The London Lounge

Gentlemen

I am planning to make a sport jacket in flannel.
I have found some wonderful glen check patterns from Fox flannels mid weight and classic english flannel bunches.

My question is: How warm is flannel compared to other cloth?

Can the 10/11 ounce midweight flannel be used all year round?

And what about the 13/14 ounce classic english flannel? Is it a winter cloth, or can it be used in all seasons except summer?

Hope to hear from you,

Pichao

In general flannel is not an open weave. As such it doesn't allow for much air to pass through, so in that respect it's a warm cloth even before you talk weight. I've recently had my first bespoke suit made up in the 14oz CC RAF flannel. It is wearable in temperatures up to 20 degrees Celsius, give or take a few degrees depending on other circumstances such as humidity, wind and ferociousness of the sun.

I agree with J.S. Groot, flannel is warm anyway, so go for the heavier stuff - it tailors better, drapes better, wears better, lasts longer. I find even lightweight flannel too warm for all but the northernmost of summers.

Pichao:

When considering flannel for a commission, bypass worsted flannel and flannel blends. Aim for pure woollen flannel in the 14 to 14 1/2 ounce per meter range. Some of the best sources, in no particular order, include Hunt & Winterbotham, Harrisons of Edinburgh, J.J. Minnis, and Fox Flannels. The Italian mills make lovely woollen flannels too, but they tend to be somewhat lighter in weight than their English counterparts and a bit more fragile in the longrun.

JMB

If fragility is a concern, I think worsted flannel deserves consideration as well.

As to trousers...I love the 500-520gram (16-17oz) stuff from Gorina...but this weight can be a bit warm indoors for a jacket.

Gorina has some 420-450gram (14-15oz) woollen flannel which might warrant some consideration for a jacket

I have found 14-15oz woollen flannel jacket to be optimal for almost year around use here in Los Angeles.

Mr.Costi,
Which wears warmer a16.oz flannel vs.16 oz. worsted ?Kindly enlighten me .

murtadza

I'd say at 16 oz both flannel (a compact fabric) and worsted (a tight weave) will wear relatively warm. I mean, don't expect any of the two to wear "cool". Which one wears warmer than the other becomes subjective and the difference may not be notable. Heavyweight barathea, fresco, or linen will wear cooler, as they are more breathable.
If you tend to run warm, get heavier but open weave fabrics. If you run cool or intend to wear the clothes during the colder months, either a flannel or worsted in 16 oz will be fine. On the other hand, there will no be MUCH difference between how warm a 12 oz and 16 oz flannel wears, in my opinion, as I wrote above... so it makes sense to get the heavier stuff anyway.
Hope it helps!

Costi wrote:I'd say at 16 oz both flannel (a compact fabric) and worsted (a tight weave) will wear relatively warm. I mean, don't expect any of the two to wear "cool". Which one wears warmer than the other becomes subjective and the difference may not be notable. Heavyweight barathea, fresco, or linen will wear cooler, as they are more breathable.
If you tend to run warm, get heavier but open weave fabrics. If you run cool or intend to wear the clothes during the colder months, either a flannel or worsted in 16 oz will be fine. On the other hand, there will no be MUCH difference between how warm a 12 oz and 16 oz flannel wears, in my opinion, as I wrote above... so it makes sense to get the heavier stuff anyway.
Hope it helps!

Thank you Mr.Costi,I have another question.Is LLCC Mistral has an open weave as its predecessor the Brisa?.

murtadza

Costi wrote:If fragility is a concern, I think worsted flannel deserves consideration as well.

Interesting, I had this conversation with my tailor two days ago. I was looking for a light navy flannel or worsted flannel. He steered me away from worsted flannel because, in his opinion (he's been a round a LONG time), when worsted flannel ages the nap wears off and it begins to look more like a smooth worsted, whereas a woollen flannel will always look like flannel. I went for 14oz Minnis flannel.

That is true, Scot, but worsted flannel keeps its shape better. Woolen flannel never makes it to that stage, it loses shape before it loses nap.

Costi wrote:That is true, Scot, but worsted flannel keeps its shape better. Woolen flannel never makes it to that stage, it loses shape before it loses nap.

I guess there is charm in ageing, either way. Well, we have to hope so.

Scot wrote:

Costi wrote:If fragility is a concern, I think worsted flannel deserves consideration as well.

Interesting, I had this conversation with my tailor two days ago. I was looking for a light navy flannel or worsted flannel. He steered me away from worsted flannel because, in his opinion (he's been a round a LONG time), when worsted flannel ages the nap wears off and it begins to look more like a smooth worsted, whereas a woollen flannel will always look like flannel. I went for 14oz Minnis flannel.

Its one of the reasons tweed was always so popular in Ireland, a worsted would always wear 'shiny', which was very poorly thought of whereas tweed no matter how loose and baggy it might get would never do that until it finally wore out, this is due to the way the woolen spun yarn refracts light.

For me tweed does not wear warm. Perhaps this why it is and should be heavy. It is best when worn over a warm sweater or shirt. Of course, there are other very good reasons to wear tweed, namely its unique character and unrivaled depth of color. I enjoy wearing it and do so whenever the occasion calls.
But flannel is the cloth for cool weather business and most indoor social events. Nothing beats it in a drafty office. I find that it wears about as warm as worsted that is 3 to 4 ounces heavier. Moreover, IMO, flannel is so much more interesting than worsted. From October to March in the mid-Atlantic I'll take it every time. If all this were not enough, women can't resist the urge to touch it.

I have my first flannel suit in the making. I chose from the Harrisons book, over half of which is worsted flannel. I have to say that all of those (the plaids in particular) looked and felt pretty good. Yet they didn't seem as alive as the heavier woollen ones. Reading all of the above I regret having chosen the 400 gms instead of the 475 gms. On the other hand, the boldness of the 475 gms cloth did seem a bit much in comparison to my somewhat fine countenance. Such a bizarre thing, imagining up an entire outfit with just a little piece of cloth in hand. Of course it will be easier next time.