3Sixteen Crosscut Flannel – Black Cotton Twill

Crosscut has become the name of a piece of drafting rather than the name of a cloth, which is why this shirt can be a Crosscut without being a flannel at all. It is a solid black cotton twill, heavyweight, with enough surface texture to catch light along its length, and there is no plaid anywhere on it.

That raises the interesting question. The crossed back yoke exists so that a check breaks at opposing angles across the shoulders, and on a solid there is no check to break. What breaks instead is the twill itself. A twill runs on a diagonal, and a yoke cut across the grain sets that diagonal running the other way, so the two halves of the shoulder take light differently even though they are the same colour. It is a quieter version of the same idea, visible in daylight and invisible in a photograph, and it is the strongest argument that the crossed yoke was always a drafting decision rather than a way of showing off a plaid. After the shirt is sewn it is washed, which takes the shrinkage out and softens a heavy twill that would otherwise be a board for a month.

Why we selected it

Everyone who likes this shirt eventually asks whether it comes in a solid, and this is the answer. A plain black work shirt is more useful than a checked one and much harder to find made properly, because most solid work shirts are made in a thin twill on the theory that nobody will look. This one is the same weight as the plaids.

Materials and construction

One hundred percent cotton twill, heavyweight, made in India. Crossed back yoke, two front chest pockets, and garment washed after making. Black.

Fit notes

Cut as a shirt with enough body to work as a light overshirt, which is how most people wear it. It runs smaller than the weight suggests, because the cloth is washed after it is sewn and takes its shrinkage before it reaches you. If you are between sizes, or if you intend to wear it open over a tee, take the larger. A heavy twill softens over the first months and then holds.

Styling

Over the black Pima tee with raw denim, which is a full black shirt over a full blue jean and the plainest good outfit in this house. Under the Work Blazer in grey, where a black shirt does something a check cannot. With the Cargo Pant in charcoal for an outfit with no pattern in it at all.

Care

Machine wash cool, inside out, and hang to dry. Black cotton gives up its depth to heat and friction long before it gives it up to detergent, so the dryer is the only real risk. Our care guidance covers cotton.

Related pieces

The same drafting in a plaid is the Crosscut Flannel in Coyote Slub Check, and in a high-contrast check, the Crosscut Flannel in Cream/Black. For a quieter collar, the Club Collar Shirt. It goes under the Work Blazer in Grey and with the CT-222xs. Everything we currently hold from 3Sixteen is listed together.