans away from the wearer, may lean back or to the side.
Leg straightener/seat popper - A wrappee who pops their seat will not remain in the “M” position, they will push their legs straight down as if they are standing up. May “fall out” of some carries by removing the bottom rail from beneath their bum.
Loom - A device used to weave cloth.
Loom state - A wrap taken directly off of the loom and has not yet been washed.
Middle marker - A small tag or wrapped rail placed in the middle of a wrap’s length to show where the center of a wrap is located. A middle marker will always be on the top rail and sometimes the bottom rail.
Mold-ability - A mouldable wrap holds closely to your own and your baby’s bodies, following the shapes and curves. It is supple, malleable and has a fluid drape.
Nub - A lump or thick piece of yarn in the weave, a common cosmetic flaw, especially with handwoven wraps and certain wrap blends.
Pop-able Carry - A pop-able carry is a carry that can be pre-tied. Then baby can be popped in and out of the carry as needed.
Pulls - A loop that comes away from your wrap but is still connected and in one piece. Some fibres and weave structures may be more prone to pulls. Pulls can typically be fixed and are cosmetic.
Reinforced - A pass that is spread out across a baby rather than folded or bunched.
Rails - The rails of the wrap are the top and bottom edges or hems of the wrap.
Ring finish - A sling ring is used to complete a knot (where two tails come together).
Ruck - A quick and easy back carry, great for beginners.
Santa toss - A way to get a baby on a wearers back & is recommended for young babies. Not recommended for beginner wrappers.
Seat - The fabric between the wrappee and wearer that creates hammock for baby to sit in.
Shepherds - A multipass back carry that uses two horizontal passes and a chest pass.
Shorty - a wrap that is 3 or 4 sizes smaller than base size.
Shoulder flip - A wrapping technique; at the shoulder the wrap is taken and flipped. This is used to help secure the warp and to create and spread the tension and weight.
Strand by Strand - A tightening technique where the wrapper tightens each inch of the width of the wrap one at a time rather than pulling on the whole tail to tighten.
Stretch - Stretch is the elasticity of a wrap – how it stretches out as you are pulling to tighten it. See Bounce.
Superman toss - A way to get a baby on a wearers back.
Supportive - A wrap that easily holds weight without slipping or sagging. Solid.
Square Knot - Right over Left, then Left over right. A nice simple knot that gets tighter as it bears more weight.
Slip Knot - a knot that slips along the wrap tail around which the knot is made.
Thick - “This Wrap feels ‘Thick’ in-Hand.” Feels weighty, substantial between your fingers, and when holding it. Produces a large chunky knot. Opposite of Thin. See Blankety.
Thin - “This wrap feels ‘thin’ in-hand.” Feels lightweight, fine between your fingers and while holding it. Produces small dainty knot. Opposite of thick.
Towel shimmy - A wrapping technique that’s used to help get a horizontal pass or second back pass up and over babies bum, up their back and to the shoulder. This is accomplished by grabbing the top rail of the wrap like a towel and shimmying it up over your child’s bottom.
Warp - The vertical threads of a wrap.
Weavers Knot - A weavers knot is made when the weaver attaches the ends of a thread together during the weaving process. Thread is not unlimited and may run out during the weaving process. This is how weavers continue weaving the wrap, they just tie a knot and continue on. Weavers knots are common in all woven wraps. This is not a flaw and are to be expected.
Weft - The horizontal threads. One weft thread runs throughout the warp to bind them together.
Wet finish - The process of washing and drying a woven cloth for the first time.
Wiggle proof - Wiggle proof passes are cross passes that are wrapped in an upward direction (starting from under the leg, spreading the pass over baby’s back, and then coming over the shoulder). Some people also call these “leg passes” because they go under the leg.
Wrapping quality - The general feel of a fabric and the way it wraps. Soapy, dry, saggy, grippy, cushy.
Acronyms:
CHCC - Coolest Hip Cross Carry
CCCB - Candy Cane Chest Belt
DH - Double Hammock
FCC - Front Cross Carry
FWCC - Front Wrap Cross Carry
HJBC - Half Jordan’s Back Carry
IOCHCC - Inside Out Coolest Hip Cross Carry
JBC - Jordan’s Back Carry
PWCC - Pocket Wrap Cross Carry
RR - Reinforced Ruck
RRR - Reinforced Rear Rucksack
SBCC - Short Back Cross Carry
STIH - Soft Tape In Hand
TAS - Tied At Shoulder
TSC - Traditional Sling Carry
TUB - Tied Under Bum
WPBC - Wiggle Proof Back Carry