Does any of this sound familiar?

• You want to make yourself some clothing for historical reenactment, but have no idea where to start and digging through all of the information is overwhelming.
• You’ve spent countless hours trying to get patterns to fit right or decipher their vague instructions and you’re tired of the clothing not turning out how you imagined.
• You’ve made some historical clothing before but you’re not quite satisfied with the results, and there are some specific techniques you’d like to learn or improve.

If it does, then you know how difficult it can be to find the correct information or get quality instruction.

Introducing Historical Tailoring Masterclasses

I started Historical Tailoring Masterclasses in 2011 (wow, how time flies!) to help people such as yourself who wanted to learn how to sew beautiful historical reproductions for themselves. Not satisfied with the majority of patterns or their instructions, and how easy it is to get frustrated when your hard work turns out not to be quite as you imagined, I sought to create a way to teach people the art of historical tailoring.

Rather than say, “here, follow this pattern exactly and you’ll come out with a passable garment for your reenacting”, I wanted to go more in-depth with my instruction; that you could take a historical pattern and alter it not only to your unique size and shape, but also to closely reproduce that original garment you saw in person at a museum or historical society, or even on Pinterest.

While I love in-person classes and workshops, they can often be overly expensive when you consider travel costs, hotels, materials, and often, it’s difficult to finish a project during the short weekend or time allotted for the class. So I decided to put all of my material online to help keep those costs down for everyone, while at the same time, being able to get much more detailed photographs and videos of the various construction processes right to your home. This makes it possible to work completely at your own pace, even in your pyjamas, as you follow along with my instructions.

I’ve tried to keep the instruction for each project as straight-forward as possible, while at the same time going into as much detail as necessary to get the technique conveyed to you. So if you don’t get something quite right, you can rewatch or reread the lesson and apply it to your current project, or even make the project a second time to really let the processes sink in. And if you get stuck on something along the way, I’m always a quick email or message away. I love helping members as they work through the various project and seeing what they come up with!

So in short, you can think of Historical Tailoring Masterclasses almost as a digital apprenticeship of sorts, helping you to learn and preserve the fine art of historical tailoring as you construct beautiful reproductions for your self or others.

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Historical Tailoring Masterclasses will help you to

Learn the basics of sewing by hand with a variety of tailoring stitches.

Draft clothing patterns to your own measurements to get that perfect fit.

Learn traditional tailoring techniques that can be applied to almost any project.

Design your projects following the styles and nuances of the 19th century.

Follow along step-by-step with detailed clothing construction tutorials.

Tap into the knowledge of fellow tailors through our support community.

What’s Included with your Membership

Immediate Access to Tailoring Projects

There’s a huge library of content, featuring 15 (and counting) projects for you to dive straight into as soon as you join, from full courses on topics ranging from pattern drafting and tailoring period garments using traditional methods, to shorter tutorials for beginners and more advanced tailors alike covering specific sewing techniques. Learn at your own pace, wherever you are.

Charts, Rulers, and Patterns

Printable spreadsheets and documents to make your drafting and tailoring a little easier, including:

• Measurement Charts
• Graduated Rulers
• Pattern Drafts
• Various Pocket, Collar, Cravat, and Other Patterns

Supportive Sewing Community

Access to a private, community support forum is included with your Masterclasses membership, and is the best place to go for all of your questions, getting feedback, gaining support, and getting to know like-minded tailoring enthusiasts. It’s kind of a combination of the best of Facebook groups, Discord, and the old style discussion forums that used to be very popular.

Prefer to email? You can email me personally at any time with your questions for personalized support!

All of this and much more only inside Historical Tailoring Masterclasses

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Available Courses

17+ IN-DEPTH COURSES cover almost every aspect of historical tailoring. The tailoring library contains all the training you need on topics ranging from pattern drafting to historical stitches to detailed construction tutorials.

Video Content

Projects (except for the older ones) are accompanied by videos explaining and demonstrating the particular steps involved, in addition to the photographs and written instruction. Here’s a short video excerpt from one of my shirt making projects demonstrating a rolled hem stitch.

Meet James and Scott

Hello, I’m James Williams, cutter, tailor, researcher, editor, and janitor here at Historical Tailoring Masterclasses. I’ve been studying and working professionally as a historical tailor for fourteen years now, after deciding that I needed some more historically-accurate clothing (that actually fit!) during my Civil War reenacting years.

In 2011, after making about two-dozen Federal enlisted frock coats for clients, I decided to begin sharing that knowledge I had gained along the way by writing about and photographing each step to help others out. Things grew from there and I started the website and Historical Tailoring Masterclasses to document other types of clothing to help others achieve the same results.

A couple of years ago, my brother Scott was able to join me and help with the photography and videography. His work behind the camera allows me to focus more on my sewing and producing new projects and content.

Frequently Asked Questions

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30-Day Money-Back Guarantee

When you join Historical Tailoring Masterclasses you are fully protected by my 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. If you don’t feel like you’ve received value and you decide you want to cancel any time within the next 30 days, just let me know and I’ll send you a prompt refund.