What’s old is new again and hemp fabric, in particular, is so very ‘now’.
So, if you’re curious to know what all the fuss is about, read on to find out where to buy hemp fabric in Australia and online and what to sew with it.
Where to buy Hemp fabric in Australia
You’ll find that 100% hemp fabric is fairly rare. It’s usually blended with other fibres, typically organic cotton.
Here’s my pick of the sourcing options below.
Ink & Spindle
Ink & Spindle is my absolute favourite Australian Textile Design studio. When I ran Duckcloth as a fabric store we sold loads of their gorgeous designs.
They have a strong environmental ethos and design prints that focus exclusively on the Australian landscape. They really are superstars in the home textiles industry, both locally and internationally.
Ink & Spindle has been printing on a variety of hemp base cloths long before hemp was a ‘thing’.
You can order any of their original designs in your choice of base cloth and ink colours. This custom textiles service is offered via a very clever, yet simple, visualisation and ordering tool on their web site.
Hemp Gallery
Whether you’re looking to make t-shirts, reupholster a couch or anything in between, Hemp Gallery has a fabric for you. They probably have the best overall range of solid coloured hemp fabric in Australia.
Here are some of my favourites below.
Top row, left to right
- Amalfi Fleece – a super-soft fleece for sweatshirts and lounge pants
- Breton – classic striped, stretchy hemp and organic cotton knit, great for t-shirts
- Amalfi Knit – medium weight hemp and organic cotton knit, suitable for all sorts of clothing
Bottom row, left to right
- Miami – Hemp and organic cotton blend, 305gsm, suitable for light home decorating such as curtains
- Seychelles – 100% Hemp Summer Cloth, 236gsm, suitable for clothing and very light home decorating
- Newport – Hemp and organic cotton blend, 441gsm, suitable for upholstery
Browse the full range at Hemp Gallery here.
Margaret River Hemp Co
If you’re looking for natural, unprinted hemp fabric, then Margaret River Hemp Co has a really solid range.
Here are some typical examples that they sell by the metre.
Left to right:
- 100% Hemp Fabric – light weight, suitable for clothing and aprons.
- 100% Hemp Summer Cloth – medium weight, suitable for tablecloths, cushions, curtains and other soft furnishings.
- Hemp and Organic Cotton Jersey Knit – great for tees and sweatshirts and suitable for natural dying
- Hemp and Organic Cotton Sheeting – this one is 250cm wide. Fabric this wide is really hard to find, and suitable for, you guessed it, sheeting.
You can browse Margaret River Hemp Co’s full range here.
Bamboo Fabric Store
As their name suggests, the Bamboo Fabric Store specialise in bamboo, but they also stock a small range of hemp fabrics.
The hemp range is 170gsm which is a great multi-purpose light to medium weight fabric. Don’t be misguided by the name – Hemp Linen. The linen refers to the style of weave not the fibre composition. These are 100% hemp fibre.
View the full range of Bamboo Fabric Store’s hemp fabric here.
The Fabric Store
Known world-wide for their gorgeous merino knit and linen ranges, The Fabric Store now stocks an equally gorgeous range of organic hemp fabrics.
The range is 170gsm in weight, and has a light bouncy handle. It’s only a small range at the moment but my bet is that they will expand the colour palette as they have their other collections.
The colours above are:
- Top row: Buckwheat, Pink Salt
- Second row: Rye, Kale
View the full range on their web site here.
Where to buy hemp fabric online
Still can’t find what you want in Australia?
Then try buying online from these hemp fabric sources:
- Bastine – These guys specialise in hemp and hemp blend fabrics and their ranges are luscious! This is the first place I’d look internationally for both woven and knit options. They sell both retail (minimum order is one yard) and wholesale quantities.
- Hemp Fabric Lab also has a nice natural range that you can buy by the yard, including some drapey options that include lyocell. Very nice!
Hemp fabric suppliers on Etsy
Etsy is a great source for many types of fabric and hemp is no exception. Here are some of my favourite suppliers:
Earth Indigo Fabric
Earth Indigo Fabric is a Canadian Etsy store selling all sorts of beautiful eco friendly textiles.
They stock a small but beautiful range of woven and knit hemp fabrics in a rainbow of colours. You can buy the range below by the half yard.
- Top row: Light weight hemp organic cotton stripe, Light weight hemp organic cotton solid
- Bottom row: Hemp organic cotton spandex jersey knit, Hemp organic cotton twill
Click here to view the full range of hemp fabrics at Earth Indigo.
Kube Earth
Kube Earth specialises in 100% hemp fabric and stocks several lovely options. Here’s my pick below:
- Top row: 100% hemp natural herringbone fabric, 100% hemp fabric chambray
- Bottom row: 100% hemp twill, 100% hemp fabric light & medium weight
View the full range at Kube Earth’s Etsy store.
What to sew with hemp fabric
Anything you can sew with linen is usually suitable to sew with hemp. In fact, many people mistake hemp for linen. I used to sell a fabric that was 90% hemp and 10% yak hair which was amazing and looked exactly like a beautiful quality linen.
Naturally, you’ll need to consider the composition, weight and drape of the fabric to make sure it’s suitable for your project, as you would with any other fabric.
Sewing with hemp for home decorating
Because of its rustic appearance which is very on-trend in interiors at the moment, hemp is great for home decorating projects. You can make beautiful curtains, cushion covers, sheets, slip covers and even upholster chairs out of hemp fabric.
It is generally more hard wearing than linen when you compare a similar weight and weave. Hemp also softens and ‘wears-in’ over time.
It is still a natural fabric though and isn’t quite as hard wearing as synthetic equivalents. However, it has a natural beauty and integrity that you just can’t get from any man-made fibre.
Sewing clothing with hemp
Increasingly hemp is woven into lighter weight fabrics which makes it suitable for clothing.
It’s often blended with cotton, viscose (wood pulp) and even silk. The properties of each individual blend will determine the type of clothing you can sew. The silk and viscose lends drape and the cotton will make it softer and often a bit lighter.
One exciting development is the use of hemp in knit fabrics. It lends a knobbly texture to the knit, giving it a beautiful earthy, organic look and feel. Again, very on-trend at the moment.
Pin for later
- Hemp fabric 101: Why I love hemp and hope you will too
- 17 of the best places to buy linen fabric in Australia
- Our Canvas Fabric Guide
- Where to buy dressmaking fabric online in Australia
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