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Tweed fabric guide

Tweed Culottes Design with AI

Mills make tweed culottes regularly, usually in wool tweed at 350 to 500 g/m².

It is the heaviest of the 14 cloths this guide lists for this cut, ahead of rigid denim.

Next to rigid denim, it is heavier, warmer to wear and more demanding to care for.

Culottes in wool tweed, on a model in a studio
Rendered in the studio for this page

Tweed Culottes at a glance

Cloth to ask your mill for
Wool tweed
Typical weight
350 to 500 g/m²
Drape
Structured, holds its own shape
Stretch
Slight
Breathability
Medium
Warmth
Warm
Care
Dry clean
How common
Common
Typical cloth price
$20-60/yard

Typical trade ranges, not one mill's figures: confirm them with your mill.

The culottes, in numbers

Typical length
70 to 85 cm, from the waist
Defining details
Wide leg, mid-calf length, waist pleats, side zip
Cloth needed
about 1.4 to 2.0 m of 150 cm cloth, roughly $31 to $130 of cloth at typical prices

Typical figures for an adult size M. The pattern tier is set from the real piece count when you order.

How tweed behaves on a culottes

Cut into culottes, it holds the shape of the cut on its own: seat, pockets and leg line stay where the pattern puts them.

At this length a structured cloth holds the shape of the pattern from top to hem.

It wears warm, which places it in autumn and winter collections.

The finished piece is usually labelled dry clean only.

It is very hard-wearing and sheds light rain, but heavy tweed is bulky at the seams and stiff at first.

About tweed

Tweed is a rough, warm woollen cloth woven from yarns dyed before weaving, which gives it its flecks and its checks. It was made for the outdoors and remains one of the most durable cloths.

Harris Tweed is hand-woven in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland and carries its own certification mark; most other tweeds come from Scotland, England, Ireland and Italy.

Tweed jackets, coats and skirts are lined in viscose or cupro, for comfort and so the cloth does not catch.

Cutting, sewing and color

A 90/14 needle; match the check or the stripe at every seam, and tape the edges so they do not stretch.

Its color comes from yarns dyed before weaving, so the flecks are part of the cloth, not printed on it.

Its surface is matte, so it photographs evenly under flat light.

A description to start from

A culottes in wool tweed, 350 to 500 g/m², with a structured drape and a matte surface, for autumn and winter.

If tweed is not quite right

Also: how the studio works, prices and questions and answers.

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