Tweed is an accepted winter staple found in luxury and sporting clothes— in short, it’s a classic. Originally introduced as sportswear, tweed is now much more versatile. It’s used in suiting, outerwear, accessories, and more. Tweed is a woven fabric made up of two or more types, weights, and colors of yarn woven together to give it its signature, textured look. It is durable, breathable, and water-resistant when it is made with wool.
Download a free Sewing with Tweed info sheet!
Selecting Fabric
- To avoid extra bulk, use a thin facing when needed
- Handle with care to avoid excess unraveling
- Tweed comes in many varieties, patterns, colorways, and weights
Cutting
- Use sharp cutting tools for a clean cut
- Allow the tweed to settle with the pattern pieces for at least a day before cutting
- Cut out pattern pieces in the same direction
- Cut one layer at a time if the tweed is on the heavier side
- Match up prints before sewing for a professional finish
Sewing
- Chalk and marking pens do not show up on tweed, so thread trace markings during construction instead
- Some tweed has a loose weave, so stabilizing the fabric before sewing is advised to prevent drooping weaves
- Stabilize shoulder seams by using twill tape to prevent stretching
- Use a sharp new universal or denim needle between sizes 10-14 (depending on the weight) to sew with tweed
- Set machine stitch length to 2-3mm
- An all-purpose thread will do the job
- Use a zigzag or overlock stitch to finish off seams or bias tape if a lining isn’t being used
- Use a pressing cloth to protect the fabric when going over seams or wrinkles to avoid fabric damage
- Before hemming, hang the assembled garment to allow it to drop
- Dry clean tweed to keep it looking its best
- Keep tweed garments in a cool, dry place to avoid any moth interactions and apply moth deterrents
Patterns Suggestions
Tweed fabric may have been traditionally worn as sportswear, but a modern day spin has given tweed new life. Create wintery cloaks, coats, tailored dresses, handbags, hats, and more! Check out the free pattern suggestions below for some fashion-forward tweed inspo!
Choose a fabric that’ll keep you warm and stylish. Sewing with tweed is manageable and the results you’ll achieve are totally worth the extra time spent to cut and sew with care!
What garments come to mind when you think of sewing with tweed? Drop a comment below!
1 comment
I have metallic cream tweed fabric (sourced outside of Mood) that I am pairing with the black linen with silver metallic that I got from here. I cannot wait. This could not have been better timed for me