Hemp137 Boxford

An elite take on hemp far finer than you might expect. Soft, cool and lightweight, this 140 gsm fabric uses a new strain of hemp yarn and a Vivo air-beaten finish to produce a cool-wearing, warm-weather shirting fabric. You can think of it as a softer wearing linen, breezy and cool with a casual rumple.

The secret is to use a seedless, sin semilla, hemp crop. Most hemp is grown either as a smokeable or as a dual use crop, both seeds and fiber. When a hemp plant is grown long enough to produce seeds or flowers it has matured to the point where the fibers are rather thick and rough. This is great if you are making rope or paper out of it, but not so great when you are making stuff to wear against your skin. By harvesting the plant far earlier, before it seeds or flowers, it's possible to create a much finer hemp yarn that feels amazing.

Hemp is a bast fiber, quite similar to linen or ramie but of course each has their own unique character. We find that fine hemp handles a bit softer than both linen and ramie. It does wrinkle up somewhere between linen and ramie so if you want it crispy be ready to iron, steam or press, or just rock it natural for that casual wrinkled flair. Like most bast fibers it stays super open for optimal air flow and absorbs lots of moisture while retaining a dry feel so it all adds up to a perfect summerweight woven shirting.