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Tailor’s Ham

A simple but well-used project for the sewing room, I made two tailors hams to use up some of my accumulating scrap fabric. The outside of the tailor’s ham was made from scraps of cotton, and the inside was more cotton scraps cut up into tiny pieces to use as stuffing.

red velvet cloak clasp
red velvet cloak with tarnished silver clasp closure
red velvet medieval cloak over fantasy outfit
red velvet medieval cloak hood to main cloak seam
Warm, stylish, dramatic. An ode to history

A Sewing Necessity

A tailor’s ham (also known as a curved pressing cushion) is a cushion, shaped similarly to a ham, used to help with ironing sleeves, darts, and curved shapes while sewing. Tailor’s hams have been an evolving tool throughout a lot of history but were loosely solidified as a common tailor’s tool around the 19th century.

I made my first one around the time I truly started understanding the importance of ironing, and ironing well, after each step in the sewing process. It’s been a well-used and a well-loved part of my sewing room since.