Winter suit fabrics: a guide to garam suit cloth

What garam suit actually means

In India, garam suit ka kapda simply means warm cloth for a suit, usually a salwar or kurta set sold as cut lengths or as an unstitched set. It is a shopping phrase rather than a fibre, and it can cover fine wool, a wool blend, brushed acrylic or velvet. The same is true of winter dress fabric or suiting in other markets.

So treat the name as a starting point and ask what the cloth contains. With an unstitched set, ask separately about the top, the bottom and the shawl or dupatta, because they are often three different fabrics, and only one of them may be the warm one you are paying for.

The main winter fabrics

• Wool: the natural crimp in the fibre holds still air, and wool keeps much of its warmth even when slightly damp. Woollen cloth uses short, fuzzy yarns and is softer and warmer. Worsted uses combed, smoother yarns and is sleeker and better at holding a crease, which is why it is common in tailored suits.
• Pashmina-style blends: true pashmina is a fine cashmere from Himalayan goats, and it is very light and warm. Much of what the market calls pashmina is a blend of wool with viscose, silk or acrylic. These blends can be lovely, but they are not the same thing, so ask for the composition.
• Woollen and acrylic blends: acrylic is light, warm for its weight, holds colour well and costs less than wool. Blending it with wool brings down the cost and can ease the care. The trade off is that more acrylic usually means less breathability and more pilling.
• Velvet: the pile traps air, so it feels warm and looks festive. It suits evening suits and party wear rather than daily use, and most kinds need careful handling.
• Corduroy: usually cotton or a cotton blend with a cut pile in vertical ribs called wales. Fine wales suit shirts and dresses, while wide wales suit jackets and trousers. It is warm without being hot, and it is usually easy to wash.
• Tweed: a rough, sturdy woollen cloth, often in a twill or herringbone weave with flecks of colour. It is very durable and works well for jackets, coats and skirts. Traditional tweed can feel scratchy, so linings are common.

How to judge warmth: weight, fibre and weave

Weight is the easiest figure to ask for. Winter dress and suit fabrics often sit around 200 to 350 GSM, and tweeds and coat-weight wools often go higher. Treat it as a guide and not a verdict: a lofty, brushed cloth can be warmer than a heavier flat one, because still air does most of the insulating.

Fibre sets the character. Wool and cashmere are warm and breathable. Acrylic is warm but can feel clammy when you move about indoors. Cotton and viscose are comfortable but give less warmth unless the cloth is thick or brushed, and polyester blends add strength more than warmth.

Weave and finish decide how the warmth behaves. Twill is often denser than a plain weave at a similar weight. A brushed, napped or felted surface adds a layer of trapped air. A tight weave stops wind, so hold the cloth up to the light and blow through a fold: if light and air pass easily, it will feel cool outdoors, and it may need a lining.

Itch and pilling

Itch comes mainly from coarse fibre ends pressing against the skin, rather than from wool as such. Fine merino and cashmere are usually gentle, while coarser wools and many tweeds are not. Test the fabric against the inside of your wrist or your neck for a minute, since a fingertip is not sensitive enough to tell you. If a fabric is warm but scratchy, a cotton or viscose lining usually solves it.

Pilling happens when short fibres work loose and tangle into small balls, usually at the underarm, the seat and wherever a bag rubs. Soft, loosely spun and heavily brushed fabrics tend to pill sooner. Pills on wool often break away in time, while the stronger fibres in acrylic and polyester hold them on the cloth. To test a sample, rub two faces together firmly for a little while and look for fuzz.

Care and storage

• Wool and fine blends: heat, water and agitation together cause shrinking and felting. Dry cleaning is the usual choice. If you wash by hand, use cool water and a mild detergent, press out the water without wringing, and dry flat.
• Shrinkage: ask whether the cloth has been pre-shrunk, and test a measured piece before cutting. Our piece on why fabric shrinks shows how.
• Acrylic blends: easy to wash, but sensitive to heat. A hot iron can leave a permanent shine or flatten the surface, so use low heat and a press cloth.
• Corduroy and velvet: press from the back, or steam, so that the pile is not flattened. Wash corduroy inside out.
• Storage: clean everything before putting it away, as moths go for soiled wool. Keep it folded in a breathable cover or a sealed box, away from damp.

What to check before you order

• Composition in writing: wool, acrylic and any other fibre named, especially where a soft label such as woollen touch or pashmina is used.
• Weight, width and shade: confirm the GSM and usable width, and match the shade on an actual swatch, since brushed surfaces change colour as the nap moves.
• Surface: look for bald patches, moth holes and fold marks, especially in old stock. Our fabric quality checklist covers the rest.

Winter stock is seasonal, so order early enough for stitching, and keep what you hold clean and dry between seasons. If you cannot find the weight or blend you need, post a fabric requirement, with small or bulk quantities, and sellers can reply. Nobody's name or number is shown until both sides agree. Sellers with winter lots can list them for free, stating the fibre content clearly.

Questions