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Tweed fabric guide

Tweed Shirt Design with AI

A tweed shirt is a specialist order: ask for wool tweed at 300 to 400 g/m², and expect fewer mills to take it on.

It is the heaviest of the 12 cloths this guide lists for this cut, ahead of lightweight denim.

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

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

Tweed Shirt at a glance

Cloth to ask your mill for
Wool tweed
Typical weight
300 to 400 g/m²
Drape
Structured, holds its own shape
Stretch
Slight
Breathability
Medium
Warmth
Warm
Care
Dry clean
How common
Niche, usually a specialist order
Typical cloth price
$20-60/yard

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

The shirt, in numbers

Typical length
72 to 80 cm, from the high point of the shoulder
Defining details
Collar and stand, split or one-piece yoke, front placket, barrel or French cuffs
Cloth needed
about 1.6 to 2.2 m of 150 cm cloth, roughly $35 to $140 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 shirt

On a shirt it holds its own shape, which suits a cropped, boxy or sculpted top more than a fitted one.

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 shirt in wool tweed, 300 to 400 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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