Tweed Chosen and Ordered!

I called up the folks at Linton Tweed and asked for some samples.  I asked for three samples and this is what they sent:

Being sent 15 swatches rather than three didn't make the choice easy!

And that is not all they sent!  Check out these wool crepes:

These are the height of luxury, thick and spongy.

I really think this is the best customer service I have had since I moved to the UK.  I didn't even have to pay postage costs for the samples!  At around £22/metre for the tweeds and £18/metre for the crepes, it's not cheap.   It is value for money though.  Buying fabric from Linton is probably the only thing I will ever have in common with Coco Chanel.  


At one point, I was pretty sure I was going to buy one of these tweeds:

All classically Spring, either light and bright or navy blue.

In the end, I just chose the one I fancied most and decided not to worry if it fit the season or not.

I am not sure if the black threads are very Spring-y, but I liked it.  And, I ordered it!

Based on the fabric I chose, I decided to play it straight and sew up the Burda Jacket (March 2011, style 109) as presented.  If it is a rip-roaring success, I'll have the confidence to try something edgier in the Fall.  Now, I just need to get my interfacing and notions in time for the sew-along.

Tweed Jackets

I'd like to make myself a tweed jacket.  I am just so in love with Linton tweeds and besotted by the fact that they are still made here in England!  The trouble is, it's easy to end up looking like a lady of a certain age who lunches in a fancy tweed jacket.  How to do a modern jacket with beautiful, traditional tweed?  


The March Issue of Burdastyle has a tweed jacket with a sewing course (instructions.)  I've had good luck with these before, so I am considering it

Burdastyle 109, March 2011

I just wonder if it will end up looking a bit too fussy to wear with jeans.  So I've gone looking for modern, casual versions.  I'm not sure I've found the silver bullet yet though.  Here's a few:

Tweed Denim Blazer, McQ
From the Liberty department store website

Roberto Cavalli Leather trimmed tweed and silk chiffon jacket, picture from Net-a-Porter.com

Isola Marras boucle tweed jacket
from Flannels fashion

Zac Posen Ocelot tweed jacket from Net a Porter

Rebecca Taylor
from zappos.

I'm still not sure, so if anyone has any inspiring ideas, please do feel free to comment!  All suggestions will be gratefully received.


I notice that the jackets I am attracted to are a little distressed, with unfinished edges and possibly zips, and untraditional trims such as leather or denim.  Also, all these jackets are in drab colours.  I'd prefer to make a bright springy coloured jacket.  I am sick of winter.  I wonder if this sort of thing would work with candy colours or if you just have to stick neutrals.  Thoughts?


The bright coloured tweeds tend to be on the retro-with-a-twist jackets.  I like them, they are definitely cute.  But I worry about looking like mutton dressed as lamb.  Sometimes the cuter the garment, the less cute I look myself in juxtaposition! 


I need to figure out what I am doing quickly because Sherry at pattern ~ scissors ~ cloth is doing a jacket sew along starting in April and I don't want to miss out!  If you've been following her sew her totally unnecessary cocktail dress, then you are probably keen to join too.  She has made a button, but I don't know how to link it to anything, so click here if you want to join her tailoring sew a long post.

This might be my last post for a few days.  I have two children's birthday parties to throw over the next ten days and I'd like to do a little sewing! :-)

More Tweed Please!

Simplicity "Threads" 2758, view E

I had a little bit of wool/acrylic tweed in my stash.  It was a birds eye tweed that I bought on sale last year at John Lewis (dept store in UK).  I wasn't sure what to do with it, and then decided I would try to make myself a skirt.  My daughters are always thrilled when I wear a skirt.  It turned out fine.  I thought an A-line skirt would be really great on me, but I feel a little meh about it.  I think I made it with too much ease and therefore it doesn't sit on my actual waist which in this case just means that my waist looks thicker and lower.

Side view, you can see that it has slid down a bit.

It's not the end of the world though.  It is certainly very comfortable and very warm!  Two characteristics that mean it will get wear from me even if it is not the most flattering option.  

There was no lining in the pattern, how annoying.  Anyway, I added my own.  It went OK.  I had wanted to leave the lining hanging free, but I couldn't figure out how to finish the side seams if I did.  I don't have a serger and a french seam finish would have made the side zipper a problem.  So, in the end, I pressed the lining seams open and caught the lining hem in the skirt hem.  Hopefully this doesn't cause trouble when I wash it.

Lining hem caught and sewn inside skirt hem.

The pattern required a LOT of hand stitching for "view e."  I don't mind hand stitching, it is a good excuse to sit in front of the TV and watch something silly.  I toyed with the idea of using a strongly contrasting thread for the top stitching, maybe bright pink, but chickened  out and went with a coordinating brown.  I was afraid a "colour" would limit what I could wear the skirt with.  If I had it to do over, I would be bolder.

But the biggest thing to mention in this post is how nice tweed is!  Wow!  What a joy to sew with.  I want more of this stuff, and for once I am living in the right place- hurray!  It handles so easily and looks so lux.  When you iron it, it smells like a field of sheep in the rain...not an off-putting sensation, if you like to ramble.  In fact, I think I am falling in love with wool altogether.  It irons so well and behaves as nicely in the sewing machine as quilting cotton.  


There are definitely bargain tweeds to be found on Goldhawk Road.  They run at about £12/metre.  For a step up, I found Linton Tweeds selling directly on the internet.  They have a lot of tweeds in the £18 to £22 a metre range.  Linton supplied the tweeds to Miss Coco herself back in the day.  So I certainly have them on my radar now.


Is anyone else in love with tweed?  Am I hopeless?