Prickly bits producing from your shoulders

[Guest]

I have a question that has bothered me for some time. On a few of my suits -- particularly one that had an emergency dry-cleaning -- some very stiff fibers protrude through the fabric over the shoulder. I assume that they are part of the substrates of the shoulder. Does anyone know why this happens and if there is anything that can be done about it? FYI, this has happened to a few suits, all of good RTW make; Luciano Barbera, Belvest, etc.

[Guest]

Those fibres, either horsehair or sometimes synthetic, are part of the canvas. Traditionally, this is a linen fabric with horsehair woven in to give it added strength and is used to give shape to the coat and vest. The only alternative is a fused interlining which should be avoided.

Sometimes individual fibres work themselves free and poke out of the cloth. There is nothing you can do but pull them out or cut them off close to the surface and pull the cloth away from the canvas to make them disappear again. The former will mean that you are "taking the stuffing out" of the coat, the latter causes the short and sharp end of the fibre to grate against the inside of the cloth.

I believe that some tailors cover the edges of the canvas with linen strips to avoid this problem. However, this will add bulk and I am not sure whether it can be used in all places on a coat. Maybe one of the resident tailors can offer more enlightenment.

TVD

[Guest]

I had this problem once about 15 years ago with a suit from Oakloom of Baltimore. I had either horsehair or polyester threads poke through the shoulder. At that time I did not have the courage to return it to the store. I sent the suit to the thrift shop.

I have not had this problem either before or since. Therefore, I think that this is a manufacturing defect which should be brought to the attention of the store which should either provide a credit or some other acommodation.