Intertwined Designs | Handmade Hemp and Merino Wool Clothing | Fabric & Fit Guide

How Intertwined Designs 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. 

I also have a “Sizing” page, please refer to that for our size chart. 

**ALL GARMENTS ARE PRE-SHRUNK** 

I wash all the fabric before I cut and 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.

Please email me your sizing and I can help further if needed.

 

Hemp Washing Instructions:

I pre-shrink in warm water, but I always recommend cold water wash, and tumble dry low for all my hemp fibers.

“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.

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 Stretch” (lightweight)

53% Hemp 43% organic cotton 4% Lycra

This blend is ideal for women's dresses, as it has more drape than my hemp yoga pant material. The knit fabric is super soft, and stretches slightly with wear, but will tighten with wash. 

”Hemp Knit” (mid-weight)

55% Hemp 45% organic cotton 

This is the fabric I use for my men's baseball shirts and the Hemp Scooper's. The knit fabric is super soft, and stretches with wear, but will tighten with wash. (Just like Denim.)

The hemp knit stretches with wear as there is no lycra in it, so definitely size accordingly with the fitted & relaxed looks. 

 

Merino Wool Washing Instructions:

Machine wash COLD, Air Dry for longevity. 

Base layer  100% Merino Wool - 150 GSM, 4.4 oz.

Perfect activewear material. What I use for my Trail Breaker Hoodies, and many of my summer clothing. 

It is lightweight, and breathable. The weave stretches slightly with wear. 

Mid-Weight 100% Merino Wool - 200 GSM, 6 oz.

Even though this has a heavier weight, it breathes phenomenally. The weave of this is more open than the basel ayer material. I also use for my Trail Breaker Hoodies and for the women fall/winter line.

Soy/Organic Cotton Blend:

Machine wash cold, and hang dry, the fabric will get pills if put in the dryer overtime.

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 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)

 

 

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.