The Master Tailor and the Dressmaker

Whew!!!! My world has been a bit of a whirlwind for the last couple of months or so. I mentioned before that I was taking Tailoring classes! That's right, trying to take this sewing skill to the next level. This endeavor has really evolved into one of my greatest joys and something I'm quite passionate about. I've learned alot in a short period of time and I can definitely credit my teacher. His name is James McFarland (most folks know him as Gentleman Jim) and he is a Master Tailor with 52 years of experience. That's right, don't let his young looks fool you (smile)! When I say that Gentleman Jim, or as I like to call him Mr. Jim, has earned the title of Master Tailor that's an understatement. He's truly a master at his craft. Any person that can sew up a pair of pants in 15 minutes (that's fly zipper, bagged pockets, etc) and completely tailor a coat in about 2 hours deserves to be called a Master. Back in his NYC days he had high profile clients like James Brown, Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Duke Ellington etc. and many more. After his stint in NYC he moved to Atlanta where he opened his own shop and made quite the name for himself. Now he's settled in Savannah and although he still sews for others his focus is on training and teaching other's the tailoring craft at his studio, The Savannah Sewing Academy. He admits that to a degree tailoring is a dying art. There aren't alot of people teaching it the way he learned it. He's hoping to change that by spreading his knowledge on to others. He's super passionate about teaching and I consider it to be a great honor to be one of his students!  Anyhow you can read more about Mr. Jim and learn more about his tailoring techniques over at his new blog "The Lost Art of Fine Tailoring" located at finetailoringbyjim.blogspot.com.

 It's quite amazing, tailoring is indeed so very different from dressmaking. Tailoring is definitely the step above dressmaking. The skills required to give impeccable structure and refinement to garments are amazing. I've learned just a few of his techniques and am amazed at how differently he does things vs. the way the home sewer and even fashion design student does them. His techniques for making pants pocket and fly zippers are super fast and yield the best results I've seen! Anyhow, expect to be hearing more about my experiences in the future. I'm currently working on a pair of tailored pants. And you know how I've worked tirelessly in the past to try and fit my figure type. Quite tirelessly (you may recall my posts from February and March of this year!) Anyhow, I'm already learning some new methods of fitting pants and am quite amazed at how much easier it is to make pants using tailoring methods. As Mr. Jim says it's all about technique. Well I definitely look forward to learning more of these tailoring techniques. I'd love to be able to make a tailor suit for my husband and even make him trousers. And I'd love to make a few coats for myself that are impeccable tailored. I'm really starting to drool at the thought.------- Ok enough of my fantasizing, well make sure you stop by Mr. Jim's blog to say hi! Leave a friendly message if inclined Again, he's at finetailoringbyjim.blogspot.com. You can follow him on FB, Bloglovin, etc. He's just getting underway but plans to post ALOT of helpful info! Word on the street is he's planning a BIG GIVEAWAY in the near future. But you didn't hear that from me (wink).

Anyhow I'm off to finish my tailoring class homework. I can put in a front fly and zipper with my eyes closed. Will keep you abreast of my class progress................