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Cotton drill trousers

Naive Jr.

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Originally Posted by Naive, Jr.
Does anyone have experience and judgment in regard to cotton trousers offered by
Ede & Ravenscroft http://shop.edeandravenscroft.co.uk/...drill-trousers,
Oliver Brown http://www.oliverbrown.org.uk/index....on-drills.html (Brisbane Moss) ,
and Cordings http://www.cordings.co.uk/menswear/t...-trousers.html ?


Yes, I have a pair from Ede & Ravenscroft which just arrived. They look well made and have a strange button on the front which takes some effort to put through the hole. I attempted to shrink them as much as possible before hemming and have been warned by Hilditch & key that the viscose lining will be damaged.
 

idfnl

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Those look like pants.

What are drill trou? Dont see a difference.
 

Naive Jr.

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Originally Posted by idfnl
Those look like pants.

What are drill trou? Dont see a difference.


I'm new in this field myself, so I can't tell you more than what I read - twill refers to the weave. I do have two pairs of Bill's <Driving ....> pants and suspect they belong to the twill category as well. Judging from what the person wears on the photograph you show, I'd imagine you do need good advice. Sorry.
 

Sanguis Mortuum

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Originally Posted by idfnl
What are drill trou? Dont see a difference.
'Cotton drill' is the type of fabric.
Originally Posted by Naive, Jr.
I'm new in this field myself, so I can't tell you more than what I read - twill refers to the weave. I do have two pairs of Bill's <Driving ....> pants and suspect they belong to the twill category as well.
So are you talking about twill or drill? I don't think they're the same thing, are they?
 

Holdfast

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Originally Posted by Sanguis Mortuum
So are you talking about twill or drill? I don't think they're the same thing, are they?

AFAIU drill is a twill weave fabric, but in a particularly heavy cotton, with a particularly strong diagonal pattern in the weave.

From the 3 brands the OP listed, I only have experience with Ede's drill, and even then, only from browsing them in the shop. For me, drill is too heavy/sturdy a fabric. If you like that sort of thing, it seems OK. Not my cup of tea.
 

andreyb2

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Originally Posted by Naive, Jr.
Yes, I have a pair from Ede & Ravenscroft which just arrived. They look well made and have a strange button on the front which takes some effort to put through the hole. I attempted to shrink them as much as possible before hemming and have been warned by Hilditch & key that the viscose lining will be damaged.

Lining in drills... oh, horror!
frown.gif


Cordings are well (though obviously not beautifully) machine-made, with good materials employed. No lining! BTW, the label says "dry clean only".

Andrey
 

Naive Jr.

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Originally Posted by Sanguis Mortuum
'Cotton drill' is the type of fabric.



So are you talking about twill or drill? I don't think they're the same thing, are they?


Thanks very much for taking the trouble to bring this distinction to my attention. I became aware that I wrote <twill> instead of <drill>, but I only corrected the spelling this false substitution afterwards without researching the difference in meaning. In my present circumstances I have quite limited access to Internet and no means or persons to determine the difference in meaning for cloth. Since you are located in Cambridge, you have numerous advantages I don't share. Would you be so kind to explain the difference between both terms as you understand them?
 

KObalto

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Originally Posted by Naive, Jr.
Since you are located in Cambridge, you have numerous advantages I don't share. Would you be so kind to explain the difference between both terms as you understand them?

I think Oxford beat Cambridge to the punch in explaining the fabric (Holdfast's post). Still waiting for Harvard to weigh in...
 

Naive Jr.

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Originally Posted by Holdfast
AFAIU drill is a twill weave fabric, but in a particularly heavy cotton, with a particularly strong diagonal pattern in the weave. From the 3 brands the OP listed, I only have experience with Ede's drill, and even then, only from browsing them in the shop. For me, drill is too heavy/sturdy a fabric. If you like that sort of thing, it seems OK. Not my cup of tea.
If I understand you correctly, you present following relationships: weave cloth twill i.e. "drill" heavy cotton diagonal weave It becomes apparent that the weave side is rather vague. In regard to Ede, I have got those trousers and so I can speak from first hand experience. However, I cannot say if what you examined in the Ede shop was the same cloth. I must express my astonishment that you have the impression that these trousers were heavy! I washed them a few times to get maximal shrinkage before sending them off to be hemmed. When I get them back, I shall compare them with my Bill's "Driving Twills/Drills" (I'm confused and don't have them here with me to check the label). I have sent an Email about your feeling the cotton drill cloth is heavy to Ede and asked for the cloth weight. I see that the address in my first post above no longer shows the fuchsia colour I bought. I wonder if Ede has more than one interpretation of cotton drill trousers? I am very interested in your experience and judgment and would like to know which cloths you prefer. I fear to experiment with any linen mixtures with either cotton or silk because I wish to avoid any possibility of crease. Edit: I see the other side of my diagram got lost, so please forgive confusion that cloth tree omitted.
 

Sanguis Mortuum

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Originally Posted by KObalto
I think Oxford beat Cambridge to the punch in explaining the fabric (Holdfast's post). Still waiting for Harvard to weigh in...

laugh.gif
 

Naive Jr.

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Originally Posted by KObalto
I think Oxford beat Cambridge to the punch in explaining the fabric (Holdfast's post). Still waiting for Harvard to weigh in...
Sorry if I did injustice to Oxford, whose name I've seen as a kind of cloth, too. I mentioned Cambridge because the poster identifies himself with that location, which is also where certain shops like Ede & Ravenscroft are located which I cannot visit due to travel limitations. I was not aware that Oxford and Cambridge are in competition in regard to velocity of cloth tutorship. I appreciated that Harvard College admitted a convicted felon in a freshman class awhile ago, but I don't know what I've missed as far as clothes go.
 

Naive Jr.

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Originally Posted by andreyb2
Lining in drills... oh, horror!
frown.gif
Cordings are well (though obviously not beautifully) machine-made, with good materials employed. No lining! BTW, the label says "dry clean only". Andrey

Thank you very much for your interesting comments. I am waiting for the Cordings' sale. I think their heavy cords are better in cut than those I bought from House of Bruar and Pakeman, Catto & Carter. I disregard any dry clean label because I want to wash my trousers, not dry clean them. I don't have the impression that the viscose material of the lining suffers by washing. As far as lining goes, the linings extend to the knee and if I remember correctly are only in front.
 

Holdfast

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Originally Posted by KObalto
I think Oxford beat Cambridge to the punch in explaining the fabric (Holdfast's post). Still waiting for Harvard to weigh in...

laugh.gif


Originally Posted by Naive, Jr.
If I understand you correctly, you present following relationships...

I wouldn't overcomplicate things.

Every cloth has its own weave (the way the yarns are woven together to make up the fabric). Twill is one of those weaves. Drill as I understand it is a subset of twill, where the diagonal pattern of the twill weave is particularly prominent due to the way the cloth is made up.

Drill as I understand it is quite "rigid" (what I previously referred as heavy/sturdy) probably due to both weight and weave. What I've seen in Ede would fit that description. It's a hard-wearing fabric, but I personally prefer wearing softer fabrics; that's personal preference, not any objective statement that I would presume to make universal. If you like drill's properties, great.
 

GBR

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Only the Ede and Ravenscroft have two back pockets so that reduces the field to one.
 

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