Babies, toddlers and young children love to seek out comfort, whether it’s a hug from their parents or snuggling up to their favourite soft blanket. So the tactile and supportive nature of sheepskin makes it a very appealing material for little ones to use and enjoy as they grow.
Practicality is always a primary concern when considering any item for your child. So sheepskins’ practical qualities such as aiding temperature regulation, being dirt resistant, flame resistant and even reducing the risk of children developing allergies - are very useful too.
Then there’s the aesthetic appeal, making sheepskins are a great addition to a baby’s nursery, a child’s playroom or bedroom.
So below is a more in-depth guide of the various ways sheepskins are great for babies and children, with some visual inspiration of where to place and how to use the fleeces.
Sheepskin is hypoallergenic and can reduce allergy risk
German researchers found babies who were came into contact with animal skins like sheepskin, in their first three months of life were much less likely to develop asthma and allergies by the time they were 10 years old.
The theory is that the microbes found in animal skin could help protect against asthma and allergies by strengthening the immune system.
Sheepskin is also gentle on your baby’s skin - due to its lanolin content - and may help heal sensitive or inflamed skin or rashes.
Sheepskins are temperature regulating
The natural temperature regulating properties of wool helps your little one to stay at the right temperature. This quality is especially helpful for newborn babies - especially those who are premature or have low birth weight - as they cannot yet regulate their own temperature.
Sheepskin's breathability naturally assists in regulating heat and moisture, keeping your baby warm and snug when the weather’s cool and comfortably dry when it’s hot.
That’s why using a sheepskin to line a buggy or pushchair is such a good choice to keep baby comfortable when out and about in all weathers.
Sheepskins are dirt, water and flame resistant
Sheepskin is naturally anti-bacterial and has self cleaning powers by retaining a natural oil called lanolin, which that resists dirt and grease. Of wool’s three layers, the second has tiny overlapping scales that rub against each other to push off the dirt.
The third layer is a protective filmy skin that helps to resist water. The core of each wool fiber - which contains a protein called keratin - can absorb 30% of its weight in moisture vapour without the sheepskin getting or feeling damp.
Unlike synthetic fibres like polar fleece made from petrochemicals, sheepskin is also more breathable (so it gets less clammy and smelly) plus its naturally flame retardant and resistant to static electricity.
A woolly fleece is very tactile and flexible, being so soft to touch and is also very supportive and cushioning. So it can create a snug and soothing cocoon-like environment to help your little one feel more safe, secure and relaxed.
Sheepskins are easily portable
With any comforting item that your baby or child is attached to, you’ll want to take it with you wherever possible to recreate a familiar environment. So it’s great that sheepskin rugs are so easy to transport between a cot and playroom, to use in your car, or to take away on holiday to provide reassuring comfort.
Inspiration for how to use sheepskins for babies and children
Now we've covered the various benefits of sheepskins for little ones, here are some lovely ideas for different places you can use fleeces...
Sheepskins are a soft surface for both rest and play, whatever the child’s age. The silky, malleable texture is great for babies and toddlers to explore and also rest upon - as a mat for when using their play gym, for example.
For older children who love sprawling on floors sheepskin rugs can provide a softer surface to relax upon, while playing or reading.
Whether you opt for a more neutral coloured nursery, or something more gender specific, sheepskins come in a range of tones the light creams and greys that fit well with most decor schemes. The texture also adds softness which really suits the nursery environment.
When parents need somewhere comfortable to sit and feed their baby - especially for those lengthy or frequent night feeds - a sheepskin is a great way to soften the surface of a nursing chair.
Image credit: Rock My Style - http://rockmystyle.co.uk/hectors-nursery/
Make a cosy reading nook
Along with some cushions and a selection of your child’s favourite story books nearby, a sheepskin rug is all you need to make a welcoming reading nook in a corner of their bedroom.
If you are browsing Pinterest for kids bedroom decor ideas, you are sure to have come across plenty of inspiring images featuring a canvas teepee style play tent. Here, sheepskins on the floor inside make these little dens even more appealing as hideaways.
Perhaps one of our favourite ways to introduce a sheepskin into a child's life is to make a fun play thing with it - a rocking sheep! A great alternative to a rocking horse, with the added tactile appeal that sheepskin can give.
We so love this idea and a few of our customers have actually done it - see Fab Fleece Fan Alice Sharple's pic below right. Isn't the final result fabulous?!!
Recommended sheepskins for children
If looking for advice on what specific sheepskin from our range to purchase for a baby or child, we would firstly recommend the white medical sheepskin. The fleece is shorn to the ideal length to be springy and supportive and is tanned using a eco-friendly, baby-safe method.
The excitement around the recent royal nuptials have shown how most people love a good wedding. It has certainly helped to set the mood for celebration this year, especially at the start of summer as we head into peak wedding season.
The royal wedding's glorious weather and stunning setting of Windsor Castle were certainly very enviable but the pressure and formality that comes with such a state occasion is something much less appealing for most couples planning to walk down the aisle.
In terms of wedding trends, relaxed and informal weddings have become much more popular, such as more bohemian and festival inspired events, set in less traditional venues such as yurts or even industrial warehouse spaces.
So here's our round up of some ideas and trends for creating and styling a more informal summer wedding, with a few sheepskins thrown in for good measure, of course ;->
Stately homes, churches and traditional venues may offer grandeur for such a big life occasion but they can also feel stuffy and dated, with less opportunity for a couple to express their individuality.
More stripped-back, industrial style spaces or warehouse weddings are becoming more popular as spaces to house the ceremony and/or reception. They provide a great blank canvas to dress and decorate exactly as desired and showcase the style and taste of the bride and groom.
Glamping inspired yurts, teepees and large bell-tents also make an updated twist on the traditional marquee for holding the reception. There are some great companies that specialise in hiring yurts for marriage celebrations across the UK - such as www.weddingyurts.co.uk
Flowers have always been the focal point of traditional weddings so it's good to see a rise in more greenery and foliage being used to decorate ceremony and reception venues - bringing in more of these elements from nature also helps to make the event itself feel more natural.
For the ceremony, how about saying the vows framed by an arch of abundant green foliage or in front of a backdrop of vertically hanging garlands made from greenery?
We love the new take on using wreaths to suit a summer event - thin metals hoops adorned with foliage that can be suspended from above to create an eye-catching, modern display.
Plant based displays can also create a more unconventional table decorations, in place of traditional floral bouquets, using potted plants or garlands of foliage like eucalyptus in table centres.
Softened indoor seating
As most event organisers use chairs that can be easily stored, they are never the most comfortable types of seats! So if you have a small gathering, you could drape light or long-haired sheepskins over the backs of individual chairs which will soften any hard edges but also add to the wedding's luxury look.
If a sheepskin on every individual chair not feasible for events with a larger guest list, then how about having them on the thrones of the bride and groom, being the special couple of the day.
Tables with individual chairs may be the typical event seating for weddings, but we like the use of long rustic wooden tables and benches which add warmth and can be softened with sheepskins or reindeer hides.
For temporary seating ideas outside a wedding or reception venue, how about simple day beds made from hay bales or wooden pallets. You can drape them in plenty of patterned Berber and sheepskin rugs or animal hides, for comfort and to make the seating area look more inviting - yet casual - place to sit.
Part of this trend towards more relaxed and individual weddings is in the food and drink choices and the rise in casual catering - where you can bring in your preferred mobile food or drink offerings to your venue.
These trucks are those you'd normally expect to see at a street market or festival event, serving wood-fired pizzas, crepes, ice creams and cocktails from vintage vans, horse boxes or converted caravans. It's another great way to add a festival style atmosphere to the day.
If you are looking to source sheepskins for your own personal wedding, or if you are a wedding planner or events venue wanting to add beautiful quality fleeces and hides to your inventory for hire, then please get in touch with Lucy direct with your requirements.
A Fabulous Fleece for The Man Behind the Curtain
We always like to showcase any interesting bespoke sheepskin projects and our latest commission was particularly exciting and unusual - a giant-sized fleece (our biggest yet) for a Michelin starred restaurant.
This very stunning and unique bespoke sheepskin, made from striking black and white mouflon fleeces, was commissioned by The Man Behind the Curtain, a cutting-edge restaurant in Leeds which was opened in 2014 by chef Michael O'Hare.
Our biggest ever bespoke sheepskin! This is by far the biggest bespoke sheepskin we've made to date, comprising of a whopping 35 skins - seven rows of five fleeces. In fact it was extremely hard to fit the whole fleece into the photograph!
As you can imagine, the final sheepskin when all the fleeces were sewn together weighed an absolute ton! It was certainly a challenge getting it packed and into transit for delivery!!
More about The Man Behind the Curtain This celebrated Leeds restaurant has a reputation for modern and highly experimental food heavily influenced by Basque and Spanish influences produce and flavours. It is currently the only restaurant in the Yorkshire city which holds a Michelin star and the second restaurant in the city to have ever been awarded one.
Striking decor in modern monochrome The restaurant takes its name from a line in The Wizard of Oz and its decor is as striking and unique as the food. Originally located above a clothes shop, the first carnation of the website was fitted out on a shoestring in a 'punk loft' style featuring graffiti style artwork and sculptures.
Last year the restaurant moved downstairs to a street-level space twice the size. Now the decor maintains its modern monochrome colour scheme but is now based around marble and chrome materials to create a grander, more elegant space. The irreverent centrepiece is a marble surf board suspended from the ceiling in a chrome box.
We've not got any pictures of the fleece in situ but seeing the black and white colour palette and distinctive decor, you can see how the black tipped Mouflon fleeces will look so great in this context.
