How do I decide my base size in woven wraps?

Have Fun with Wrapping - what can I do with wraps that aren't my base size?

You may be wondering about your woven wrap base size if you’re new to the world of woven wraps. We look at what base size means, how to decide your size and what you can do with other sizes.

What Does Base Size mean?

There are lots of different ways to tie a woven wrap and these may require different lengths of wrap. A Front Wrap Cross Carry (FWCC) is a basic carry that most people first learn. The length of wrap you need to comfortably tie this carry is known as your base size. Most people’s base sizes are between a size 5 - 8.

A Guide to Choosing Your Base Size

If you haven’t used a woven before you can get an idea based on your clothing size.

As you can see this is just a guide and many people may fall between two sizes. For example, if two people were a UK size 10 one may be able to comfortably use a size 5, but the other a size 6. If you’re an EU 42 you may be a size 6 or a size 7. And those who are an XL could choose between a size 7 or size 8.

Base size is definitely personal preference and many factors can influence which size you should choose. 

Things to consider include:

• Age and size of child your carrying - you may want to size up if you’re carrying a preschooler.
• Your body shape - an hourglass shaped size 10 may need a bigger size than someone with a pear/triangular shape.
• Height - if you’re under 5’ or over 5’10” you may need to size down or up.
• Experience - as you become more experienced you may find you need slightly less length to tie off a carry.
• If you like especially long or short tails.

We asked our customers what their base size is and how this relates to their clothing size. We received just over 100 responses and it was clear that there is no definitive answer.

The base size people use and their clothing size

*All clothing sizes were converted to UK dress size to make it easier to represent, but opinions came from customers in over 20 countries.

You can see that from this graph the overlap across the different base sizes. For example, customers wearing dress size 12 chose a variety of sizes; 5, 6 and 7 as their base size.

So with a these different factors to consider…

How Do I Decide My Base Size?

Shop Base Size Woven Wraps

Our Wrap Size Guide is a great place to start to give you an idea of which size to choose. You can then look at the different factors which may affect your decision and get an idea of how accurate this may be for you. 

It’s important to remember that woven wraps are very versatile and you can do lots of different carries with different sizes. You can also adapt carries using sling rings.

So, if you have a wrap that you’re struggling to use because it’s not quite your base size, don’t despair. We asked our customers what their favourite size of wrap was and here’s what they told us - 

There’s a wide range of preferences because there are so many different carries you can try.  We asked what their favourite carry to do with their base size is and here are the carries they loved:

Double Hammock, Front Wrap Cross Carry, Secure High Back Carry, Ruck, Front Cross Carry, Front Double Hammock, Giselle's Carry, Russian Jordan's Back Carry, Lola's Back Carry, Charlie's Cross Carry, Anne's Front Cross Carry, Norwegian Wriggle Proof, Wendy's Double Hammock, Kangaroo Carry and  Miriam's Cross Carry.

And customers who liked Base size-2 mentioned these carries as their favourite:

Ruck with lots of variations, Robins Hip Carry, Shepherds,  Kangaroo, Half Jordans, Twisted Pirate, Front Wrap Cross Carry variations, Double Hammock variations, and Poppins Hip Carry.

Customers who liked using Base size+1, the second most popular size, liked doing carries with fancy finishes.

Double Hammock with a Xena Finish is done with Base+1 -

Have Fun with Wrapping

You could find a carry that works for you in most sizes, with a little experimentation and practise. So if the wrap you have isn’t your base size, don't panic, you might find another size works even better for your family.

Using a larger size is possible, you will simply be left with longer tails or will be able to experiment with more complicated carries and fancy finishes. 

Using a shorter size may mean changing the style of carry you use, or adapting your favourite. There are hundreds of carries to experiment with and you're sure to find one which suits you and your little one.

It can be great fun trying different ways of wrapping and getting creative. Check out our YouTube Channel for more ideas. As long as you ensure you do your safety checks then you can really enjoy experimenting with creative ways to babywear. 

Join our free online babywearing courses

Further Reading:
Why would I buy different size wraps
What is my wrap base size