The London Lounge

I'm considering having a pair or two of bespoke trousers made. This will be my first foray into this realm. I'd like to purchase the wool myself, I think, in order to ensure that it's of the best quality. Could I get your thoughts about the following:

1. How many yards is needed for a pair or trousers (34W, 31 inseam)?

2. What quality--in terms of yarn number--of wool would be best for general, but not too frequent, wear? I suspect that the finer wools with higher yarn number, although desirable for jackets, may be less than optimal for trousers, given the greater wear and contact that trousers encounter. Obviously, 100s would be OK, but how high can you go until you reach a level at which the fabric is too fragile and soft? Also, what other characteristics of wool should I be looking for? My plans for at least the first couple of pairs call for worsted wool.

3. What is the approximate price range for wool bought in the quanitity of 1 1/2 - 2 yards?

4. From what sources might I purchase small quantities like this? I'd like to be able to go online and see swatches and then order online.

Any and all help will be greatly appreciated!

Hi SouthPender

I can´t answer your questions about yarns.
But i think for a pair of trousers you will nee about 1,2 -1,3 meters
Swatches:
I give Dormeul yesterday a phonecall ( 0800 free) and told them what i have in mind and they where very friendly and will send me swatches.Maybe you can try this too?

Herbert K.

Hi SouthPender - If you email H. Lesser (info@hlesser.co.uk) they will send you any number of swatches you want and the pricing per metre. The 13oz worsteds would make up very nicely for trousers and they run about GBP 51 per metre, slightly higher for birdseyes. I don't think seeing swatches online would do them any justice - you have to feel the cloth and see it in person.

You can order directly through them (by wire transfer) as they don't have a Canadian distributor or, you can contact Jodek (800-325-4668) in California who are their American agents.

Thanks, Herbert and Tattersall007. I will follow up with getting swatches, as I can see that this would be a much better way of really knowing what I was ordering. Tattersall007, that's also very helpful to know the weight that would be ideal in our part of the world. It seems that you regard a 13-oz. fabric about right for year-around use.

Perhaps I included too much in my initial post. I can probably track down some more wool suppliers, but I think that my main query has to do with the type of wool that is ideal for odd trousers. Can I assume that any suiting wools will work just as well for trousers? Or is there a subset of wool fabrics that constitutes ideal "trousering" wools? At this stage I'm looking for worsted wools and am wondering whether I would be best advised to stick to 100s for trousers. I prefer a plain weave to a twill or gabardine esthetically, but would the latter wear better?

Perhaps it would help to note that the climate here is very similar to that in London--summer highs in the 70s (occasionally in the 80s) , or 21 - 27 C; winter highs in the 40s, or 2 - 8 C; about 40 in. per year precipitation, so fairly rainy.