Textile

Its worth noting the word “canvas” is actually the Dutch pronunciation (twice removed from French and Latin) of the Greek word “Kannabis”.

The first recorded use of cannabis was in 8000BCE in Ancient Mesopotamia and this was for use as a textile or in rope making. The long bast fibres that are located within the plants stalks are what we are talking about. These fibres are some of the strongest and longest natural fibres. Other fibres like jute and flax would’ve been commonly used for the same purposes however hemps importance has often been overlooked. The stigma of the 20^th Century and the subsequent prohibition of this plant had a profound effect that has lingered to this day and in many ways shaped our understanding of history, particularly the history of cannabis.

“Eighty percent of all mankind’s textiles and fabric for clothes, tents, linens*, rugs, drapes, quilts, bed sheets, towels, diapers… our flag “Old Glory,” were principally from cannabis fibres until 1820s in America and until the 20^th century in most of the rest of the world.

*The 1893, 1910, Encyclopaedia Britannica’s indicate-and in 1938, Popular Mechanics estimated-that at least half of all the material that has been called linen was not made from flax, but from cannabis.”

Jack Herer – The Emperor Wears No Clothes

These are photos from the early 20^th century showing techniques for harvesting and processing hemp that would have been used throughout antiquity. The top photos show hand and horse drawn harvesting techniques. The bottom photos and postcard show retting and breaking of the stalks.

Hemp has such a strong stalk a process was needed to help retrieve the fibres inside and this was called ‘retting’. Retting is the process of taking the harvested stalks lying them on ground and leaving them to weather in the field from a few weeks, up to a few months. Warm and wet weather is the best and it helps biologically break down the gum which holds the fibres together making it easier to separate the fibre from the other woody material. The stalks would sometimes be soaked in a nearby stream or river instead of waiting for favourable weather conditions.

The teepee looking piles were called shocks and this was either to dry the stalks particularly when harvesting for seed. They would have also been put into these piles if waiting for the right weather conditions for retting.

Next was breaking or beating that’s what you can see happening in the bottom two pictures. This is done to remove the woody core from the fibre and this although here is being done by hand was often done by a mill or water mill. This job when done by hand was considered one of the most gruelling and back breaking jobs and would no doubt have taken advantage of free labour (slavery) throughout antiquity.

Finally on the top left picture above is a process called heckling or hackling which was hitting and pulling of the fibre over steal or wooden spiked boards of various intervals. This is a process that straightens and softens the fibre and gets it ready for application. The grade of heckling depends on the fibres intended end use; coarse heckling for cordage and rope to very fine for cloth and fine linens.

Underneath that picture you can see a hemp spinner turning fibre into reels of usable hemp thread. Above to the right we can see miles and miles of hemp yarn and rope, the finished product. The photo in the bottom right shows a breaking machine an earlier iteration to the decorticator machine that was developed around 1915 which was able to separate the fibre and herd without the laborious steps just described.

Levi Strauss was said to have made the first pair of jeans out of duck canvas a type of hempen fabric used for its ruggedness and comfort.

“Hemp produces a strong, clean yarn, with a structure that makes the cloth cool in summer, and warm and comfortable in winter.”

Giorgio Armani

“I believe that hemp is going to be the fibre of choice in both the home furnishing and fashion industries.”

Calvin Klein

Ropes and Sails

“Ninety percent of all ships’ sails… (from at least the 5^th century BCE until long after the invention and commercialization of steam ships were made from hemp… In addition to the canvas sails, virtually all of the rigging, anchor ropes, cargo nets, fisherman’s nets, flags, shrouds and oakum (the main sealant for ships against salt water for use between loose or green beams) were made from the stalk of the marijuana plant until this century. Even the sailor’s clothing, right down to the stitching in the seaman’s rope soled and (sometimes) “canvas” shoes were crafted from cannabis*

*An average cargo, clipper, whaler, or naval ship of the line, in the 16^th, 17^th, 18^th, or 19^th centuries carried 50 to 100 tons of cannabis hemp rigging, not to mention the sails, nets etc.”

Jack Herer – The Emperor Wears No Clothes

Its also worth mentioning that many ships especially those of the British Empire looking to colonise new lands would carry hempseed. This allowed them to grow the crop on its arrival and reap its many uses including as a food and for its fibre.

Although rope is probably one of the more well known uses of hemp from a historical context. Its very apparent that it went way beyond just the ropes that were made from hemp. Especially when you consider that the oil produced from the seed of the cannabis plant would have also played a crucial role in producing paints and varnishes as well as the most common lighting oil of the day, with its only competition being whale oil. More on this later when we talk about hemp as a fuel.

Just to point to some other important notes about hemp as a fibre crop. Hemp produces about 2 to 3 times as much fibre when compared to cotton with the exact same applications, also being of higher quality (lasting up to 10 times as long as cotton). Unlike many other fibre crops (particularly cotton) hemp can grow without the use of herbicides, pesticides and artificial fertilizers.

It also only uses 20% of the amount of water as that of cotton and is one of the best converts of CO2 to oxygen in the plant kingdom.

So although its not shouted about all that often, hemps use for textiles of all kinds is very apparent throughout history. So much so that one could argue without fibres like hemp (and animal hides of course) its hard to imagine before more industrial societies how humanity would have stayed warm and protected from the elements.

Now with modern methods the fabric created from these fibres is not only strong and long lasting it can also be extremely soft, anti-bacterial, UV protective, flame retardant, breathable, durable, versatile and very absorbent. It can be mixed with other fabric such as organic cotton, silk or wool to create denim, fleece, linen or muslin like products with no difference in quality or appearance. It is not limited to clothing and can also be made into all types of cordage, rope, shoes, bags and many other furnishings (such as bed linen, curtains, sofa covers and carpets).

Watch the 7 part series today to begin your journey.

Or continue reading here, Next is Food.

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