Hemp Cord Sizes Explained: What #10, #20 and #48 Actually Mean
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If you have ever stared at a wall of hemp cord and wondered why one spool says #20 and another says 1mm and a third says 20lb, here is the short version: they are all describing the same cord.
Hemp cord uses an old numbering convention where the number is the pound test — roughly how much weight the cord holds before it breaks. Once you know that, the whole wall makes sense, and you stop buying cord that is too thin for the knot you had in mind.
The three sizes that cover most projects
Nearly everything in hemp cord comes down to three gauges.
| Number | Diameter | Pound test | What it is for |
|---|---|---|---|
| #10 | 0.5mm | ~10 lb | Jewelry, beading, fine knotting, hang tags, delicate gift wrap |
| #20 | 1mm | ~20 lb | The default. Macramé, bracelets, packaging, general crafting |
| #48 | 1.8mm | ~48 lb | Heavier macramé, plant hangers, garden ties, anything load-bearing |
If you only ever buy one, buy #20. It is thick enough to knot cleanly without a needle, thin enough to pass through most bead holes, and it is the size the majority of macramé patterns assume when they do not specify.
Go to #10 when the cord needs to disappear — a knotted bracelet where the bead is the point, or a tag on a product where you want the tie to read as a detail rather than a feature.
Go to #48 the moment anything hangs. A macramé plant hanger holding a ceramic pot full of wet soil is carrying more weight than people expect, and #20 will do it right up until it does not.
Above 1.8mm you are buying rope, not cord
Past #48 the naming convention changes and everything is quoted in millimeters: 3mm, 4mm, 6mm and 8mm. This is macramé rope territory — wall hangings, larger plant hangers, bag handles, furniture.
At these sizes you also start choosing a construction:
- Single twist — one twisted strand. Softer, easier to fray deliberately into a fringe, more relaxed drape. What most fringed wall hangings use.
- Double twist — strands twisted together, then twisted again. Firmer, holds a knot's shape more crisply, less likely to unravel while you work.
If the piece has a fringe, single twist. If the piece is structural and you want your knots to stay sharp, double twist.
Polished or raw
Most hemp cord sold for crafting is polished, meaning it has been treated so the surface fibers lie flat. Polished cord slides through beads without catching, knots without shedding, and does not leave that faint hairy halo raw hemp has.
Raw or rustic hemp twine keeps the fuzz. That is not a defect — it is the reason people choose it for farmhouse-style packaging, garden work and anything meant to look unfinished. Just do not try to thread it through a small bead.
What "AZO-free" on the label actually means
Colored hemp cord is usually labeled AZO-free, and it is worth knowing why rather than treating it as generic eco-language.
Azo dyes are the largest class of synthetic dyes in textiles. A specific subset of them can break down into aromatic amines, and a number of those amines are restricted in the EU for products with prolonged skin contact. AZO-free means the cord was dyed without that subset.
For a wall hanging it is largely academic. It matters for the things hemp cord actually gets used for most: bracelets and anklets worn against skin for months, and children's craft projects, where the cord ends up in hands and mouths. If you sell finished pieces, it is also the answer to a question your customers will eventually ask.
How much cord is actually on the thing you are buying
Hemp cord is sold in formats that look similar and hold wildly different amounts. Roughly:
- Cards and mini cards — small flat winds, often around 29 feet. Sampler quantities, single-project amounts, color testing.
- Balls — a middle tier. Good for one substantial macramé piece.
- Spools — the working quantity. Commonly around 205 feet, with larger spools running to 400 feet.
Macramé eats cord faster than almost anyone estimates. A standard rule of thumb is that a knotted piece consumes roughly four times its finished length per working strand, and a piece with dense knotting can go higher. If you are working from a pattern that does not state total yardage, buy the spool.
Hemp, jute and cotton are not interchangeable
These three sit next to each other in every craft aisle and behave differently.
- Hemp — strong, holds a knot, resists rot and mildew better than most natural fibers, and softens with handling rather than falling apart. It takes dye well. It is the most forgiving of the three outdoors.
- Jute — cheaper, coarser, sheds noticeably, and degrades faster when it gets wet repeatedly. Fine for one-season garden use and rustic wrapping. Not what you want holding a planter for three years.
- Cotton — softest and whitest, takes color beautifully, and is the usual choice for bakers twine and anything food-adjacent. Weaker than hemp at the same diameter and much less happy about moisture.
The practical version: indoors and decorative, any of the three. Outdoors, load-bearing, or long-lived — hemp.
Hemp wick is a different product
Hemp wick looks like hemp cord because it is hemp cord — coated in beeswax. The coating makes it hold a slow flame, which is why it is sold for candle-making and lighting rather than crafting.
It will knot, but the wax transfers to your hands and to whatever the finished piece touches. If you want cord, buy cord.
Storing it so it lasts
Hemp is durable but not immortal. Three things shorten its life:
- Sunlight. UV degrades natural fiber and fades dye. Store spools in a drawer or a closed box, not on a sunny shelf.
- Damp. Hemp resists mildew better than jute or cotton, but "better" is not "immune." Let outdoor cord dry before coiling it away.
- Tension. Cord stored under strain takes a set and never fully relaxes. Wind it loosely.
Where to start
If you are new to it, one #20 spool in natural and one #48 spool will carry you through most of what you will want to make in the first year, and the two together cost less than a single ball of specialty yarn.
Browse the full range in Hemp Cord & Twine — gauges from 0.5mm through 8mm macramé rope, in natural, solid colors and variegated. Everything ships direct from the brand that makes it, and if you are buying for production rather than a project, bulk pricing is quoted per order.
Working in raw fiber rather than finished cord? See Raw Hemp Fiber & Hurds, and the sourcing guide for brands going industrial hemp.