How do I sew wool?

Wool is the most cooperative fabric there is once it is prepared, and preparation is the part people skip.

Preshrink before cutting. Do not machine wash tailoring wool. Either have it steam-shrunk, or lay it flat and hover a steam iron over the surface without touching it, working across the whole piece, then leave it to dry flat. Wool shrinks when heat and moisture meet it, and it is better that happens before the garment exists.

Use a universal needle, 80/12 for suiting and 90/14 for coating, with polyester thread. Silk thread is traditional for fine tailoring and gives slightly.

Stitch length 2.5 to 3 mm.

Press as you go, always with a cloth. Wool shines where a hot soleplate touches it directly, and a shine does not come out. Use a pressing cloth, plenty of steam and firm pressure, then let the piece cool before moving it — wool sets as it cools, not while it is hot.

Press over a ham for anything shaped — sleeve heads, darts, shoulder seams. Flat pressing removes the shape you have just built.

Wool eases beautifully. A sleeve head that would be impossible in cotton will shrink smoothly into a wool armhole under steam. This is the property tailoring is built on.

Finish the edges. Loosely woven wool frays; overlocking or a bound Hong Kong finish both work, and binding is the neater choice inside an unlined jacket.