Intertwined Designs | Handmade Hemp Clothing | Fabric & Fit Guide
How my Fabric’s Fit & Wear:
Buying clothing on-line can be challenging, especially if you don’t know how the brand fits. That is my goal for this guide, to help you find the right fit.
If you’ve visited me in my booth before, you may have heard my spiel. After all, All sales people have one... right? 😉
Mine is usually to help guide you to the right size and style though, and that’s the purpose of this page.
I also have a “Sizing” page, please refer to that for our size chart.
**ALL GARMENTS ARE PRE-SHRUNK**
Either they are pre-shrunk in my dye process, or I wash the fabric before I sew.
General:
All my eco-friendly fabrics stretch with wear. Kinda like jeans outta the dryer, and then in an hour they are perfect.
My general rule of thumb for fit:
If you’re in between sizes, I recommend going down if you want a “fitted” look, for a “relaxed” fit, follow my size guideline. If you want loose, go up a size.
I do have a 30 day exchange policy. Please read before purchasing.
Please email me your sizing and I can help further if needed.
Hemp:
“Hemp Stretch”
53% Hemp 43% organic cotton 4% lycra
This blend feels great, is stretchy because of the lycra and has wonderful drape and recovery to it. Takes dye richly and is of course, pre-shrunk and color fast.
All garments hold their form due to the lycra, but will not feel clingy.
It is pre-shrunk in warm water, but I always recommend cold water wash, and tumble dry low for all my hemp fibers. (Hand-Dyed with low-impact procion dye)
This and the soy blend are my personal favorites!
I make all my Hemp Yoga Pants out of this fabric, here’s the link to my blog on the fit guide for these.
”Hemp Knit” (lightweight)
55% Hemp 45% organic cotton
This knit blend is ideal for women's clothing, as it has more drape than the mid-weight. The knit fabric is super soft, and stretches slightly with wear, but will tighten with wash. (Just like Denim.)
It is pre-shrunk in warm water, but I always recommend cold water wash, and tumble dry low for all my hemp fibers.
The hemp knit stretches with wear as there is no lycra in it, so definitely size accordingly with the fitted & relaxed looks.
”Hemp Knit” (mid-weight)
55% Hemp 45% organic cotton
This is the weight I use for my men's shirts and some dresses. The knit fabric is super soft, and stretches with wear, but will tighten with wash. (Just like Denim.)
It is pre-shrunk in warm water, but I always recommend cold water wash, and tumble dry low for all my hemp fibers.
The hemp knit stretches with wear as there is no lycra in it, so definitely size accordingly with the fitted & relaxed looks.
Merino Wool:
Lightweight Merino
Perfect for base-layer fabric, or if you just like to wear wool. I LOVE this fabric.
It is lightweight, and breathable. The weave stretches slightly with wear. I recommend machine wash cold, Air Dry.
Merino Wool Sweater Knit
I will try and describe how this fabric feels - plain & simple - it’s Amazing, Spectacular, & Fantastic.
The weight of the fabric falls against your skin and creates warmth & coziness.
It doesn’t cling, but it drapes on your skin to create this warmth.
The fabric does stretch with wear - enough, that I revamped my pattern to adjust for my typical sizing. You do want it be fitted at first - it will then stretch to perfect.
I recommend machine wash cold, hang dry.
Soy/Organic Cotton Blend:
47.5% Soy 47.5% Organic Cotton 5% Spandex
The "Cashmere" of natural fabrics. Soft, silky, and smooth. Has a touch of spandex in it, so it holds its form. Works great for our Soy Luscious Intimates line, and for various women's and kids clothing. Breathes great & drys fast. The spandex does make this fabric feel clingy to the body, I choose wisely when using this for Women’s clothing, the patterns I use are designed to not cling, like our “Aster Line” (swing-style hem-line) or the Soy Simple Dress (a-line style)
I recommend machine wash cold, and hang dry, the fabric will get pills if put in the dryer overtime.
Fabric Properties:
Hemp
- Hemp wears 2-3x longer than any fiber, softens as you wear, and is more breathable than cotton.
- Hemp fiber has a porous nature allowing it to breath. Therefore it keeps you cool in the summer, and in the winter it traps air into the fiber keeping you warm.
- Hemp is known as the strongest fiber; over twice as strong as cotton.
- Hemp seeds are an excellent nutritional source.
- Hemp can be a natural resource for building materials, paper-making, and biodegradable plastics.
- Using the same amount of land, hemp produces 250% more fiber than cotton and 600% more fiber than flax.
- Hemp grows exceedingly well without pesticides or chemicals, actually enriching the soil and helping it to retain moisture.
Organic Cotton
- Conventional cotton uses approximately 25 percent of the world’s
- Insecticides and more than 10 percent of the pesticides.
- Organic cotton is grown without the use of toxic pesticides and fertilizers, which can end up in the ground, air, water and food supply. It has a much lower environmental impact.
- The lack of harmful pesticides in organic cotton production, which are associated with health consequences such as asthma, birth defects and cancer, also creates a positive, eco-friendly working condition that doesn’t compromise the health of those processing the cotton. Plus, since conventional
- Cotton may retain risky toxic residues, people with allergies and sensitive skin can wear organic cotton with a comfort of both mind and body.
Merino Wool
Follow this link to my Merino Blog post for MW info.
Soy
- Soy was cultivated in China before 3000 B.C.E. and was classified as one of the five sacred crops.
- Soy fabric is an environmentally friendly fiber made from tofu manufacturing waste. Soy protein is liquefied and then extruded into long, continuous fibers that are then cut and processed like any other spinning fiber. It’s incredibly soft and feels similar to cashmere.
- Soy fabric is absorbent, warm, resistant to bacteria and UV rays and when discarded is biodegradable, unlike many fabrics.