The London Lounge

I have a few pairs of RTW summer canvas trousers made from pure hemp in cream and taupe that I bought on a whim some time ago. I had always associated hemp with old rope, lumpy and scratchy homespun textiles, and hippies, but I cannot exaggerate how happy I am with this material. It is around 15 oz in a canvas weave but breathes very well, and can be comfortably worn in the high 30's in very high humidity. It holds a crease well but doesn't wrinkle like linen does and looks great at the end of the day. Like linen, it is easy to wash, becomes softer with wear and is extremely durable.

Romanian friends tell me that farmers in their home country still wear pants made of this material. I have been able to find sources online of Chinese hemp, but most of the European-produced hemp is in the 8-12 oz range. Does anybody know of a source for European-made hemp, (canvas weave or basket weave), in the 15 oz plus range that is soft enough to use for garments?

Dear Simon,

I can certainly look into it. I have hemp socks (Italian made, so it might be a place to look) that actually wear quite well in summer (they breathe well and wick away moisture most efficiently). However they look like heavy winter socks because of the coarse weave, but that is caused by the thickness of the thread. Not scratchy, but with a dry hand.

Thanks Costi. Hemp canvas is pretty soft against the legs.

Take a look at this: http://www.marijuana.sg/it/calze-canapa-p-1418.html
If you click on the picture you can read the label - what they say there is true. That's what the weave of mine looks like, but mine are ribbed.

Simon, I found it already! Here it is: http://www.canepa-romaneasca.ro/history.htm

I'll give them a call and ask a few questions, but in the meantime you can browse the website (they have some nice old pictures in the "History" section). Some pages have an English translation, too. Since you already made a bit of research on the subject, what do you think I should ask?

Costi, the products shown on the site appear to be undyed. Will hemp take a dye? Thanks.A

Certainly, my socks are olive green

Thanks for the research Costi. The 210 g/m2 hemp material seems a bit light, more for shirtings. If they have 100% hemp material in a canvas weave or basketweave, of 15 oz/yd2 plus, that would be great.

It would be good to see what colours they have also, and find out what their minimum order is.

http://www.rawganique.com/HAfabric.htm

Allegedly European, in a variety of weights.

Thankyou.

I have some hemp shorts that I love from Patagonia. They perform exactly as you described. A few years ago I searched for hemp fabric and the best I could find was from this company:
http://www.envirotextile.com/chinese-he ... index.html

As you can see in the link, they're made in China. I ordered samples and think they're great, but I haven't ordered the fabric itself.

I stumbled upon the site for this Romanian hemp manufacturer, I think the other online traders I bought from use their products http://ecolution.com/index.html