FAQ

- Can I put my Cardimom in the washer and dryer?

Please refer to the Care page. In a nutshell, the sweater is recommended to keep out of the dryer to prolong its life. The Jersey Knit is dryer friendly. 

- Why is there a seam in the front?

The front panel is extra wide to allow you to not only nurse if you are nursing but also to wear it as a shrug cardigan. As such, it requires two knitting machines to make it so it has to be made in two pieces and then joined.  The jersey knit does not have a seam because it is cut from yardage. It helps to have the seam though because many people put it on backwards. It's lovingly referred to as the linea negra.

- How do I deal with the neck hole showing when I want to wear it as a cardigan?

The Cardimom neckline has evolved from a curved neck hole which was more open in the back to a boatneck hole which is like a slit so can be closed up completely. When you wear it in Cardigan mode, if you ensure that the shoulder seams are right on the top of your shoulder, then when you flip the fabric behind your head, you should not have a problem with the neck hole showing as the excess material should cover it up. If you find that the neckhole is way down your back, then your sleeves are rotated backwards a great deal and you may want to rotate them forward so that you don't have that problem. However, if you are going to use the sweater for active use or for babywearing, then you can intentionally wear the hole further down your back to allow you to babywear on the back or to give you some ventilation if you are exercising or need some air to circulate around your back. It looks especially cute with yoga tops and many women just let the neck hole stay open. Please keep that in mind when deciding to purchase. It also will stretch out between washes and that will also lend to it opening up. Also, if you are buying a size that is more snug for you, you may find that the neck hole doesn't conceal as easily because much of the shrug material is covering your sides and your chest. This is also something to keep in mind when selecting your optimal size. Some moms like to hack this garment with a little hook or button to close the neckhole and others sew it up if they don't want to wear it as a poncho. Because we love wearing it both ways and the ease of flipping between both, we choose to leave it and like having that option to wear open back. With so many 'cold shoulder' and 'cold back' styles especially with the unusual open cuts of yoga wear, customers embrace this design rather than fight with it. One of the first things I learned in design school was KISS - keep it simple stupid. There were some opportunities to hack a way around the neck opening but it took away the simplicity of the design

- How do I select my size?

Tips for choosing the right size: If you like fitted tops, follow your pre-pregnancy or 1st trimester measurements. If you like to layer and have slightly more coverage, you might want to go a size up from that.

Please refer to the Size chart for specific sizing.  

- There is a weird seam when I wear it as a cardigan near my breast

This may be because you are wearing it backwards. Please check the tag to see that it is in the back of the neck.

- It gets wrinkled! Help!

As it is 100% cotton, it will wrinkle if you leave it in your laundry hamper or do not fold up when you are carrying it around. Ironing it might leave those annoying shiny iron marks, so we like to throw it in the dryer with a damp washcloth and let the washcloth steam out the wrinkles for just a few minutes on tumble dry or low heat (disclaimer, this does not mean to dry it through a 90 minute drying cycle with the rest of your laundry). This is a great fix for when you want to wear it right away. If you are traveling, you can also put it on a hanger and leave it in the bathroom to get steamed while you shower. We chose to use cotton rather than a more wrinkle resistant synthetic fabric as we found synthetics don't last very long, pill, and aren't as baby friendly.

- I'm not a mom and not nursing, why would I want this?

Sometimes, when people see how you can wear it two ways, they just throw reason to the wind and want to rock this sweater! Women who are pregnant or lactating aren't aliens - they are just at a time in their life when this garment really helps them to get through motherhood with less stress. Sweaters are designed to be worn for all shapes and sizes so, though this is great for childbearing women, it's also just a great garment for travel, as a coverup for heading to and from a workout, and great for lounging! A cardigan is often a nice security blanket to have for variable temps and as a backup garment to have in case you need to cover up.

- I live in the South, can I wear this?

We do have some tank options here and here, but the current Cardimom is a nice lightweight layer that, in the blazing sun you might find excessive, but if you're popping into an air conditioned building or you're traveling where its cool in the morning and at night, it's a great layer to have on hand. The Tank Cardimoms are great for nursing on the go in public places when it is hot and humid and are also a great layer again for your jaunt to yoga class. 

- I like it but the price is kind of steep.

We do have a range of styles and prices for everyone. However, we still make these in small quantities and feel that for the amount of $20-30 products that this replaces, it's well worth the investment. Starting out small, it's also challenging to compete with big box conglomerates and their prices. Nevertheless, we went to the baby store and bought a maternity sweater, a nursing cover, a nursing top, and a cart seat cover and the price tag was way over $200. Add to it that you can wear this after kids whereas your nursing cover is pretty useless after nursing (you can use it to play matador bullfight with your kids!), and we feel it's a great buy. Also, if you sign up for updates you will get emails when sales are going on via coupon codes.

- Why are there so many sizes? Isn't this a one size fits all type of garment like most ponchos?

Whereas many nursing tops will group S/M and L/XL together, we found that it was important to offer sizes that work for all types of body sapes.  Offering sizes allows it to give you the best fit. We recently introduced XS and XL and those also have been quite a hit - we'd like to offer more as demand exceeds.

- The poncho is very 'flowy'...

Because of the multiple ways to wear this, priority was given to being able to rock it as both a cardigan and a poncho which necessitates the cut of the pattern, thus the flowiness. If you are buying this for nursing, consider it a convenience that you are wearing a layer you would probably be wearing anyways and you are able to turn it into a nursing cover without having to carry a cover around. Some moms have felt like the poncho mode was too full to rock as a style. it really depends on the individual - when I personally wore it for a maternity top, I honestly had people questioning if I was pregnant right up until I was due - it just flattered my growing body and I actually liked to wear it as a poncho throughout my pregnancy. Others will belt it or bunch it 80s style to give more definition to their bump and more of an empire waistline to it. I've found it looks really good with maxi dresses when worn as a poncho both pregnant and not. Check out our Pinterest page to see some great styling suggestions!

- How is it different than an infinity scarf? Or a nursing bib?

We found that infinity scarves were hard to use because they constrict your ability to use your arms and they didn't fully cover your back. It was also difficult to remember the scarf in the summer time. Whereas most likely you would take a light layer such as a cardigan with you in the summer time, you probably would not want to wear a scarf in the summer time. This also fully covers your back - when you are getting ready to breastfeed, your shirt will often ride up in the back and this covers you all around.

- Why don't you carry some of the colors I want? 

The sweaters are ordered seasonally and new colors are selected every season. Once a color has sold out, new colors are considered. I try to have black all the time and grey is fast becoming more popular. The other colors that were hits before I will consider bringing back but I don't want to always have the same colors offered and I'm limited in how many colors I can carry at a time. The growth into XS and XL was also a big step as well as offering the Cardimom in the Jersey style.

- I like the Classic style, why don't you have it in other sizes and styles?

The Classic was the first version of the Cardimom® and I LOVED it and some customers LOVE it but then many feel it isn't long enough as the trend is to go longer. Maybe in the future I could consider offering it again if demand for it increases.

- I don't get how it is for babywearing - there's only one hole

Ah yes, it can be confusing when you are used to babywearing tops that have a neck hole for you and one for baby. But with the Cardimom, when you wear it as a cardigan, you are not occupying the neckhole as it is concealed behind your neck. That allows you to use the neck hole to pop baby's head out the hole if you are back carrying. If you are front carrying, you simply wear it as a cardigan over the baby carrier which is nothing particularly special about the Cardimom. But you can also do odd things like wear it as a poncho over you and the baby carrier either in front or back. And you can also wear it backwards over your front carrying load. If you want to just use it as a blanket, you can use the arms to tie around your neck or to your baby carrier and use it as a blanket layer for baby.

Feel free to email with other questions and concerns and we will post them here