How tailored suits are made

Inside a good suit jacket sits a hidden layer of canvas, often horsehair, that gives the chest its curve.

stations: 7
things upstream: 43
raw sources: 12
steps from the ground: 8

The short version

Suit cloth is woven from wool yarn, most often worsted, whose fibers are combed before spinning for a smooth, hard-wearing finish. Cutters lay patterns on the cloth, and tailors build a canvas structure inside the jacket that gives it shape. Panels are sewn together, then steam-pressed into curves.

Comb and spin the wool

For worsted yarn, wool fibers are combed so they lie parallel before spinning. The result is a smooth, hard yarn that makes a cloth with a clean surface. Woolen yarn skips the combing and stays fuzzier.

Goes in
Wool fleece
Weave the suiting cloth

Looms weave the yarn into the twill or plain weave that gives the cloth its pattern. The weave and the weight of the yarn decide whether the suit is a heavy winter cloth or a light summer one.

Goes in
Wool yarn
Shrink and finish the cloth

The woven cloth is washed, steamed and pressed so it will not shrink or twist later. A suit made from unfinished cloth would shrink the first time it met steam.
Cut the pieces

Each yard of cloth is inspected, then cut by machine or by hand. Stripes and checks are hand cut so the pattern lines up across pockets, flaps and seams, which wastes more cloth but looks better.
Build the jacket canvas

Canvas is soaked and air dried, then shaped and attached inside the front of the jacket, either stitched or fused with adhesive. It gives the chest and lapel their curve and keeps the jacket balanced on the body.

Goes in
Adhesive
Sew the jacket and trousers

The panels are joined, the lining is stitched into the jacket, the sleeves are set into the shoulders, and the trouser legs are attached to the waistband. Pockets and buttonholes are among the last details sewn.

Goes in
Sewing thread Button
Press into shape

Steam presses and hot irons mold the finished jacket over curved forms. The heat and moisture relax the wool so the lapels roll and the shoulders keep their shape, and each suit is inspected before it leaves.

End of the lineTailored suit

Worth repeating

Worsted and woolen cloth start from the same raw wool, but only worsted yarn is combed before spinning.
Joseph Abboud's factory in Massachusetts counts 147 operations to complete a garment.