Classic Tailoring Techniques: A Construction Guide for Men's Wear (F.I.T. Collection) Student Edition

+ Explains why you do certain steps (not all the time but enough to greater understand some techniques)+ Techniques that I haven't thought to alter to suit the construction+ Step by step guiding is incredibly helpful+ The way that it's written is like a teacher guiding you as you sew; concise, conversational and encouraging.+ Line drawings are plentiful and highly useful- The photographs are terrible. Grainy and blurred, they don't help very much. I feel like taking my own as I do my first suit and slipping them in the pages as I go- I didn't like the paper the book was printed on. It's too thin and 'chalky', reminds me of a roll of fax paper/ On pages 104 and 105, a small paragraph repeats itself. If the authors wanted to stress the point, I'd thought they would have reworded it./ Can feel like it glances over topics which might turn off someone who is looking for a holy bible/ encyclopedia of suit construction. Has a small section on alteration for example and the style of suit is left to you with typical feature variations (the usual pocket shapes etc).I'm looking forward to making my first full suit using this book. It isn't a beginners book but is within the understanding of a hobby sewer (at least); you have to understand a lot of the terminology used and I think you'd have to be comfortable with your pattern making skills to visualise the pieces involved. The little tips like on page 101 about shortening the right front of a double breasted jacket so it doesn't hand lower than the left side remind me of the many word of mouth tips my sewing teachers taught us. They make a world of difference and there are many to consider.My expectations have been met and then beyond. A great read and fantastic resource.*EDIT* There are a few more sentences in the book that do repeat themselves but looking back I think it wasn't necessary to reword the lines. It reminded me of teachers that wanted you to be mindful of the techniques and made it all the more endearing. It gives the book personality and a human touch.

This is one of those books you shouldn't throw away. I believe it is in print again, however if you can get your hands on an original do. I managed to get an original and it adds that aesthetic feel to what you do.It is a image heavy book, drawn image, so expect to use some of your spatial thinking to understand how things are actually built. However, I found they were pretty straight forward once you actually gave it a go.I would recommend this book for anyone doing tailoring, or suite making in general. When working away at a part of a suite you can always pull this out and look how they did it back then.

I bought this book when I was back at school doing my degree. It’s a great book to get to know knowledge on tailoring clothes. Perfect for making suits and pants the right way

I found that this book was useful but at times hard to understand. The images are old and look like they have been photocopied over and over - so there is lack of clarity and detail in some pictures. I recommend that this book be purchased in conjunction with "Tailoring: The Classic Guide to Sewing the Perfect Jacket" as the latter has better pictures for clarity and ease (but focuses on women's tailoring only). I would buy this book for men's tailoring - if you only do women's tailoring, you could get away with "Tailoring: The Classic Guide to Sewing the Perfect Jacket".Cabrera's section on pattern alterations re fit were helpful but so is the book "The Perfect Fit" though some of Robert Cabrera's solutions for altering fit - eg - correcting uneven shoulders treats these problems differently. It also has good fitting instructions on things not covered in "The Perfect Fit" such as knock knees, bow legs.This book is not for a beginner but for someone with a high level of experience with sewing. It would suit someone who has some experience making tailored garments the commercial way who is looking to up-grade their skills to a custom level, i.e. someone that can already execute slightly tricky things like welt pockets, hand-made buttonholes etc.Would I buy this book again despite some of its short-comings? Yes, but only in conjunction withTailoring: The Classic Guide to Sewing the Perfect Jacket due to the clarity of pictures in Cabrera's book.The reason I would still buy this book is because other books tell you what you should do, the next step etc but this book also gives some explanation as to why you need to do things the way you should, it gives explanations about fittings, about anatomy, what you should be looking for, how to correct things but most importantly, why the problem presents itself.

Absolute must have for those who are into Custom/bespoke and tailoring. Not the best book out there (who knows what the best one is?), but an absolute bible for tailors wannabe. It's a reference book for anybody who want to improve it's sewing skills (traditional way, no industry-ish shortcuts in this one, you'll sweat and prick your fingers more than once, no worries, that's how you become good ;-) ). Tailors, fashion students and home sewers can use it, as a reminder, as a guide, as an inspirational ref... Easy approach, quite explicit ith pictures and diagrams... Not enough on the pressing and ironing techniques, but really, you've got all you need to start, improve and go on.

This book gives excellent guidance on the principles of tailoring mens clothing. In particular the clear sketches of various fitting issues provide guidance on how to adapt a formal wear pattern and garment to meet the needs of those engaged in dance activities where the arms are held in a more raised position than usual. It is not a cook book but it does provide clear understanding of the issues involved and is an excellent guide toward achieving the results you want.Highly recommend it.

Great detailed diagrams and instructions.