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Old 02-22-2010, 01:30 PM   #14
Richard Bingham Richard Bingham is offline
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Joined: Jan 2006
Location: Blackfoot Id
Posts: 431
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mary Cupp
. . . hemp fiber is exceptionally strong. Has anyone had any experience with it?
Yep. Search online for hemp products. One source is "Pickering Int'l." where I bought several yards of a very good, heavy hemp twill a couple of years ago. Be advised that searching for hemp products will get you some spam from "legalize pot" groups. :wink:

Be wary of samples that look good. Before buying the twill, I purchased a medium weight square-weave canvas that looked OK in the swatch, but was heavily sized and fullered in the mill. When washed out on the frame, the intestices opened so wide the stuff resembled a screen door.

The scuttlebutt is that the Chinese use a process for preparing the raw fibers that results in shorter staples and a weaker fiber. Hemp processed in Eastern Europe is "done correctly".

Oh! Cost? As I recall, the hemp twill ran about $10 per running yard at 72" wide. I never use cotton to make up my own supports, and unprimed linen prices vary depending on weight, thread count and running width. I figure the average cost of materials for stretching and priming my own canvases runs about $2.00 per sq. ft., including stretchers and brass tacks.

I wouldn't recommend using acrylic gesso on hemp - prime with a glue size and an oil ground. Hemp can be crabby to stabilize, i.e., it's more difficult to work with and tension correctly than cotton or linen, but once the canvas is finished up, it stays put.
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