Hessian fabric

"Burlap" redirects here. For other uses, see Burlap (disambiguation).

Rug making on burlap.

Hessian /ˈhɛsi.ən/, or burlap in America and Canada, is a woven fabric usually made from skin of the jute plant or sisal fibres, which may be combined with other vegetable fibres to make rope, nets, and similar products. Gunny cloth is similar in texture and construction.

Hessian, a dense woven fabric, has historically been produced as a coarse fabric, but more recently it is being used in a refined state known simply as jute as an eco-friendly material for bags, rugs and other products.

The name "burlap" appears to be of unknown origin although the word could mean "coarse piece of cloth." The name "hessian" is attributed to the use of the fabric, initially, as part of the uniform of soldiers from the former Landgraviate of Hesse and its successors in interest (including the current German state of Hesse), whose people (and thus soldiers) were called "Hessians."

History

Hessian was first exported from India in the early 19th century. It was traditionally used as backing for linoleum, rugs and carpet.

Uses

Shipping and construction

Hessian is often used to make sacks and bags to ship goods such as coffee beans and rooibos tea; these contrivances are known as gunny sacks. It is breathable and thus resists condensation and associated spoilage of contents. It is also durable enough to withstand rough handling in transit; these properties have also led to its use for temporary protection as wet covering to prevent rapid moisture loss in the setting of cement and concrete in the construction industry. Hessian is also commonly used to make effective sandbags; hessian sacks filled with sand are often used for flood mitigation in temporary embankments against floodwaters or field fortifications.

Hessian is also often used for the transportation of unprocessed dry tobacco. This material is used for much the same reasons as it would be used for coffee. Hessian sacks in the tobacco industry hold up to 200 kg (440lb) of tobacco, and due to hessian's toughness, a hessian sack can have a useful life of up to three years.

Landscaping and agriculture

Hessian is used to wrap the exposed roots of trees and shrubs when transplanting and also for erosion control on steep slopes.

Apparel

Due to its coarse texture, it is not commonly used in modern apparel. However, this roughness gave it a use in a religious context for mortification of the flesh, where individuals may wear an abrasive shirt called a cilice or "hair shirt" and in the wearing of "sackcloth" on Ash Wednesday.

Owing to its durability, open weave, naturally non-shiny refraction and fuzzy texture, Ghillie suits for 3-D camouflage are often made of hessian. It was also a popular material for camouflage scrim on combat helmets during World War II. Until the advent of the plastic "leafy" multi-color net system following the Vietnam War, burlap scrim was also woven onto shrimp and fish netting to create large-scale military camouflage netting. During the Great Depression in the U.S., cloth became relatively scarce in the largely agrarian parts of the country. Many farmers used burlap cloth to sew their own clothes. However, sensitive skin's prolonged exposure to the material can cause rashes.

In art

Hessian has been used by artists as an alternative to canvas as a stretched painting or working surface. In horror fiction, it is commonly used as a mask and as a mask for victims of beheading.

Emergency flood response

Hessian bags are often deployed as sandbags as a temporary response to flooding. Because of their material, they can either be reused or can be composted after use. Agencies like the State Emergency Service in Australia and Technisches Hilfswerk in Germany often deploy sandbags, and these are found in the majority of their emergency response vehicles. Plastic bags have been used as a substitute, but SES units have found hessian bags to be more versatile as they can be used in a variety of rescue applications: as an edge protector for rope rescue operations, for use as padding on slings used in animal rescue or used to dampen and beat out bush-fires.

In beekeeping

Hessian fabric is often used as smoker fuel in beehive-tending because of its generous smoke generation and ease of ignition.