Herringbone Fabric Mills

How the Zigzag Is Woven

Herringbone is a broken twill. In an ordinary twill the diagonal rib runs in one direction across the cloth; in herringbone the weaver reverses the twill direction at regular intervals, so the ribs meet in columns of chevrons. The result is a fabric with the strength and drape of a twill but a surface pattern all its own, and because the pattern comes from the weave itself rather than from printed or dyed colour, it survives washing, pressing and years of wear. Change the width of the chevron columns and the cloth changes character: narrow columns give a fine, almost solid suiting, while wide columns give the bold, rustic zigzag of a country tweed.

The pattern is woven in many fibres, and fibre decides the garment. Wool herringbone is the suiting and coating standard: it drapes, holds a crease, breathes, and takes the subtle flecked colouring of a tweed yarn. Cotton herringbone is the workwear and chino version, matte and washable, familiar from denim-weight jackets and uniform trousers. Blends with polyester or a little elastane serve uniforms and budget suiting, where easy care matters more than hand. In every fibre the broken twill gives the cloth a practical advantage over a plain weave of the same weight: the diagonal structure moves with the body instead of resisting it, which is why herringbone trousers and jackets feel comfortable from the first wearing.

Weights, Colours and Uses

Herringbone is sold by weight and by the boldness of its pattern. Light cloths make shirts, dresses and unlined jackets; the classic suiting range sits in the middle weights and is usually woven in muted greys, browns and navies, often with a faint two-tone fleck from the twisted yarns; heavy weights make overcoats, hunting jackets and upholstery. Colour in a true herringbone comes from the yarns, not from a print, so the cloth keeps a quiet, tonal look that pairs easily with solids and with bolder patterns alike. The one handling note worth knowing is that the chevron columns must be matched at seams, so a herringbone garment takes a careful cutter a little longer than a plain cloth - a detail worth allowing for in made-to-measure orders.

The uses list runs through the history of practical tailoring: the tweed suit and the sports jacket, the winter overcoat, the flat cap and the work jacket, and, in its finer cotton forms, shirting and children's wear. Around this directory, herringbone sits in the twill family beside Gabardine, whose rib runs unbroken, and the wider Fabric Mill Directory indexes the whole section. When enquiring of a mill below, state fibre, weight, chevron width and colour range - those four facts are a complete herringbone specification, and a quotation given without them is not yet a price for the cloth you need.

Using This Directory

The listings below are the complete set Apparel Search carries for herringbone: nine mills, each linked to its own profile in the Fabric Mills by Name section, in India, Bangladesh, the United States, Pakistan and China. No listing has been added or removed, and none was verified dead, so the standing rule - keep a listing when in doubt - leaves the set exactly as the directory has always presented it. Open a profile for the company's directory record and contact details, and judge a mill by the cloths its profile says it weaves regularly: herringbone is a specialist twill, and a mill tooled for it will name its weights and chevron widths plainly. Thank you for using the Apparel Search Fabric Mill Directory.

Herringbone Mills Listed in This Directory