About fabrics
Dress wool
The lightest and softest of wool cloths: it falls in folds and keeps you warm without weighing you down. Here is how it differs from suiting and what to make with it.
- Lightthinner than suiting wool
- Drapesin soft folds
- 2–3 mfor a dress at 1.4–1.5 m wide
- 30 °Chand wash or dry clean
What dress wool is
The name covers thin, soft wool cloths that dresses are made of. They are lighter than suiting wool and much lighter than coating wool, drape well and hardly crease.
Wool holds warmth, so a dress of it keeps you warm in cool weather and is not hot in a warm room.
Kinds
Wool crepe: with a slightly grainy surface, matt, falls well. Challis: fine soft plain-weave wool, often printed.
Cashmere and cashmere blends: very soft and warm. Wool jersey: a knit that stretches, for fitted dresses.
Dress wool comes plain, checked as in the photo above, striped or printed.
What to make
Care
Before cutting, decatise dress wool with steam. Wash finished garments by hand at 30 °C with a wool detergent or dry clean them.
Dry flat and iron through a cloth. More in «How to wash wool».
Sources
Facts checked against these pages. The text is our own.
Updated 19 October 2026
Questions
How is dress wool different from suiting wool?
Dress wool is thinner, softer and drapes better: dresses and circle skirts are made of it. Suiting is denser and holds its shape: it goes into suits and trousers.
Does dress wool itch?
Fine dress wool itches little, but for sensitive skin a dress is better lined in viscose.
How much dress wool does a dress take?
At 1.4 to 1.5 m wide usually 2 to 3 m, less for a straight sleeveless dress, more for a circle-skirt dress.
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Dress wool
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