Wool Blend Fabric
Italian wool blends by the metre: a fine wool crepe for tailoring and dresses, and textured bouclé and houndstooth tweed for jackets and coats.
- 6 colours
- From $52.80 per metre
Guide
Wool Blend Fabric: Uses and How to Sew It
Our Italian wool blends, which one suits your project, and tips for sewing jackets, coats and skirts.
Our wool blends
- Made in Italy. All our wool blends are woven in Italy.
- Wool crepe. A fine suiting with a crinkled texture that drapes softly, for tailoring and dresses.
- Bouclé and tweed. Textured, structured coatings for jackets and coats in a classic couture look.
Which wool blend?
| Wool crepe | Bouclé | Houndstooth tweed | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Look | A fine, crinkled crepe surface | Looped, knotted yarns in black and white | A classic all-over houndstooth check |
| Weight | Medium to light | Medium to heavy | Medium to heavy |
| Made of | 39% wool, 36% viscose, 25% acetate | 90% polyester, 10% wool | 60% cotton, 15% wool, 15% nylon, 10% acetate |
| Width | 137 cm | 147 cm | 147 cm |
| Great for | Jackets, trousers, skirts and dresses | Tailored jackets, coats and skirts | Jackets, coats, trousers and skirts |
| Colours | Black, navy and maroon | Black and white | Black and white, beige and brown |
What to make with it
- Tailored jackets and blazers
- Coats and outerwear
- Trousers and skirts
- Dresses (wool crepe)
Cutting
- Buy a little extra fabric for the houndstooth tweed, so you can match the check at the side seams, centre front and centre back.
- Cut bouclé and tweed as a single layer, with all the pieces facing the same way.
- Bouclé and tweed fray, and so does wool crepe, so finish the cut edges with an overlocker or zigzag soon after cutting.
- On bouclé, leave wider seam allowances (2.5 cm or so), as it frays and gives you room to adjust the fit.
- Mark with tailor's tacks or tailor's chalk, tested on a scrap first.
Sewing
- Use a fresh needle, size 80 for wool crepe and 90 for bouclé and tweed, and a good-quality polyester thread. For decorative topstitching, use a topstitching thread and a slightly longer stitch.
- Sew with a 2.5 to 3 mm stitch, a little longer on bouclé, and use a walking foot if your machine has one, so the layers feed evenly.
- Fusible interfacing may not stick well to bouclé, so test it on a scrap first. For a firmer, sewn-in interfacing that suits their weight, use cotton organdy.
- Jackets and coats are usually lined, so they slide on easily and the inside looks neat. See our lining guide.
- For a classic couture bouclé jacket, quilt a silk crepe de chine lining straight to the bouclé in vertical rows about 2.5 cm apart, using a walking foot, so the two move as one.
- Big buttonholes can stretch and fray in bouclé, so sew the buttons on as decoration and close the jacket with hidden snaps behind them.
- For a skirt, press the waist seam open to keep it flat, and face the waistband with petersham ribbon instead of a second layer of fabric.
Hems
Wool blends are too thick for a double-fold hem. Overlock or zigzag the raw edge, turn the hem up once, and stitch it by hand with a catch stitch so it doesn't show on the outside.
Pressing
Press on a wool setting with steam, through a pressing cloth so the fabric doesn't go shiny. Wool crepe shapes beautifully with steam, which helps when setting in sleeves. Our blends include acetate and other fibres that don't like too much heat, so test on a scrap first. On bouclé, press lightly from the wrong side so the loops don't flatten.
Questions
What is wool crepe?
A fine wool blend suiting with a crinkled surface texture, made from tightly twisted yarns. It drapes softly and suits jackets, trousers, skirts and dresses.
Is bouclé hard to sew?
It frays and its loops can catch, so finish the edges soon after cutting, use a slightly longer stitch and press lightly. With those, it sews up well.
Do I need to line a wool jacket?
Most jackets and coats are lined, so they slide on easily and look neat inside. See our lining guide.
Where are your wool blends made?
In Italy.
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