Hemp and Bamboo samples arrived!
My samples of hemp fleece, hemp terry, bamboo fleece and bamboo terry arrived! :D The lady who runs the store even included a sample of bamboo velour, which was sweet of her. I think it’s the most luscious fabric I’ve ever felt!
I am immediately drawn to the bamboo, because it is SO SOFT. The hemp is a bit thicker and stiffer. Of course, after feeling each of the fabrics and pulling them around every which way to see how stretchy they were, the next thing I did was tip water on them. This was probably a bit of a redundant test since the fabrics aren’t washed yet, but the bamboo terry was the most impressive in terms of absorbency. It absorbed TONS, and fast. None of the water ran off when I picked it up and held it vertically.
The samples are now in their first wash - I’ll wash them twice and then do the water test again.
Typically, bamboo terry is the most expensive of the fabrics (£15/$30 per metre!), so I’m considering combining it with hemp terry if it performs well in the second round of testing, which is about £5/$10 cheaper. It feels thinner and softer than the hemp fleece, even though it’s the same weight. It should still make a much thinner and more absorbent core than flannel and cotton terry.
I’m probably getting a bit ahead of myself here, but I’m thinking:
Liners: one layer of bamboo terry
Regular: one layer of bamboo terry, one layer of hemp terry
Heavy: two layers of bamboo terry, one layer of hemp terry
Does this sound about right? The bamboo is 375gsm and the hemp is 325.
I am immediately drawn to the bamboo, because it is SO SOFT. The hemp is a bit thicker and stiffer. Of course, after feeling each of the fabrics and pulling them around every which way to see how stretchy they were, the next thing I did was tip water on them. This was probably a bit of a redundant test since the fabrics aren’t washed yet, but the bamboo terry was the most impressive in terms of absorbency. It absorbed TONS, and fast. None of the water ran off when I picked it up and held it vertically.
The samples are now in their first wash - I’ll wash them twice and then do the water test again.
Typically, bamboo terry is the most expensive of the fabrics (£15/$30 per metre!), so I’m considering combining it with hemp terry if it performs well in the second round of testing, which is about £5/$10 cheaper. It feels thinner and softer than the hemp fleece, even though it’s the same weight. It should still make a much thinner and more absorbent core than flannel and cotton terry.
I’m probably getting a bit ahead of myself here, but I’m thinking:
Liners: one layer of bamboo terry
Regular: one layer of bamboo terry, one layer of hemp terry
Heavy: two layers of bamboo terry, one layer of hemp terry
Does this sound about right? The bamboo is 375gsm and the hemp is 325.