For one rare afternoon, the Black Bear Brand studio in Seattle opens its doors so you can see, try on and shop the designs in person. Saturday, October 31. Reservation required. Josh Sirlin on the pop in.

news, seatlle, black bear brand studio, Have A Nice Day, Fabric, Craft & Materials, DenimJosh SirlinOctober 26, 2026Black Bear Brand, Black Bear Brand studio, Seattle pop in, studio pop in, shop in person, try on in person, Seattle events, The French Beekeeper, Quentin Geant, Seattle honeyComment

Midnight Glen

The glen check came out of one Scottish valley in the 1840s and never left. Josh Sirlin on the pattern, and on the Midnight Glen Tartan Harris Tweed coming to Black Bear Brand.

Craft & Materials, Culture, Fabric, Fabric Guide, harris tweed, Heritage, JacketsJosh SirlinSeptember 26, 2026glen check, glen plaid, glenurquhart check, prince of wales check, midnight glen tartan, harris tweed, tweed pattern, black bear brandComment

Woven at Home

The loom is pedalled like a bicycle, in the weaver's own house, on an island in the North Atlantic. Josh Sirlin on what hand woven actually means on a Harris Tweed.

Craft, Craft & Materials, Culture, Fabric, Fabric Guide, harris tweed, Heritage, JacketsJosh SirlinSeptember 21, 2026harris tweed, hand woven tweed, outer hebrides, hattersley loom, orb mark, treadle loom, wool jacket, black bear brandComment

The Peacoat, and a Green I Made

A vintage coat worn for a decade, refined until there was nothing left to argue with. Josh Sirlin on the peacoat, on the custom hunter green, and on September 22.

Craft & Materials, Fabric, jackets, Heritage, outerwear, Style, Style & HeritageJosh SirlinSeptember 20, 2026peacoat, wool peacoat, hunter green peacoat, melton wool coat, made in japan coat, anchor buttons, mens outerwear, black bear brandComment

Midnight Glen, Wildflower, Moss Fire

Three new Harris Tweeds are woven for Black Bear Brand in Scotland every year, and Josh Sirlin makes three jackets from them. Here are this fall's three, starting with the Midnight Glen Tartan.

Craft, Craft & Materials, Fabric, harris tweed, Heritage, Jackets, made in usa, outerwearJosh SirlinSeptember 17, 2026harris tweed, midnight glen tartan, wildflower tartan, moss fire tartan, chore coat, zip coat, outer hebrides, made in seattle, black bear brandComment

What Makes a Flannel a Flannel

Flannel is a finish, and the word is Welsh. Josh Sirlin on how flannel is actually made and the Black Bear Brand flannels woven and sewn in Japan.

Craft & Materials, Fabric, Fabric Guide, shirts, Style & HeritageJosh SirlinSeptember 15, 2026flannel shirt, what is flannel, flannel fabric, made in japan shirt, mens flannel, black bear brand shirtsComment

Waxed Canvas Came Off the Sails

Sailors noticed that wet sails pulled better, and a cloth was born out of it. Josh Sirlin on the history of waxed cotton and the Black Bear Brand wax canvas jackets.

Craft & Materials, Fabric, Fabric Guide, Heritage, jackets, made in usa, outerwearJosh SirlinSeptember 13, 2026waxed canvas, waxed cotton history, wax canvas jacket, quilted jacket, mens outerwear, black bear brand jacketsComment

Goose Down, and the Seattle Man Who Put It in a Jacket

The quilted down jacket was made in Seattle in 1936, and the oldest one left is still in the city. Josh Sirlin on down, the Himeji leather yoke, and our goose down vest.

Craft & Materials, Fabric, Japan, outerwearJosh SirlinSeptember 12, 2026goose down vest, down jacket history, made in japan outerwear, mens down vest, himeji leather, black bear brand vestComment

The Peacoat, in Hunter Green

Josh Sirlin wore one vintage peacoat for more than ten years, then made the one he actually wanted. A first look at the Hunter Green, a custom color worked out with the mill, releasing September 22.

Craft & Materials, Culture, design, Fabric, Heritage, jackets, StyleJosh SirlinSeptember 10, 2026peacoat, hunter green, japanese wool, aichi ichinomiya, anchor buttons, made in japan, custom color, tokyo pop up, black bear brandComment

Why Wool Owns the Fall

Wool works wet, holds a shape for decades, and gets better looking as it goes. Josh Sirlin on the fall jacket, on tweed, and on the three that get woven for us each year in Scotland.

Craft & Materials, Craft, Culture, Fabric, Fabric Guide, harris tweed, JacketsJosh SirlinSeptember 9, 2026wool jacket, fall jacket, harris tweed, tweed jacket, mens outerwear, wool crimp warmth, autumn style, black bear brandComment

The Engineer Stripe: A Cloth Brought Back From 1913

A hundred year old stripe, read off an original coverall and woven again in Okayama. Josh Sirlin on the Black Bear Brand engineer stripe and the vintage engineer pant and coat.

Craft, Fabric, Heritage, Japan, Japan & Culture, materialsJosh SirlinSeptember 6, 2026engineer stripe, tcb jeans, okayama japan, vintage black bear brand, engineer pant, hajime inoueComment

How to Store Clothes Through the Off Season

Moths do not eat clean wool. They cannot. Josh Sirlin on what actually eats your sweaters, what cedar does and does not do, and how to put a wardrobe away properly.

Craft & Materials, Culture, Fabric, Fabric Guide, materials, Style & HeritageJosh SirlinAugust 23, 2026clothes moths, storing wool, cedar closet, seasonal clothing storage, garment care, protecting sweaters, black bear bran, black bear brandComment

Wool, Measured in Microns

Wool does not itch because it is wool. It itches because of a number. Josh Sirlin on micron counts, the prickle threshold, and why the coarser fibers are not the lesser ones.

Craft & Materials, Fabric, Fabric Guide, Heritage, materialsJosh SirlinAugust 22, 2026wool micron count, merino wool, lambswool, shetland wool, cashmere microns, itchy wool, tweed, black bear brandComment

The Henley Started on a River

It was underwear, then it was a rowing uniform, then it was a shirt. Josh Sirlin on the Henley, the waffle knit, and why a garment dyed thermal is worth the extra step.

Culture, Craft & Materials, Fabric, Fabric Guide, HeritageJosh SirlinAugust 16, 2026henley shirt history, henley on thames, waffle knit thermal, thermal henley, shell buttons, garment dyed, mens style, black bear brandComment

Why Jeans Fade Where They Do

Whiskers, honeycombs, atari, train tracks. Josh Sirlin on the vocabulary of a worn pair of jeans, and on the dye decisions made years before you ever put them on.

Craft, Craft & Materials, Denim, Fabric, Japan & CultureJosh SirlinAugust 15, 2026denim fades, whiskers, honeycombs, atari, train tracks, raw denim, rope dyeing, ring dyed indigo, selvedge denim, black bear brandComment

The Morning the Jacket Comes Off the Hook

There is one morning every August when the air turns. Josh Sirlin on the jean jacket coming off the hook, the white tee under it, and the tweed waiting after October.

What Ounces Really Mean

Weight is the number everyone quotes and almost nobody understands. Josh Sirlin on ounces, grams, and what a fabric weight can and cannot tell you.

Craft & Materials, denim, Fabric Guide, Fabric, Heritage, materialsJosh SirlinAugust 9, 2026fabric weight, oz per square yard, gsm, denim weight, 13oz selvedge, heavyweight terry, corduroy weight, black bear brandComment

The Color That Killed People

Green was the hardest color in the world to make, and then it was the deadliest. Josh Sirlin on arsenic, Victorian dye houses, and what a real green still costs.

Craft, corduroy, Culture, Fabric, fabric guide, materials, StyleJosh SirlinAugust 8, 2026scheeles green, arsenic green, paris green, history of green dye, victorian fashion, natural dye, garment dye, old money green, black bear brandComment

The Down Vest: Warmth Without Weight

Down is the best insulation on earth and the least understood. Josh Sirlin on fill power, cluster size, and the vest built for a Pacific Northwest winter.

Craft & Materials, Fabric, fabric guide, materials, leather, menswear, Style & HeritageJosh SirlinAugust 4, 2026goose down vest, fill power explained, down insulation, best down vest, made in japan outerwear, indigo steer hide, mens winter styleComment

The Weft: The Half of Your Jeans You Never See

Flip your cuff. That pale thread is the weft, and it decides more than you think. Josh Sirlin on twill, slub, and the hidden half of denim.

Craft, Craft & Materials, denim, Fabric, fabric guide, Japan, materialsJosh SirlinAugust 3, 2026warp and weft, denim twill, right hand twill, left hand twill, slub denim, shuttle loom, selvedge denim explainedComment