With my new sewing room all set up, it’s time to add a few finishing touches. As you progress in your sewing skills, you start using and learning new tools that make things a little easier; one sewing tool I’ve always wanted is a Tailor’s Ham. These ‘hams’ are a tightly stuffed pillow used as a curved mould when pressing curved areas of clothing, such as darts, sleeves, cuffs, collars, or waistlines. Pressing on a curved form allows a garment to better fit body contours. The sewing community is one where there really is something for every aesthetic, which was a surprise to me when I started looking into getting a tailor’s ham, as they basically came in one design: a red and black tartan. Now, there’s nothing wrong with tartan, and in fact, I love tartan, but it’s just not what I want to suit my new sewing room.

As I can’t buy the tailor’s ham of my dreams, I guess I will just have to make one. Luckily, there are loads of free downloadable patterns online for making such an item, and I wanted to share my progress on the whole experience. The pattern I will be using came from Twig and Tale, which is a wonderful website for anyone interested in needlecrafts. If you’d like to use this free pattern, please click here. The pattern comes with the traditional tailor’s ham and also a sleeve ham (I plan on making both). Please note: I am not affiliated with Twig and Tale and gain no benefit from you using the link; I just wanted to share what I used and don’t want anyone to think I drafted my own pattern.

Materials Required:

-outer fabric; I will be using some cotton curtains
-Inner fabric: cotton (or unbleached calico work well)
-Stuffing: I used clean saw dust from my dad’s workshop but you can use fabric scraps (aka cabbage) or heat proof weighted beads.
-Sewing basics: needle, thread, scissors etc.

Other stuffing options:

Generally, the most common filling for tailor’s hams are wood shavings and/or sawdust. They stay firm and don’t compress over time, unlike fabric scraps. If you can’t find untreated wood shavings, try looking in a pet store or contact a local wood working group/a Men’s shed. Other filling options include fine glass beadings (generally used for weighted toys) but another layer of wool batting should be sewn in.

When it came to fabric choice, I wanted something thick for the outer fabric and decided that some old curtains I thrifted a while ago would be perfect. These curtains will go on to make a few fun addition to the sewing room so get excited to see again soon.
As for my inner fabric choice, I decided on a simple cotton fabric I had left over from a previous project. It was also floral and I love knowing this fabric is hidden under my ham.

How I made my Tailor’s Ham

To make my tailor’s ham, I started by deciding where I wanted my pattern pieces to fit. I kept in mind conserving fabric but also trying to frame something in the ham. For each pattern piece, I needed 2 outer fabric pieces and two lining pieces.

With all my pieces cut, I then created a sewing lasagna. The layer order I used was placing the lining on the bottom, then an outer layer (right side up), followed by the second outer layer (wrong side up), to finish, the lining on top.

Pinning my lasagna together, I then sewed along the seam allowance with an extra reinforcement seam ( 1/8″ (3mm) inside the original row) as well. The pattern asks for a small gap to be left open to allow for the ham to be flipped and then stuffed with the correct pieces facing outwards.

To keep the fabric from fraying, I went around the hams seam allowance with my pinking shears and trimmed off any excess.

I then flipped my hams inside out.

Placing down my potting mat to catch as much saw dust fall out as possible, I then very slowly started filling up my hams inner lining with saw dust. I found using a long paintbrush to really cram the saw dust into the ham helped. I ended up using more saw dust than I originally thought I would so I did have to stop mid project and gather some more.
This process can get really messy and for some, saw dust may cause allergies. If you need to, take an antihistamine and try to stuff your ham outside. Fill your ham with as much saw dust as you can (it can always take a little bit more).

Once fully stuffed, hand sew up the inner lining and outer fabric.

You have made yourself a tailors ham!

For an item that, for some reason, intimidated me to make, this project came together within a few hours and required no expert knowledge or skills. The pattern and instructions from Twig and Tale were amazing, easy to follow and had heaps of images to help you along your way. I am so glad that this is a free pattern because it makes such an easy project accessible to everyone and can also help you to improve your skills. And I think I made something that will last me quite a while. Since its creation, I have found the tailor’s ham to be super useful and handy, especially when making bodices. The ability to iron on a curve has really upped my sewing level, and I wish I had made one sooner.

It may be worth noting that I am not that great at hand sewing. I don’t really know how to make it super neat, yet alone invisble, so therefore, you can absolutely see my stitches. This doesn’t bother me, in fact I love seeing marks upon something I’ve crafted as it’s like I’ve left a physical reminder how much work can be put into something so simple.

Note: This is not a sponsored post. All opinions and thoughts expressed are solely my own and not influenced in any way. There are no affiliate links and I do not benefit from any link clicks or purchases made.