Much of the linen available today is not, in my opinion, suitable for breeches/trousers or jackets. All you can get most places is basically Osnaburg in various thicknesses. Fine and dandy for shirts, not so great for breeches. They had much higher quality fabrics available 200+ years ago. Heavier, tighter weave. Twills. Canvases. However, finding such today can be difficult, but not impossible. Wm. Booth, Draper usually has some nice linen or hemp drill cloth available, as well as "Russia sheeting" (tight hemp or linen canvas), which would make for good breeches or a work jacket.
Many today simply forgo the use of wool, unfortunately. In the 18th century, they used wool for almost everything. Breeches, coats, waistcoats. Sometimes even shirts. Wool doesn't bother me in the least, so I have always been perplexed at the large numbers of people who whine about wool being "itchy". :haha: Wool can also vary widely in quality, and just because someone says "wool" does not mean it's like some of the cheap, coarse, foreign military surplus blankets (though some of them are actually very fine quality!). Therein lies another problem. Finding suitable wool fabric. You'll have to shop around. Personally, I don't trust anyone's description of wool fabric anymore(heavy, light, tight weave, etc), and from now on I will get sample swatches before ordering any wool fabric.
For dress or winter clothing you generally want real broadcloth, which has been fulled (to varying degrees, depending upon quality), and will be dense and relatively smooth, rather like felt (which in a way, it kinda is). And no, if you can find it, it ain't gonna be cheap, but the cheap stuff ain't worth it either. :wink: Lots of other wool fabric (serges, kersey, etc) that used to be commonly available are definitely not so today, but if you look, something good can be found. Wool flannels were common then, and still fairly easy to find today. Lighter weight than broadcloth, of course, but still can be good for waistcoats or maybe even coats.
Worsted wools, as I understand it, are made only from the longest wool strands, and combed, spun, and woven in such a way to make a thinner, tighter fabric (?). Worsted wool does not have the insulating properties of regular wool, and would be better for warmer weather. Some of these can be very fine and lightweight.
Silk waistcoats were popular for the well-to-do, and if they could get damask or other figured silk, even better. At this time, the fanciest fabric would usually be used on the waistcoat.
Look around, do some digging. :wink:
