Bespoke suits
How a bespoke suit is made in Bangkok, step by step
From the measurements to the final press: what happens between your first visit and the finished suit.
- 4.8 from 22 Google reviews
- Tailoring in Bangkok since 2011
- Suits from 6,000 THB
A bespoke suit here is made in ten steps, from the measuring to the pressing, and you are part of three of them: the measuring and the two fittings. The pattern is drafted for you before any cloth is cut, the canvas is stitched rather than glued, and the bench work takes two to three days. Each step is listed below, with what to do at the three that need you.
01
The steps, in order
- Measure. Over your clothes; you stay fully clothed.
- Draft. A paper pattern drawn from your measurements.
- Cut. The cloth cut to that pattern.
- Shape the darts. The front panels sewn in at the waist and chest.
- Pad-stitch the canvas. The chest canvas stitched to the cloth, not glued.
- Baste. The pieces held together with long temporary stitches.
- Fit. Corrections marked on you, on the basted garment.
- Make. The suit sewn properly, canvas set, lining in.
- Fit again. The finished suit, for length and balance.
- Press and finish.
Two to three days on the bench, with the fittings spaced around it — the same sequence behind all our bespoke suits.
Measuring
You are measured standing naturally rather than braced, over the clothes you arrive in. Bring the shoes you will wear with it: trouser length is set against a heel height, and a suit hemmed over the wrong shoes is a suit that needs altering before it is worn. What to bring to a first appointment lists the rest.
Drafting the pattern
The measurements become a paper pattern, drawn for your body. This is the step that separates bespoke from everything else — nothing is being adjusted from an existing block. The pattern is kept afterwards, which is what makes a second suit a shorter conversation: the pattern kept on file.
Cutting
The cloth is laid out and cut to the pattern. It is the irreversible step, which is why the decisions before it — cloth, canvas, collar, rise, lining — are made at the order and not later.
Every step here still happens when the work is compressed into a day; what a same-day order involves says which ones move and which cannot.
Darts: shaping the front
Darts are the folds sewn into the front panels that pull a flat piece of cloth in at the waist and let it stand out over the chest — the difference between a suit jacket that follows your shape and one that hangs like a box. They are cut and sewn after the cloth is cut, following lines marked from your pattern, so where they sit and how deep they run is decided by your body rather than a standard block.
Pad stitching the canvas
Pad stitching is rows of small stitches that hold the chest canvas to the cloth without glue, so the two layers move together and the chest keeps a soft roll rather than a stiff, flat line. It’s the opposite of a fused suit, where canvas and cloth are glued flat under heat instead of stitched — a fused chest can’t be reshaped later, and a canvassed one can. Ask at the order whether the pad stitching on your jacket is done by hand or by machine.
Basting
The pieces are held together with long temporary stitches rather than sewn. A basted jacket looks like a jacket and comes apart in one pull, which is the entire point: at the first fitting a shoulder can be opened and moved rather than eased.
02
The first fitting
You put on a suit that is deliberately unfinished. The tailor looks at how it sits across the shoulders and the chest, where the collar meets your neck, how the sleeve hangs and where the trouser breaks, and marks the corrections in chalk on the garment while you are standing in it. Nothing at this stage is permanent, and nothing you say about it is a complaint — a fitting exists to find the things that measurements cannot. The second fitting is set out in two fittings, and the days between.
03
Who does what
Measuring, drafting and fitting are the tailor’s work and happen in the shop, in front of you. The sewing happens on the bench. If you want to know who does each stage of the making, ask in the shop. It is a fair question, and a tailor who is doing the work will not mind it.
The measuring step is the only one that can happen somewhere else: a visit to your hotel.
04
What you do at each stage
You are needed at three stages, and at each one there is something useful to do.
| Stage | Your part |
|---|---|
| The measuring | Bring the shoes, say where you want the trousers to sit, and bring a garment that already fits if you have one. |
| The first fitting | Stand naturally and say what feels wrong. Tight, loose, high, short — all useful words. |
| The second fitting | Check length and break with the right shoes on, and move your arms. |
If something is wrong when you get it home, bring it back — if it does not fit. What the cloth and the build do to the figure is set out in what sets a suit’s price.
Our craftsmanship
Questions people ask
- How is a bespoke suit actually made?
- In ten steps: you are measured, a paper pattern is drafted from those measurements, the cloth is cut to that pattern, the darts are shaped, the canvas is pad-stitched to the cloth, the pieces are basted together with long temporary stitches, you are fitted and corrections are chalked on the garment, the suit is then sewn properly with the canvas set and the lining in, you are fitted a second time, and it is pressed and finished. Two to three days of bench work, with the fittings either side of it. The order of those steps is what makes it bespoke rather than the label: the pattern comes before the cloth is touched, and the fitting comes before the suit is finished.
- What does "basted" mean?
- Held together with long temporary stitches rather than sewn. A basted jacket looks like a jacket and comes apart in one pull, which is the whole point of it: at the first fitting a shoulder can be opened and moved rather than eased, and a chest can be re-cut. It is the difference between correcting a suit and altering one. It also means the first fitting looks alarming if you have not seen one before. Loose white stitching and raw edges are what a suit is supposed to look like at that stage.
- How long does the measuring take?
- One visit, standing naturally rather than braced, over the clothes you arrive in. Ask on WhatsApp if you need a firm time. You stay fully clothed throughout. Bring the shoes you will wear with it, because trouser length is set against a heel height, and a suit hemmed over the wrong shoes needs altering before it is ever worn. Wear something reasonably close-fitting, because a thick jumper becomes part of the measurement and has to be estimated back out of it.
- Why is a paper pattern better than measurements alone?
- Because a pattern carries how you stand, not just how big you are. Two people with identical chest and waist measurements can need quite different jackets if one has a dropped shoulder or a fuller seat. The pattern also holds every correction made at your fittings, which is why a second suit from it starts ahead of where the first one did. It is also why a second suit is a much shorter conversation: the drafting and the fitting are the expensive part and both are already done.
- What is the canvas and why does it matter?
- A layer of stiffened cloth set between the outer cloth and the lining of a jacket, stitched in rather than glued. It gives the chest its shape and lets the jacket keep that shape after it has been worn, cleaned and hung many times. The suits here are canvassed. Ask at the order whether yours is full or half canvas. You can check any finished jacket yourself in five seconds by pinching the front below the buttonhole and feeling whether three layers move independently.
- Who does the sewing?
- Measuring, drafting and fitting happen in the shop, in front of you. Stitching is done at the bench. If you want to know who does each stage of the making, ask. It is a fair question to ask in person, and a tailor doing the work will not mind being asked it. What you can verify without asking anyone is the construction: the pinch test tells you whether there is canvas in the jacket, and a basted first fitting is hard to fake.
- Can I watch any of it?
- You will see the measuring and both fittings, which is where the decisions are made. The cutting and sewing are bench work and happen between your visits. If you want to understand what you are buying, the useful thing is not watching the machine but asking at the order whether the jacket is canvassed, how many fittings are included, and which cloth book your cloth came from. Write the name of the cloth book on the order sheet as well. A shop that can name the book your cloth came from can show you it was used.
- What should I decide before the cloth is cut?
- Cloth, lining, buttons, lapel shape, vents, trouser rise and whether you want a waistcoat. Cutting is the irreversible step, so everything on that list is decided at the order rather than later. Changing your mind afterwards means the cloth has already been consumed for your pattern and cannot go back into the book. Bring a photograph of anything you want it to look like, and a garment that already fits you if you own one. Both settle questions faster than a description.
4.8 from 22 reviews on Google
What a customer said
5 out of 5 stars
We stumbled upon The Loft Tailors getting off the sky train going to MBK. The price of the suit was very competitive and the craftsmanship was great. My son went to the fitting appointment and needed slight adjustment. When we came back to fit again it was perfect. They also are very fast.
Visit the shop
BTS National Stadium Station Exit 3 & 4, Rama I Rd, Wang Mai, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330.Open 10am to 9pm, every day.