A delightful children's merino wool fleece waistcoat from Engel. Incredibly soft and warm, yet wonderfully lightweight. The cozy stand-up collar gently hugs the neck without being restrictive, ensuring comfort during play. With two handy pockets for little treasures and a convenient zip for easy dressing, this waistcoat is perfect for keeping your child snug and stylish.

• 100% organic merino wool

This is made in 100% organic fleeced Merino wool certified by IVN as BEST which meets and exceeds GOTS organic standards.

Fleeced wool is soft and fluffy to the touch, but wears really well. It's warmer and more wind-proof than simply knitted wool and more flexible than boiled wool making it ideal for little ones.

Merino wool is a kind of wool fibre that is very fine, soft and springy and is not itchy at all to most skins. The Merino sheep usually thrives in mountainous areas at high altitudes and its wool is naturally brilliant at keeping the body comfortable at a wide range of temperatures.

All certified organic wool comes from sheep which have been farmed organically and with high animal welfare standards. At Cambridge Baby we always make sure that no wool comes from farms which practise mulesing.

Please note that under EU labelling regulations, stating the type of wool is not allowed, only a statement of "100% wool" or "new wool" is allowed. However, this garment is made from 100% organic Merino wool.

Engel's organic Merino wool is certified to GOTS organic standards by IMO. These standards are so high that even oils that lubricate knitting machines have to be analysed. With Engel, you can be assured that their dyes are baby-safe, eco-safe and that all cotton threads and finishes are natural too.

Wool (and thus Merino wool) has many benefits.

• Wool absorbs moisture into the centre of the fibre, so that it still feels dry on the outside. This is very healthy for your skin - your skin stays dry while the wool can absorb up to 33% of its own weight while still feeling dry.
• Wool "breathes", releasing its moisture out into the atmosphere. It does this dynamically in response to the environment, so if you or your child is active and sweating more, wool works harder for you. Wonderful.
• In this way, wool is a wonderful temperature-regulator, slowing down the effects of changes of temperature and helping prevent sweatiness by absorbing moisture and releasing it in response to the environment. This makes it a wonderful fabric for babies and the growing bodies of children as well as for athletes, cyclists, skiers and mountain-climbers. It's naturally high-tec and can't be beaten by synthetics!
• Wool is also naturally anti-bacterial, dirt-resistant and very stretchy, making wonderful clothes that are easy to put on and take off, excellent for dressing babies and children.
• The health benefits of wool are being revealed time and time again. For example, it's better for the health of premature babies if they are nursed on wool rather than cotton and it's better for the skin of hospital patients if they lie on wool rather than polyester.
• Wool helps sleep too. At least two studies show that people get a better night's sleep with wool around them - people go to sleep more quickly, sleep longer and have better quality sleep too.

Find out more about the properties of wool in our blog here.

Merino wool is the wool of choice for baby and children's clothes, as well as for sportswear, because it's finer than most other wools. It's naturally springy (which makes it softer) and has a tight crimp, allowing it to trap more air, making clothing lighter as well as softer for the same excellent insulation.

Merino wool has also been proven to absorb UV across the whole range of the spectrum, giving excellent lightweight sun protection in the summer too.

Wool is naturally self-cleaning, the outer surfaces of the fibre pushing dirt down and off itself. It's naturally anti-bacterial and neutralises odours too... so after wearing, the best thing to do is to hang your wool to air. We strongly recommend not washing wool fleece at all, as it is so delicate.

Read what Engel has to say about caring for your new clothes.

"You don’t need to wash our products before wearing them for the first time. After the knitting process, our fabrics are washed to rinse out any excess dye residues, in the first place, and secondly to remove knitting oils and dirt.

Our products are all made using 100% ecologically sound methods and have no chemical finish. And we never make use of dyes that could be a health hazard or textile finishes which could cause skin irritations, for example, or harm the environment during or after processing. We are not allowed to do this under the strict manufacturing criteria with which we must comply to obtain the IVN BEST or GOTS certifications for our products.

We basically recommend that you wash our wool and wool/silk fabrics as little as possible. Wool regenerates in oxygen-rich air of its own accord and so it can also just be well-aired."

Engel's organic Merino wool fleece is a very soft fabric and is easy to damage when washing. Extreme care must be taken if you do decide to wash it. Engel recommends hand washing as follows.

In the event that you do decide to wash your fleece, use a detergent designed for wool which protects and replenishes the wool's natural oils. We recommend one of our liquid wool shampoos in our fabric care section here.

To hand-wash your organic Merino wool, dilute your wool detergent in cool water, max 30C (lukewarm only, should feel coolish), in a bowl. For heavily-soiled areas, use a little gall soap on your woollens first, testing on an inconspicuous area first.

Add your woollens to the bowl, gently stirring and squeezing the detergent through. Rinse using water at the same temperature, otherwise, your wool will be subjected to "shock" and might felt up. So lukewarm/coolish at 30C again.

Things not to do! Don't wring, soak, brush or rub vigorously as the wool fibres may be damaged and your garment felt up a little and shrink. Just squeeze the water through.

To dry, gently squeeze water out and wrap your wool clothes in a towel to remove the excess water. Air-dry naturally avoiding direct heat. So, hanging on a drying rack over the bath is good, or on a clothes horse. Mine often end up over the back of chairs or on the washing line in the shade (I haven't had a problem with the heat of the English being too hot, yet, but direct sunlight is not good for wool).

Re-shape while still damp.

We have the widest range of Engel clothing on the web, made from organic Merino wool, silk/wool blend and organic cotton clothing.
With clothing for the little ones including premature babies, active wear for children and great base-layers for adults - it's all there to keep everyone healthy and comfortable! And their outerwear is wonderfully soft and breathable too!

Engel was established in the 1960s. From 1982 onwards the company started to concentrate on natural textiles in an exemplary and consistent way. Engel garments are Certified Organic by the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). The wool comes from Merino sheep in their natural environment, which are organically farmed and therefore live a healthy and stress-free life. The usage of pesticides is forbidden both on pastures and on animals.

Click here to read Engel's FAQs.