A scarf, wrap or shawl, whatever you want to call it, will become one of the hardest working pieces of knitwear you own – you just may not know it yet! I was first introduced to a ‘wrap’ when I was trying to find something elegant to wear over a beautiful dress I was wearing to a mid-winter ball at Chateau Tongariro. I must have googled it and came across something known as a wrap. Yeh, I’d heard of a scarf, but never a wrap! Turns out a wrap is just a super large scarf, more a blanket, but not quite.
ELEGANT / DRESS UP
I’d been dabbling in knitwear for a few years and decided to make make my own wrap for the ball. When I made the first prototype in black, I was delighted with the result and received many compliments. I have also found these to be trans-seasonal as they can be worn in the evening just about all year round in New Zealand, except for perhaps the warmest few weeks of summer.
WARM / DRESS DOWN
Some time later I was heading out to one of the kids hockey games on a cold winters night. It was freezing. I pulled out my wrap and looped it around my neck as many times as possible, slipped on my coat and headed out. Bingo, its amazing how warm you are when your neck is encased in a merino-cashmere sandwich. I even pulled it up over my head to buffer the feeling of the cold fabric of my raincoat. After that I was thinking I had discovered something truly great and I grab it every time I know I’m going to get cold. I hate being cold - I should have been born in a mediterranean climate!
TRAVEL BUDDY
Travel wrap? Sometimes its called a travel wrap, now I know why. I throw mine in the suitcase on every road trip, because they take up so little room and because they're so damn soft. I have a tendency to underestimate how cold it can get in New Zealand and don’t always pack enough warm clothes. Worst case scenario (which has actually happened) I didn't bring my down jacket but I bought my rain jacket and just draped the wrap around my neck and spread it over my chest, zipped up my raincoat and bingo my neck and chest are warm. It worked a treat.
They are pretty handy for aeroplane travel – throw it in your tote or wear it to the airport and once on the plane roll it up and use as a pillow or open it out and use it as a blanket. Once at your destination wear it as a scarf by day and drape it over your shoulders for a night out.
A POP OF COLOUR The best thing about these wraps are how luxurious and stylish they look and how for a colour shy person like me, a pop of colour in the form of a wrap lets me dip my toes into the world of colour without going all the way. To summarise the 4 ways I use my wrap most are: 1. Going to a formal occasion like a dinner, wedding, work function and need something elegant to wear around my shoulders. 2. Looped around my neck on any really cold day in winter. 3. Travel buddy, something warm to cuddle on the aeroplane and something elegant or warm to wear when you get there. 4. As a pop of colour to brighten any outfit.
Our cashmere merino scarves/wraps are lightweight, super-soft, machine washable and come in tons of colours, about 20 at present and are made from premium quality cashmere-merino blend yarn, carefully selected from our supplier in Italy. All made in NZ of course and supporting local businesses along the way.