When you picture a gentleman dressed in tweed, you most likely imagine him in a classic brown jacket. While this is a very traditional look, tweed patterns aren’t limited to this style or colour.
In fact, there are a dozen different pattern tweeds every gentleman should familiarise themselves with. There’s nothing more impressive than a gent who knows his classic fabrics!
So, without further ado, let’s talk tweed cloth patterns.
Tweed Patterns vs. Tweed Style: What’s the Difference?
Before we go any further, though, it’s important to understand the difference between tweed patterns and tweed styles.
Tweed Style
When we talk about the style of tweed, we’re referring to its origin, or the type of wool used to make it.
For instance, Harris Tweed is one of the most popular tweed styles. It’s handwoven by islanders at their homes in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, using pure virgin wool that is dyed and spun. To earn the label “Harris Tweed”, it must be made in this area. In fact, it is legally protected under the Harris Tweed Act of 1993, ensuring its authenticity and quality.
Tweed Pattern
On the other hand, tweed patterns refer to the visual designs woven into the fabric, such as herringbone, windowpane, or plaid. These patterns can be found across various tweed styles, including Harris Tweed, Donegal, and Saxony. The Harris Tweed alone is available in over 600 types of tweed cloth patterns.
Understanding both the style and pattern of tweed can help you make more informed choices when selecting your fabric, ensuring they align with both your personal taste and the occasion at hand. Plus, it gives you a great talking point at said occasion!
12 Tweed Patterns For the Modern Gentleman
1. Plain Twill
Twill tweed — or plain twill — is the most fundamental tweed weave. It has a diagonal pattern that’s created by the way the yarn is woven into the fabric. This pattern can be large or small, and comes in a variety of colours and shades.
Plain twill is a simple yet elegant design, making it versatile for both formal and casual wear. Its pattern can be made to stand out, or so subtle that it appears to be plain. We love the classic look it creates in this grey classic tweed suit.
2. Prince of Wales
The Prince of Wales pattern — also known as the Glen check — is one of the most popular tweed patterns for both men and women. The Prince of Wales is composed of two light coloured stripes alternating with four dark and four light stripes.
As the name suggests, the cross pattern of irregular checks was popularised by the Prince of Wales, Edward VII. This pattern comes in a variety of eye-catching and classic colour combinations.
Check out the Prince of Wales grey pattern tweed, as worn by our customer Pete J at the Goodwood Revival!
3. Herringbone
Your Fall/Winter wardrobe will not be complete without the eye-catching herringbone pattern.
Herringbone is characterised by columns of slanted parallel lines, with the lines on each column alternating in direction and creating a V-shape. Herringbone tweed cloth patterns can be subtle or bold, depending on the width of the columns and angle of the slanted lines.
You can see the classic herringbone on our bestseller blue herringbone tweed three-piece suit, as worn by customer Nicholas V!
4. Windowpane
It won’t come as any surprise that the windowpane pattern resembles a windowpane. It features thin vertical and horizontal stripes that are all symmetrically spaced and woven against a contrasting colour. It’s a subtle yet stylish pattern that works great for suits and trousers.
The windowpane pairs perfectly with either a matching patterned vest or a coloured vest that matches the thin stripes.
Tweedmaker’s light brown tweed three-piece suit features the charming windowpane check. See it in action on our customer, Matthew Z.
5. Plaid
As with tweed fabric itself, the plaid pattern also originates from Scottish culture. It comes in a wide range of colours and patterns, with many of them specifically associated with a Scottish clan’s identity.
The term plaid is largely used to refer to fabrics that feature diverse combinations of intersecting horizontal and vertical lines, creating different-sized squares and checks with the lines designed in varying colours. Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all the different plaid tweed prints, but it’s a good start to give you a better idea of how each can complement your personal style.
Above, Tweedmaker customer Lucas G. sports his retro plaid pattern tweed three-piece suit.
6. Houndstooth / Dogtooth
Houndstooth and dogtooth tweed patterns originated in the Scottish Borders. Both of these designs feature a type of broken checked pattern, with pointed shapes rather than neat little squares.
The difference between houndstooth and dogtooth? The former is usually a little bigger. You may also come across a tiny version of the pattern called puppytooth.
Tweedmaker’s retro Grey wool three-piece suit features the houndstooth design, as worn by a customer and his groomsmen!
7. Checked
Checked pattern tweed is a little like the windowpane pattern we looked at above. However, unlike windowpane tweed, checked pattern tweed usually has much smaller squares.
These small squares are all equally proportioned and are laid out in horizontal and vertical lines, sometimes incorporating a number of different colours.
Checked tweed features on Tweedmaker’s best-selling olive green check tweed three-piece suit. As worn by our dashing customer, John P.
8. Barleycorn / Bird's Eye
Barleycorn tweed has a beautiful flecked pattern. Look closely at the material, and you’ll see that it resembles almost-circular barley kernels laid side by side.
This type of tweed looks incredible when it is woven in a single colour (or very similar shades). That’s because, without the distraction of a complex hue, the exceptional texture gets to really shine through. The colours appear to merge into one from a distance.
While bird’s eye tweed is very similar to barleycorn, bird’s eye tends to be laid out in a more regular arrangement.
The Barleycorn tweed cloth pattern is featured in Tweedmaker’s classic navy barleycorn tweed three-piece suit.
9. Striped
This tweed design requires little explanation. Striped pattern tweed is made up of vertical lines, sometimes of varying widths.
Tweedmaker’s navy wool stripe three-piece suit features striped tweed in an elegant design. See it on our stylish customer Paul B.
10. Tartan
Tartan tweed patterns were traditionally based on designs specific to each Scottish clan (or family). But these days, you’ll find tartan tweed in a wide variety of colours and designs.
Nevertheless, most still follow the traditional pattern, including a variety of intersecting vertical and horizontal lines.
11. Estate
Unlike tartan, which was historically used to identify members of the same Scottish clan, estate tartan was used to indicate which estate you lived or worked at.
It is said that each estate design was created with the colours of the local landscape in mind. So gamekeepers, residents and visitors could don the estate tweed and stay camouflaged whenever they went out hunting.
An estate pattern incorporates a traditional herringbone pattern overlaid with a large check pattern.
12. Gun Club
Gun club tweed is a version of one of the earliest estate tweeds.
Originally referred to as Glen check or Glenurquhart check, gun club tweed got its name when the pattern was adopted by the New York Gun Club in the late 19th Century.
The gun club pattern is made up of a regular check pattern, with an additional check (in a third color) placed over the top. You’ll often find this pattern crafted in traditional brown base shades.
13. Basketweave
Basketweave tweed is a pattern of interlocking squares, creating a basket-like effect. This pattern often comes in neutral colours. It’s a particularly popular choice for heavier-weight tweed fabrics.
Explore All the Pattern Tweed Available From Tweedmaker
From the classic herringbone and plaid, to the Prince of Wales and windowpane, build up your collection of tweed suits in all the patterns at Tweedmaker.
If you’re unsure which pattern to go for, why not try out Tweedmaker’s new fabric swatches option? Be confident in choosing the right tweed pattern for you!
