Vote for a Tweed!

[Philalethes]

Your chance to vote!

Please help me choose a tweed liner for my Aero Barnstormer. I am looking for something about mid-weight in tweeds: something I can comfortably wear from roughly 28-45 F (-2-7 C) (with layering, of course).

I have narrowed my choices down to the following three. Since I have selected Aero's oil pull hide, I have included it in the picture for comparison.

Now for some closeups of the weaves.

Going from left to right, the first is Harris Tweed's Wood Green, 15/16 oz. It has a thick overlapping weave: it is the fluffiest and I believe the warmest.

By http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/2421/img0452w.jpg[/IMG]

Finally, on the right is Harris Tweed's Mustard, 9.3 oz. In my opinion, it has the nicest visual texture of any tweed I have sampled. Although it doesn't quite come across in pictures, the color is a mixture of brown, orange, and gold hues. It is very thick for its weight and very loosely woven.



I keep going back and forth between these three. The Mustard is probably my favorite, but I am not sure: i) if it will be warm enough - although it is loosely woven, I am afraid it might be too loosely woven (there is little overlapping of threads) to trap enough heat; ii) if it will provide enough contrast between itself and the dark brown of the oil pull (a minor issue). My second favorite is probably the Stirling, which my wife prefers since it has a pattern, followed by the Wood Green.

I find it highly entertaining that I have been deliberating this seriously about a liner. But on the other hand, this is a jacket that marks a special occasion and I want it to be just right.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Well..the more 'open' the weave...the less warm it would be..no matter how thick it is or what it weighs...I would think.
HD

 

[Rudie]

I disagree, HoosierDaddy. Leather is windproof, so the open weave catches more of the body warmth and thus wears warmer. Without wind protection from the leather your point would be valid, though.

I wouldn't go with the Harris Tweed for another reason: Harris Tweed is very coarse and tends to be very itchy. An unlined Harris Tweed suit would be torture for me. I wouldn't use it as a jacket liner unless you like scratching yourself all the time.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I disagree, HoosierDaddy. Leather is windproof, so the open weave catches more of the body warmth and thus wears warmer. Without wind protection from the leather your point would be valid, though.

I wouldn't go with the Harris Tweed for another reason: Harris Tweed is very coarse and tends to be very itchy. An unlined Harris Tweed suit would be torture for me. I wouldn't use it as a jacket liner unless you like scratching yourself all the time.

The reason I gave that opinion,Rudie,is my experience with Aero's heavy drill that has an open weave compared to some others. I had it in a Highwayman purchased from Aero's sale page...and a Aero MC jacket bought from eBay. Although thick and seemingly indestructable...it was the 'coldest' Aero lining of any of my Aero Jackets. It was not because of 'wind chill'...but just 'chilly' cold damp cold..or even just very cool night air. I attributed that to the way it was woven. I sold those two jackets on. My Alcapa and Donegal tweed(tightly woven) are much warmer.
HD

 

[Bernie Zack]

Glenhunt homespun sterling tweed gets my vote.

 

[IXL]

I'd go with the stirling, in the middle

 

[Philalethes]

Thanks for the replies.

As for the weave, I was told here essentially what Rudie said: a loose weave will trap heat (like a fluffy sweater), whereas a tight weave is good for a windproof/water resistant outer shell (like a peacoat). There are some complications, though: a tropical (warm weather) weave also uses a kind of loose weave - just loose enough to not trap heat and allow air to pass through. Perhaps the cotton drill has such a weave - or maybe it is too lightweight to retain any heat.

Also, don't be afraid to tell me that you don't like any of the tweeds - it won't make me cry. I have looked at so many linings I can hardly see straight anymore.



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[John in Covina]

From the big selection picture above I like the golden yellow and the reds on either side as a liner for color alone.

 

[Edward]

I like the Stirling, in the middle. I'd rather like a blazer made up out of that, actually....

 

[Seb Lucas]

Isn't the tweed itchy?

 

[Philalethes]

From the big selection picture above I like the golden yellow and the reds on either side as a liner for color alone.

The two on the right are Donegal tweeds from John Molloy - both runners-up - although my wife keeps telling me the gold looks like "baby poo" in person!

The one on the left is a heavyweight alpaca from Aero: very nice, but probably only suitable for winter wear, since it is very thick.

 

[Philalethes]

Thanks again for all the replies. I may take the advice to go with the Stirling.

As for "scratchiness", I must be strange, because I like the texture of rough tweeds. With that said, I wouldn't wear one as a shirt, but I think it is fine as a liner. Also, some tweeds are not scratchy at all: as I mentioned above, the Stirling has approximately the same smooth texture as Locharron's Strome. And some tweeds are very, very soft - particularly those made by Lovat and Porter & Harding.

 

[Tadite]

The Stirlings great. Great color, contrast, and I think warmth. Tartan is so much more individual and it's one of the strengths of Aero.

In my recent order I went with the mustard Harris Tweed example. It's the very same tweed my wife knitted me driving gloves with and with all the problems at Harris it's the last of their tweeds I really like. Once H-T stopped production of tartan they lost one heck of a lot of their variety. In all honesty that's the reason why I picked it and I'm incredibility jealous that you have those samples! Darn it I should asked for those!