Hemp fabric is durable, breathable and naturally long-lasting, and proper care helps it perform at its best. This guide explains how to wash, dry and maintain hemp textiles for interiors and clothing. It thrives on regular use and gentle laundering, softening with time while retaining its structure. Quick to dry and forgiving in everyday life, it’s a textile that improves rather than ages.
WASHING
Hemp fabrics can generally be washed successfully at low temperatures, but shrinkage, creasing and overall wash response vary according to weave, weight and finish. Untreated fabrics will usually show greater initial shrinkage than fabrics that have already been washed during finishing.
- Everyday care: Wash cool (around 30 °C) on a gentle cycle with similar colours. Use a low spin speed and remove the fabric promptly at the end of the cycle. Open it out fully, reshape and smooth the fabric before drying; allowing wet fabric to remain tightly folded can result in persistent creasing.
- Detergent: Use a mild detergent. Avoid bleach and products containing optical brighteners, which may affect colour or appearance.
- Professional cleaning: For fixed upholstery and for lined, interlined or blackout curtains, we recommend using a specialist experienced in furnishing fabrics.
- Stains: Treat marks before washing with a mild, non-chlorinated stain remover — avoid direct spot sprays.
- Pre-wash: If laundering fabric before sewing, overlock the edges to reduce fraying.
- Mixed loads: Avoid washing hemp with garments or items containing exposed zips, Velcro or other abrasive surfaces.
DRYING
Hemp’s porous structure allows it to dry quickly and naturally.
- Air-drying: Shake out, reshape and hang or lay flat to dry after washing. Remove promptly from the machine and smooth out folds before drying to help minimise persistent creasing.
- Avoid direct sunlight on coloured fabrics to prevent fading.
- Tumble-drying: Use a low-heat setting; remove items while still slightly damp to prevent over-drying and reduce creasing.
- Energy-saving: Limited tumbling or full air-drying extends fibre life and saves resources.
IRONING
- For best results, iron the fabric while it is still evenly damp. Use a hot iron for 100% hemp and hemp and cotton blend fabrics, preferably on the reverse side. Keep the iron moving and avoid prolonged heavy pressure, particularly on darker fabrics, as excessive pressure can produce shine on the surface.
- Hemp naturally creases during washing. Prompt removal, careful drying and thorough ironing while damp will give the best finish, although some natural surface texture may remain.
SOFTENING
Hemp may feel slightly stiffer immediately after washing, but the fibres relax again with handling and use. Hemp generally becomes softer through wear and repeated laundering. No fabric softener is required.
SHRINKAGE
Like all natural fibres,hemp may shrink on first washing. If it is important for your project to minimise shrinkage, we would recommend dry cleaning - except for those fabrics which are called 'washed' will have minimal shrinkage.
- Fabrics may shrink by up to 10% in the length direction and up to 5% across the width, depending on weave, construction and finish. In our testing, fabrics that have already been washed during finishing have shown much lower dimensional change, generally below 3%.
- Where the finished item is intended to be washable, we recommend pre-washing the fabric before cutting, or allowing for the expected shrinkage when making up curtains, loose covers and other fitted items.
- Always finish raw edges (overlock or zig-zag) before the first wash to reduce fraying.
- Wash on a gentle 30 °C cycle and air-dry flat or hanging to allow the fibres to relax naturally.
- Pre-washing removes much of the initial relaxation shrinkage, but some further small dimensional change may still occur with subsequent laundering.
CURTAINS & FURNISHINGS
- Where fabric is marked Machine Wash 30°C, unlined curtains and removable covers can generally be washed, but an allowance should be made for possible shrinkage.
- For curtains, loose covers and other made-up items, we recommend either pre-washing the fabric before cutting or allowing for the expected shrinkage when making up.
- Fabrics that have already been washed during finishing will generally show less initial shrinkage than untreated fabrics, but some dimensional change may still occur.
- Lined, interlined and blackout curtains are best cleaned by a specialist experienced in furnishing fabrics, as the face fabric, lining and interlining may respond differently to washing.
- For made-up curtains, we also recommend that linings are hemmed separately where appropriate, to reduce the risk of sagging or distortion if the different layers shrink at different rates.
Explore our full collection of hemp fabrics.
