Sewing with Hemp.

[aniT]

Hi,

Does anyone do much sewing with hemp? I am looking at the hemp fleece which is 55% hemp and 45% cotton. A few questions I have are:

1. How much does it shrink?
2. How many yards does it take to make a diaper?
3. I am thinking of making soakers for my Wonderoos with this. Would it be more cost effective to just by a Wonder-fulls for $8.50 than to pay the $7 a yard I have found it on sale for for the hemp? (I would use the same 6 layers as the wonder-full.)


Thanks for help,

Tina

[mimim]

1. It shrinks a lot. You have to prewash and dry it on hot about 5 or 6 times before using it. You lose several inches from each yard.
2. I'd say you could probably get 2 diapers from a yard, you might need a little more if your doing toddler size and yo'ul have leftovers from small sizes.

3.You can get hemp fleece or terry for less than $7.00 a yard - more like $6 plus shipping - through co-ops if you are willing to wait. It is heavy though, so shipping is pricey. I'd imagine you can get at least 6 inserts from a yard. So it would be very cost effective to make your own.

HTH!

[aniT]

What co-ops? When would it be available for this price? Thanks for the help,

[mimim]

Fullmoonbabygearco-op is running a co-op on hemp right now for less than$6.00/yd. If you search yahoo groups you'll find it!

[lestouffer]

I find that hemp shrinks by a third. So if you start with a yard, you will end up with 2/3 of a yard when it has been washed and dried several times. I find that 2 times through your washer and dryer are enough. Maybe 3, but I don't think 6 is necessary, especially if you are washing it alone.

I have no idea on hemp prices.....but I know that 6 sounds more reasonable. back when I was buying it by the yard (I now buy from a WAHM who buys it by the roll) anywhere between 6 and 7 was pretty good.....

Good luck....

[Ame]

You can expect to loose 2-3 inches from the hemp fleece if it is washed and dried with high heat repeatedly before sewing. The reason it shrinks is because it has been stretched at the mill to wrap on a roll for shipping.

You can usually get 2-3 diapers out of one yard of the knit fabric. It varies depending on the diaper size and number of layers.

There are at least 3 or 4 co-op's for hemp knit fabrics, as well as buy-in's and lower pricing than $7.00 per yard. You can go to Yahoo, click groups, then put in hemp diaper fabric and you will get a long list of groups, you can also search Ebay.

[mmskids]

From one yard of hemp fleece, I can get 4 3-layered and 1 4-layered hourglass shaped stuffins. (Large). If I just make them in the same design as a joey, I can get 6 3-layered.

As far as diapers go, I get just about 2 cuddlebuns and 2 soakers from one yard (if that helps)..

FMBG Coop