Coating wool

Broadcloth: dense and smooth, with a thick nap that hides the weave. The classic for formal coats.

Tweed: rougher, with flecks of coloured yarn, often in herringbone or check. A warm cloth for everyday coats and jackets.

Pile and bouclé cloths: a long soft pile or little loops on the surface. Fluffy to look at, good for roomy and short styles.

Look at the density: the thicker and denser the cloth, the warmer the coat, and the heavier. A lighter cloth suits spring and autumn, a denser one winter, with insulation under the lining.

Mind the nap. Napped cloth is cut so the nap runs the same way on every part, or the parts will look like different shades. That takes extra fabric.

Herringbone or check needs extra too: the pattern has to match at the seams. Add 10 to 20 % to the usual amount.

At 1.5 m wide a short coat or jacket usually takes 2 to 2.5 m, a knee-length coat 2.5 to 3 m, a long one 3 to 3.5 m. Wide sleeves, a hood or a big collar add another 0.3 to 0.5 m.

Every piece in our shop is sold whole, with its exact width and length, so compare the size with your pattern before you reserve. How to work it out for your own style is in the article «How much fabric a coat takes».

The simplest way: burn a few threads from the edge over a sink. Wool burns slowly, goes out by itself, smells of burnt hair and leaves a brittle ash that crumbles between the fingers. Synthetics melt and set into a hard bead that smells of plastic.

If you find both ash and hard beads, it is a wool blend. Such cloth is often stronger and creases less than pure wool. Every way to check is in the article «How to tell wool from synthetics».

Before cutting, decatise the coating wool: steam it through a damp cotton cloth and let it dry flat. That way it will not shrink in the finished coat.

A finished coat is best dry cleaned. Between wears, brush it, hang it on broad hangers and never iron wool directly: it leaves shiny marks.