Commonly Asked Question
What Courses does The HTA offer and why should I choose it?
Do you provide accommodation for
in-house students?
Will I receive feedback or support after completing the course?
Are your courses suitable for beginners or do I need prior experience?
Can I take three courses in six weeks?
What are the working hours and access times for students?
For more commonly asked questions about The Handcraft Tailor Academy,
For other commonly asked questions about tailoring,
continue reading below
How can I become a tailor? Finding an apprenticeship in tailoring these days is no easy task Many tailors simply do not want to train apprentices as it is expensive, time consuming and there is no guarantee that the trainee will remain with the business after the training is completed. From the master’s and business’s standpoint, there maybe very little return on the investment. Taking a course at a tailoring school isn't sufficient to learn the art of tailoring. A coat maker doesn't learn the trade by making one coat. It’s the continued learning experience that is repeated can eventually be mastered. That’s why at The Handcraft Tailor Academy, we teach our in-house students alongside a video series to aid them after they’ve graduated from our in-house programmes enabling them to continue their learning experience. An in-house course is just the start of your training, by following along with the video series you can hone your skills and develop your abilities into a master craftsman so when you seek out that apprenticeship or job, you’ll have a plethora of skills to offer making you a highly desirable candidate.
How long does it take to become a tailor? It depends what you mean by a tailor. The art of tailoring is broken down into many disciplines. There are coat makers, trouser makers, waistcoat makers, pattern cutters, pocket makers, hand-sewers and pressers. Coat making usually takes the longest with an apprenticeship of at least five years. Trouser and waistcoats take about two years each. Pattern cutters train for about three years, while hand-sewers, pressers and pocket makers train for a year to a year and a half. These are of course just estimations. It all depends on the learning abilities and ambition of the trainee as well as the willingness of the trainer. At The HTA, we believe through our programmes you can cut this time in half. Our courses are set up to give you as much information as you can process. If you have the time and dedication you can go from novice to professional in a few months. It will take a combination of both online and in-house courses to progress quickly but once you get that first project done, honing your skills will become much easier.
How much money do tailors make? It’s difficult to say and can all depend on what level you are working at and what region you are based in. New York tailors seem to make the most in the western world. Take a coat maker for example. A coat maker is paid up to £600 on Savile Row and $1200 in New York for the same garment. Tailors working in factories are paid by the hour while bespoke tailors are paid for what they produce.
What’s the difference between Bespoke and Made to Measure (MTM)? The simplest answer is bespoke is bench-made and made-to-measure (MTM) is factory made. Many would suggest that MTM uses block patterns while bespoke use drafting systems but this isn't always the case. Many bespoke tailors use blocks to maintain 'the house style'. Making styles don't really separate the two either, as many bespoke tailors who are working in the lower ends of the trade will utilise the making techniques of MTM garments in order to turn a profit.
What book or books would you recommend? There are far too few books on modern tailoring. Many of the books available are found on our book store as downloadable PDF's. These are all out of print and copyright so we can share them without breaching any laws. Many of the modern books are based on factory sewing techniques and so differ greatly from bespoke. Most of the books out there are on pattern cutting rather than garment making. There's one great book in our book store called 'The Art of Garment Making'. The techniques found in this book are similar to how Rory makes his suits today. Other books to consider are ‘The Cutting and Making of Ladies Garments’ by F.R. Morris available as well as ‘The Science of Pattern Construction for Garment Makers’ by B.W Poole. Both these books have almost 500 pages and have yet to be added to our book store. The HTA also offers a copy of our book Pattern Drafting for Bespoke Menswear written by Rory himself. It is available in our bookstore in the Imperial system or the Metric system
Are their many women tailors? Just like men used to be dress makers, there are increasingly more women joining the tailoring trade. They were once restricted to hand sewing only but one just needs to visit Kathryn Sargent in London’s West End to see the rise of women’s tailors for themselves. It is no coincidence that Rory’s first apprentice was a woman. He firmly believes that the future of men’s tailoring is in the hands of young women. Women have more finesse than men. Men tend to rush their work to finish quickly while women move slower and get it right. With men, it is generally (and sadly) the ego that always gets in their way while women are more humble and thoughtful about their work.
Which garment should I make first? The first garment Rory ever made himself was a waistcoat. It is by far the easiest but still has a degree of difficulty; namely the buttonholes and bagging out the back. It’s a fun garment to make can easily adapted for women’s wear and can be paired with jeans and worn with t-shirts for those of you who prefer to dress down. It has just the right ratio of hand-sewing to machine sewing. Once the construction is understood, the pattern can be adapted to many styles. Rory himself has recently starting opting for a five button front with a longer opening just to change things up a bit – but when it comes to styles, the sky’s the limit.
What is the best place to start with becoming a tailor? If its an in-house you are thinking of the best place to start is with our Tailoring Techniques course. This course covers all the basic skills and all the techniques needed to make any one of our other online and in-house courses. It is currently only available as an in-house but this is subject to change. If it’s an online course, we would suggest Pattern Drafting for Bespoke Menswear. This course runs for over a ten week period with three classes per week hosted on Mondays – Fridays. It is taught one on one over live Skype video calls which you can record to enhance your learning experience. Each student is encouraged to mail their patterns off every two weeks for evaluation. Pattern cutters are the architects of tailoring. You will learn to cut patterns for trousers, waistcoats, coats, overcoats and tailcoats for regular, portly and corpulent figures. You will also receive a complementary digital copy of our book ‘Pattern Drafting for Bespoke Menswear'. Visit our Courses page for more information!