Fabric question - tweed

Trip_Bradford said:

Technically, what makes something a tweed rather than regular wool fabric?

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I doubt there is anything any longer that can be termed a characteristic exclusive to tweed. As soon as you think of one, there are exceptions. The origin of the term is either a corruption of the word twill due to a mispronunciation, or after the homemade cloth found around the river of that name.

A once defining characteristic of tweed is that the wool is carded rather than combed yielding fibers more loosely bound together when spun, and producing the loft once characteristic of tweed, but which now is often lacking, and woven into a plain weave. (Rather than the twill of questionable etymology.) And all of this traditionally was homespun and woven, though little remains of that.

Tweeds now are often made of worsted yarns, and machine woven into twills. The close woven twills being essential to the thornproof requirements of a traditional keepers tweed. Perhaps the best definition of a tweed is that it's a rougher, more loosely woven country cloth; except when it's not. :icon_smile_wink: