Tailors, dressmakers, and custom sewers design make, alter, repair, or fit garments.
Measure parts, such as sleeves or pant legs, and mark or pin-fold alteration lines.
Remove stitches from garments to be altered, using rippers or razor blades.
Sew garments, using needles and thread or sewing machines.
Let out or take in seams in suits and other garments to improve fit.
Measure customers, using tape measures, and record measurements.
Fit and study garments on customers to determine required alterations.
Trim excess material, using scissors.
Assemble garment parts and join parts with basting stitches, using needles and thread or sewing machines.
Make garment style changes, such as tapering pant legs, narrowing lapels, and adding or removing padding.
Maintain garment drape and proportions as alterations are performed.
Take up or let down hems to shorten or lengthen garment parts, such as sleeves.
Repair or replace defective garment parts, such as pockets, zippers, snaps, buttons, and linings.
Press garments, using hand irons or pressing machines.
Fit, alter, repair, and make made-to-measure clothing, according to customers' and clothing manufacturers' specifications and fit, and applying principles of garment design, construction, and styling.
Estimate how much a garment will cost to make, based on factors such as time and material requirements.
Position patterns of garment parts on fabric, and cut fabric along outlines, using scissors.
Record required alterations and instructions on tags, and attach them to garments.
Confer with customers to determine types of material and garment styles desired.
Examine tags on garments to determine alterations that are needed.
Develop, copy, or adapt designs for garments, and design patterns to fit measurements, applying knowledge of garment design, construction, styling, and fabric.
Put in padding and shaping materials.
Sew buttonholes and attach buttons to finish garments.
Work Context
Work Context information for this career will be available soon.
Work Activities
Controlling Machines and Processes — Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
Thinking Creatively — Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People — Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Material — Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
Performing for or Working Directly with the Public — Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
English Language
Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Production and Processing
Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Administration and Management
Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Economics and Accounting
Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
Finger Dexterity
The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
Visualization
The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
Near Vision
The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Oral Comprehension
The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Control Precision
The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
Manual Dexterity
The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
Category Flexibility
The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Information Ordering
The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Originality
The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Oral Expression
The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Speech Recognition
The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Speech Clarity
The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
