What I love about the Melliapis Simple Sling is the material it is made from. Its a 100% cotton, super soft, lightweight muslin material. Which results in a wonderfully soft, very light weight compact sling that is perfect against newborn skin.
But what is really magic about this material is that it is deceptively strong. Made by weaving 2 layers of material together to give a subtle waffley texture, this material is a lot stronger than you'd think from first glance. So while it is soft and light enough for the tiniest newborn, it is also more than capable of carrying older babies and even toddlers as well.
This is definitely one of my top choices for summer, as the material is so thin it really won't make you or baby hot. And not just summer, but wearing around the home or and out and about too. Even in the winter this is a great option for travelling or generally for anyone who wants an option that packs down small enough to fit into the change bag and can be put on quickly when needed.
For me this is the unique selling point of this sling - just how lightweight it is. The real beauty of ring slings is how quick they are to put on and how well they work as a "just in case" sling. So it's always irked me that so many ring slings on the market are made of quite heavy, hot material! I've spent the last 5 years trying various ones that market themselves as "lightweight" - from other thin cotton ones that made from 2 seperate layers and are difficult to use as the 2 layers get into a mess while you try to tighten the sling, to linen ones that are often diggy and rough feeling, to silk ones that again feel difficult to tighten and many more besides - and invariably I have been left disappointed. However, the Melliapis Ring Sling is totally different to these. The double weave means the layers move together and not separately. And the material is super soft and really malleable. All of which means this ring sling tightens with the greatest of ease. It is soft, light, cool AND easy to use! Finally the holy grail of my ring sling search!!
You can see just how easy it is to use in my video review here;
Another thing I love about this Sling is that it comes with Eco-friendly packaging. Not a plastic sleeve or plasticated cardboard box in sight! And the Eco packaging is matched by a truly budget friendly price! At just £40-£42 this is easily one of the cheapest slings I sell, and in terms of how long you can use it - right from newborn (even preemie) all the way through to toddler hood it definitely offers really good value for money. While really powerful for hip carries, this sling like all ring slings can be used for front and back carries too and can be awesome for breastfeeding on the go, quick pops out and sleepy transfers!
Shoulder wise, the Melliapis Simple ring Sling features a simple gathered shoulder. This means that the rings are sewn in by simply "gathering" the fabric width into the rings. This allows the fabric to fan out the maximum amount over the shoulder immediately after the rings. Why is this important? Well there are various methods for sewing rings into a piece of fabric - involving gathering, pleating or combinations of the two. And each different method yields a different shoulder style, and in turn different shoulder styles suit different shaped shoulders and personal preferences. The pro of a gathered shoulder is that it can really be spread out to cup the shoulder to the max, while the con is some people really don't like the fabric spreading out that much. Particularly with thicker wraps this can feel untidy or even bulky. But again this is where this fabric comes into its own, it is so thin it doesn't feel obtrusive spread out and if you prefer a neater shoulder the fabric is thin enough you can easily fold it upwards on your shoulder to get a neater feel.
The one thing to be aware of with this sling is that from end to end it is only 1.87m long. This is a little on the short side for a ring sling (most are 2m or 2.2m in length). The advantage of the shorter length is less fabric left dangling and less fabric to roll up so packs down smaller etc. The downside is if you are plus sized this the fabric might be on the short side - leaving you with only a relatively short tail to tighten with. This sling does fit well upto at least a size 20 or 22, but I haven't tried it over this. So if you are a larger size or would like a longer length sling for another reason I'd definitely try this sling before you buy and check it is long enough for you.
All in all the Melliapis Simple Ring Sling is a very versatile, very lightweight sling with a tiny price tag. It's a great option for newborns and anyone looking for a quick, easy, packs down small option for any age baby or even toddler. Thin enough to keep you cool in summer, but snuggly enough you'll happily wear it all year round. Cost is £40-£45 and these can be purchased from Sheen Slings directly via the webshop
-Madeleine