Kinds and Weaves
When I shop for wool vests I see words like “Worsted”, “Merino”, ‘Angora”, “Cashmere”, and even “Virgin” wool?
What do these words mean?
Well, to begin with when you see the word worsted it means the fabric is made of a smooth highly twisted longer fibers that run parallel creating a smooth fabric like gabardine or sharkskin.
Merino is the finest quality wool extracted from Merino sheep that originated in Spain and were greatly prized for their very fine wool. Until the 1700s the Spanish forbade them from being taken out of the country but later they were smuggled out into Germany , France, and Australia. American Merino sheep have white faces and fine wool from their toes to their noses and have been interbred with other sheep so the wool is more readily available now.
Not all wool comes from sheep. Angora, highly prized for its soft wool, is from goats originating from the Turkish province of Ankara (formerly Angora). Rabbits give us Angora fur also and it is used in sweaters . Cashmere comes from India (Kashmir) and Tibet and is goat down. Separating of the soft fibers from the long coarse hair is tedious contributing to the expense of cashmere fabrics and sweaters..
The term “Virgin” wool simply means that it has never been processed into fabric before.
Weaves: Houndstooth, Herringbone, Twill, Plaid, Tweed
Houndstooth: This check originated in Scotland and was created by weaving four alternating bands of dark and light creating a pattern resembling the jagged tooth of a hound. Notice our complete section of houndstooth vests for men and women! Check out our Men’s Black and White Houndstooth vest in our Men’s Casual Vest section.
Herringbone: The herringbone motif is ancient in origin. It is a zigzag pattern composed of short parallel slanted rows that line up in one direction and then another. Herringbone patterns can be traced back to Egyptian gold chains, textiles, and basketry around the world. Check out one of or handsome men’s herringbone vests. See the Man’s Light Bown Herringbone vest featured in the swatch at the left. (the vest is the color of the swatch –not the big picture, sorry.)
Twill: Twill is a weave that is used in making many kinds of strong durable cloth. In twill, the lengthwise threads (known as warp) meet the crosswise threads (called weft) in such a way that diagonal lines form on the surface of the finished cloth in the areas where the yarns interface. These ridges are seen in cotton denim, wool, gabardine or other sturdy fabrics. You will see this fabric in our Men’s Casual Section . The swatch at the left is from our handsome Gray Wool Twill . Take a look!
Plaid: This pattern developed chiefly in Scotland where each clan (tribe) had its own particular TARTAN (design) This design consists of stripes in varying widths and colors crossing at right angles on a solid color background and is called a sett. The fabric is usually wool but today plaids are made in many fabrics. We have many plaids in our Mens Casual Section. One of our favorites is a man’s plaid vest made of 100% wool and is an authentic tartan imported from Scotland of the clan Ramsay. This spring we are adding three more authentic Scotch plaids — including the famous Black Watch. Keep a look out for the announcement!
Tweed: Tweeds are usually made of wool fibers of two or more colors resulting in a background solid color with little flecks or knobs of other colors randomly visible.. Originally the wool was dyed the colors of the heather in Scotland and dyes were made from lichens.( low lying vegetation that will survive in very cold conditions). After the yarn was dyed it was put on looms to be woven. Weavers had a ceremony they call waulking which means shrinking. The cloth was soaked in soapy water and the weavers stood in a circle and passed the cloth around singing waulking songs. Each weaver pounded and rubbed the cloth and then it was dried and ready to be made into clothing. I imagine this whole process is accomplished by machines today.
In Scotland tweed is sometimes called tweel. Some believe the cloth was named for the river Tweed that forms the border between Scotland and England
I have found it difficult to find high quality tweeds but I have one that I purchased in Portland, Oregon last week and it will be in my new spring collection. Watch for it!