How to Buy Wool Suits With Thread Counts

Thread counts matter for quality.

Choosing a quality wool suit demands much more than simply looking at the color, style and cut. Long lasting, hard-wearing suits for business or leisure wear demand a high thread count.

Thread Count

Quality suits have finer threads.

Wool fabric is measured by the number of threads in a square inch of fabric and the higher that number the better the quality of the fabric. The Wool Products Labeling Act of 1939 allows only pure, new wool fabrics to be labeled as such. Synthetic fibers are often blended with wool to make it lighter or to add strength and the act determines how each blend can be described.

Warp and Weft

Hard wearing and stylish

The thread count measures the coarseness or fineness of a fabric. "A Handbook of Textiles" explains how weft threads are horizontal threads and warp threads run vertically. The number in a square inch of fabric will determine its thread count. Each thread though can be made up of a number of plies, twisted strands of wool which are woven as one. Using a higher ply will make the fabric denser but will not increase the thread count .Two, three or four plies only count once in the calculation.

Choosing a Suit

Your suit should suit your needs.

Choosing your suit will be a matter of personal style. Cut, color and cost will all play an important part as will the wool content of your suit. A traditional, worsted wool will be coarse in texture while a mohair suit made from the hair of the Angora goat will be lighter and softer. Added synthetic fibers will change the look and feel of the fabric making it lighter in weight or perhaps adding a waterproof element.

References

• A Handbook of Textiles,:, Collier, Ann M ,: 1970
• Glossary of Textile Terms,: Curtis, H P,: 1921
• wool product labelling act