Bespoke Cutter And Tailor

And this vid shows the cloth discussed:

Good podcast and an interesting episode (Savile Row related):

https://hapticandhue.com/haptic-and-hues-tales-of-textiles-recycling-returns-to-savile-row/

Used a mark on a door jam and used a square front and back to get the same height from that mark.

Read some of it.
Tailoring is entangled with a lot of subjects with new ones popping up and old ones fading away.
Thanks for posting this!

I also never had issues with poly thread or breaking seams.
I love silk for button holes because it is so smooth and makes the most beautiful knots. But I would never use it in washables, just in woolen items.
And I think the seam breaking in the back trouser seam is due to the bias of the fabric there. The fabric stretches but not the thread. Meanwhile I (double)sew this seam with a slight zig zag. This gives the seam enough elasticity but does not disturb ironing apart the SAs.

One thing that some bespoke shirt makers are keen on pointing out is that if one runs a finger down the seams of chain-stitched shirts, if polyester thread is used it feels rough. Although that's true, you've got to go out of your way to even notice this. I've owned plenty of ready-to wear-shirts in the past that supposedly had this 'issue', but not once did I notice that the seams were rough. More bespoke propaganda! 

Quote from: Dunc on March 06, 2025, 08:20:37 PMI'm not sure that thread strength should really be that much of a consideration on a shirt anyway - you're normally using quite fine fabrics, so the thread isn't likely to be the weakest link.

Absolutely, a year or so back I carried out an autopsy on an old Italian shirt I bought in the late 80s. All the seams had held, but holes had started to appear in the cloth. I've also got a collection of late 50s/early 60s shirts that I use for research and the cloning of collars. Again, any damage is always to the cloth. The seams hold, despite being stitched with cotton thread (which does degrade over time), and chain-stitched at that (as mentioned in another thread, it's a myth that chain-stitch creates weak seams).

Well, I can't say I've ever noticed any issues with Gutermann poly thread. Not saying it can't happen, but I've never noticed it.

Only place I'd use silk would be for hand finishing a silk evening shirt - but that's because it's expensive, not because I'm worried about strength. That would be dry clean only.

I'm not sure that thread strength should really be that much of a consideration on a shirt anyway - you're normally using quite fine fabrics, so the thread isn't likely to be the weakest link. Maybe if you're making something like a Ventile windshirt or a sahariana...

Well, as a rule of thumb silk thread is stronger than cotton, and for dress trousers it's OK to reinforce the CB seam of trousers with it (having already machined the seam). But no, I wouldn't put it in anything washable. Nor would I use it as the main thread, simply for cost reasons.