As you probably know, bespoke clothing offers you the opportunity to take advantage of several benchmark standards in the world of fine suiting, such as surgeon’s cuffs, full canvas construction, and a high level of hand finishing. Another feature of a quality suit or jacket is, you guessed it, pick stitching.

Hand picked stitching refers to the small and unobtrusive stitching that runs along the lapel (the collar of a jacket), around the pocket flaps, and sometimes the breast pocket detail. It’s a classic feature of a high-end jacket and a clear indicator that you’re wearing a handmade garment.

These are clear indicators of custom handwork.

And here’s how you can check to see if it has been done by hand. There will be a slight variation in both stitch length and alignment with each adjacent stitch. These are clear indicators of custom handwork. A hand pick stitch is difficult to accomplish and can only be achieved by experienced craftsmen. At Hunter Treacy Tailors, our clothing is made by tailors with many years of experience and who fashion our clothes with painstaking detail. Consequently, skilled pick stitching work is often barely visible:

On the other hand, machine pick stitching is often just an attempt to make a lower quality garment look handmade. But don’t be fooled, true hand pick stitching is certainly an art and when it is crafted correctly, the suit or jacket takes on a sophistication that is one-of-a-kind.