Hemp

[Dracconia]

I make hemp jewelry and I love it...but sometimes the hemp I buy is uneven in thickness...any ideas on how to fix this problem? Or any other secrets of the trade? I would love to hear them!

[Lady Christina de Pond]

Drac i have the same issues

[Dracconia]

Lady C, it's nice to know I am not the only one!

[Hoowil]

Every spool/roll of hemp we've had has had lumps and bumps and thin spots in it. I'm sure there might be some that don't but I've never found them.

[lady serena]

I'm not an expert on hemp but I would have to guess the big lumps/bumps are the splices of the hemp. I could be totally off in left field though.

[Betty Munro]

I thought that was what made every peice uniquely interesting.

[Gwen aka Punstergal]

Hemp is an organic. Like real cotten, and jute, and sisal, it's got all sorts of irregularities caused by variations in the source plant material and the process by which it's braided/woven into thread/twine. If you want an even smooth thread of hemp, you'll most likely be buying a hemp-lookalike, or hemp that has been machine processed/pulped/pressed/re-formed to weed out all the irregularities found in naturally produced hemp thread/twine/rope.

I say, embrace organics, those irregularities give character to a piece and let people know that you're using the good stuff

[duffy]

you can shave the bunk(the term for what you are talking about) down if it is to large for your liking. if braiding, you wont lose much strength cause you have other pieces braided with it, it also helps to use some bees wax. there are a few books on it, i have both hemp masters books. http://www.amazon.com/Hemp-Masters-Ancient-Secrets-Knotting/dp/0943604575 http://www.amazon.com/Hemp-Masters-Getting-Ancient-Knotting/dp/0943604621/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b