Clair de Lune Crochet vs Ickle Bubba Nova: Two £89 Moses Baskets, Only One Rocks and Only One Comes With a Four-Year Warranty

COMPARISON · NURSERY & SLEEP

Crochet has quietly become the look of the Moses basket. Where wicker and palm leaf used to be the default, a lot of the baskets parents now add to their Nest are soft, chunky-knit shells in oatmeal, mocha and cream. Two of the most popular at the £89 mark are the Clair de Lune Crochet Moses Basket with Stand and the Ickle Bubba Nova Crochet Moses Basket and Foldable Stand.

On paper they are almost the same product. Both are crochet, both come with a mattress and a stand in the box, both are rated from birth to 9kg, and both cost £89 give or take a penny. That is exactly why this comparison is worth doing: when the price and the look match, the decision comes down to the details that only show up once the basket is in your bedroom at 3am. Does the stand rock? Does it fold flat enough to go under the bed when the baby moves to a cot? What exactly is the mattress, and which safety standards does the listing actually print? And what happens if something wobbles loose in month four?

We compared both baskets on the specifications the brands publish, live prices from the retailers we work with, and what parents tell us after living with them. The short version: the Clair de Lune is the one that rocks and the one with the clearer mattress paperwork, while the Ickle Bubba Nova folds flatter, comes in more colour combinations and has a much longer warranty. Neither is a bad buy, but they suit different homes.

Lil' Bubba's verdicts

• Best Overall: Ickle Bubba Nova Crochet Moses Basket · 8.0/10 - four-year warranty, eight colour combinations and a stand that folds to 26cm deep
• Best for Rocking and Clear Specs: Clair de Lune Crochet Moses Basket with Stand · 7.5/10 - pine rocking stand, and the mattress and basket standards are printed on the listing

Quick comparison

	Clair de Lune Crochet	Ickle Bubba Nova
Price (with stand and mattress)	£89.99 (RRP £99.99)	£89 (RRP £109)
Stand	Natural pine, rocking, folds for storage	Foldable, fixed (no rocking), pine or white
Stand folded size	Not published	90.5 x 48 x 26cm
Basket size	75 x 28 x 24cm (base)	78 x 40 x 32cm (outside)
Height with stand	Not published	76cm
Basket weight	Not published, described as lightweight	3.7kg (stand 1.6kg)
Mattress	Recycled hypoallergenic fibre, breathable core, water-resistant washable cover	Padded mattress with removable cover
Standards on the listing	BS EN 1466:2023 (basket), BS 18700:2023 and BS 7177 (mattress)	Brand states British and European standards; none named on the listing
Weight limit	Birth to 9kg	Birth to 9kg
Colours	White, Champagne, Chocolate	Cloud, Tawny, Mocha, Buttercream basket with Pine or White stand
Warranty	1 year	4 years
Our rating

How we picked these two

Both baskets are among the crochet Moses baskets most often added to BubsNest registries, both are in stock with retailers we work with, and both sit at the same price with a stand and mattress included. That makes it a fair fight: no bundle maths, no hidden extras. We read each brand's own specifications, checked live retailer listings for price and stock, and pulled together what parents tell us about living with each one. Where a brand does not publish a figure, we say so rather than guess.

What to look for in a Moses basket

A firm, flat, well-fitting mattress. This matters more than the weave. A newborn should sleep on their back on a firm, flat surface with no gaps between the mattress and the basket sides. Press down in the middle and at the edges: it should spring back, and you should not be able to fit two fingers between the mattress edge and the side. Words like "plush" on a listing are marketing, so check the feel in person if you can.

The stand. A fixed stand is simple and steady. A rocking stand lets you soothe with one hand, but it should sit still when baby is asleep and unattended; most rocking stands settle level when you stop. Also check the height: a stand that puts the basket at roughly bed height means less bending after a caesarean or a long labour.

Storage after month four. Most babies outgrow a Moses basket somewhere between three and six months, either by hitting 9kg or, more often, by starting to roll or push up. After that the stand lives in a cupboard or goes to a sibling, so a stand that folds flat is worth more than it sounds.

Washability. Crochet looks lovely but traps milk and dribble. A removable, machine-washable mattress cover is the bare minimum; a spare fitted sheet or two is non-negotiable.

Safety paperwork. In the UK, Moses baskets are tested to BS EN 1466 and cot mattresses to BS 7177 and the newer BS 18700. A listing that names its standards makes life easier; if it does not, ask the retailer before you buy.

1. Clair de Lune Crochet Moses Basket with Stand / 10 · Best for rocking and clear specs

Clair de Lune is a British nursery brand that has been making Moses baskets for years, and this crochet version is its take on the soft-knit trend. The basket is a polycotton crochet shell around a 75 x 28cm base, sold with a natural pine rocking stand and a fibre mattress. It comes in White, Champagne and Chocolate, and at £89.99 it is £10 off its £99.99 RRP at the moment.

What sets it apart on paper is the paperwork. The listing names BS EN 1466:2023 for the basket and both BS 18700:2023 and BS 7177 for the mattress, and the mattress itself is spelled out: recycled hypoallergenic fibres, a breathable core, and a removable, water-resistant, machine-washable cover. If you like to know exactly what your baby is lying on, this is the more transparent of the two.

What parents love

• It rocks. The pine stand rocks gently, which is the single most-requested feature we hear about for the newborn weeks. One parent told us: 'Being able to rock the basket with one hand from bed got us through the first fortnight.'
• Solid build for the money. Parents who buy Clair de Lune baskets regularly mention how sturdy the basket and stand feel. A parent shared: 'Beautifully made, lovely covers, and bigger than I expected.'
• The mattress is properly specified. A breathable fibre core and a water-resistant, washable cover means a leaky nappy is a cover-in-the-wash job, not a ruined mattress.
• Neutral colours. White, Champagne and Chocolate sit happily in most bedrooms without looking like nursery furniture.

What to know before you buy

• Gaps in the published specs. Clair de Lune does not publish the basket weight, stand height or folded stand size. If you are short on bedside space, ask the retailer for the stand height before you order.
• Shorter warranty. The manufacturer guarantee is one year, a quarter of what Ickle Bubba offers.
• Stock is thin in places. At least one of our retailers is showing "last items" on the White, so you may need to shop around for your colour.

Best for

• Parents who want a rocking stand for the newborn weeks
• Anyone who wants the mattress and safety standards spelled out before they buy
• Neutral, Scandi-style bedrooms
• Families buying for one baby rather than planning to store it for years

2. Ickle Bubba Nova Crochet Moses Basket and Foldable Stand / 10 · Best overall

Ickle Bubba is best known for travel systems, but the Nova has become one of its most popular nursery pieces and one of the crochet baskets we see added to Nests most often. It is £89 with most of our retailers (one is still at the £109 RRP, so check before you click), and that includes the basket, a foldable stand and a mattress with a cover.

The Nova wins on the practical numbers Ickle Bubba actually publishes. The basket measures 78 x 40 x 32cm on the outside and weighs 3.7kg; the stand weighs 1.6kg and puts the top of the basket at 76cm, close to a standard bed height. Folded, the stand is just 26cm deep, slim enough to slide behind a wardrobe or under a bed. You choose from four basket colours (Cloud, Tawny, Mocha, Buttercream) and two stand finishes (Pine or White), and it all comes with a four-year warranty.

What parents love

• The look. This is the one parents most often describe as the prettiest basket they looked at. One parent put it best: 'It looks beautiful next to other baskets and suits our bedroom perfectly.'
• The stand folds fast and feels steady. We hear repeatedly from parents that the stand goes up and folds down easily and that the instructions are clear.
• Warranty and colour choice. Four years of cover and eight colour combinations is unusual at £89.
• Comfortable mattress. Parents describe the mattress as comfortable and the cover as easy to take off and wash.

What to know before you buy

• No rocking. The stand is fixed. If rocking matters to you, that is a deal breaker.
• Sides can feel soft. A parent shared: 'The crochet sides feel a bit loose compared with a wicker basket.' It is a softer shell by design, so check the mattress sits snugly with no gaps.
• Less detail on paper. Ickle Bubba says its nursery products meet British and European standards, but the Nova listing does not name the standard for the basket or the mattress, or say how firm the mattress is. Ask the retailer if that matters to you.

Best for

• Smaller homes where the stand needs to fold flat after month four
• Parents planning to reuse the basket for a second baby
• Anyone choosing on colour, with eight basket and stand combinations
• Parents recovering from a caesarean who want the basket near bed height

What about wicker, palm or knitted baskets?

If the crochet look is not essential, the same £89 budget opens up classic wicker and palm baskets with firmer sides, and the knitted organic baskets a step up in price. We have covered those separately in our Clair de Lune Wicker vs The Little Green Sheep comparison and our Moses basket stands roundup, which is worth a read if you already have a basket and only need a stand.

How to choose

Choose the Clair de Lune Crochet if a rocking stand is on your must-have list, or if you want to see the mattress spelled out and the basket and mattress standards named before you hand over your money. It is a sturdy, well-made basket from a brand that specialises in exactly this, and the one-year guarantee is fine if you only plan to use it for one baby.

Choose the Ickle Bubba Nova if you are short on space, want a particular colour, or are thinking about a second baby. The stand folds to 26cm deep, the basket sits at a comfortable 76cm, and four years of warranty covers you well into a sibling's newborn weeks. Just accept that it does not rock and that the crochet sides are softer than wicker.

Whichever you pick, the safety basics are the same: baby on their back, feet to the foot of the basket, a firm and well-fitting mattress, no pillows, bumpers or loose bedding, and move them on to a cot as soon as they start rolling or pushing up, even if they are nowhere near 9kg.

Add it to your Nest

Still deciding? Add both to your free BubsNest registry and let friends and family chip in. You can compare live prices across retailers, and swap your choice at any point before it is bought.