Care

Hemp-cotton cloth is heavy when it arrives and softens with every wash. Treated well, it will last for years. The three instructions on the label cover it; the detail is below.

• Wash cold
• Line dry
• No bleach

Washing

Cold water, inside out, with like colours, on a gentle cycle — or by hand, which is kinder still. Skip the fabric softener: it coats the fibre and dulls the feel of the cloth. Wash before the first wear if you want the first shrink out of the way.

Drying

Line dry in shade. Direct sun over hours will pull colour out of the dye, and a tumble dryer will shrink the body and cook the seams. Reshape the shoulders while it is damp and it will hang the way it was cut.

Ironing

Medium heat, inside out, while it still holds a little damp. Never take an iron directly to a print or to the hand-numbered mark — press from the reverse, or put a cloth between.

Stains

Cold water and time, straight away. No bleach, ever, and no optical brightener — both attack the hemp before they touch the stain.

Storing

Fold rather than hang. A heavy knit on a hanger stretches at the shoulder over months and never quite comes back.

The cloth relaxes across a wear and tightens slightly after a wash. Neither is a fault in the garment; it is what a hemp-cotton knit does.