Information Sheet 1.

1-2 Career Opportunities in Sewing

Sewing is the stitching of cloth, leather, furs,

bark, or other materials, using needle and thread.
Sewing is used primarily to produce clothing and
household furnishings such as curtains,
bedclothes, upholstery, and table linens. It is also
used for sails, bellows, skin boats, banners, and
other items shaped out of flexible materials such
as canvas and leather.

Sewing is the foundation for many needle

arts and crafts, such as applique, canvas work,
and patchwork.

Most sewing in the industrial

Figure A: Sewing world is done by machines. Pieces of a
garment are often first tacked together.
The machine has a complex set of gears
and arms that pierces thread through the layers of the cloth and
semi-securely interlocks the thread.

Some people sew clothes for themselves and their families.

More often home sewers sew to repair clothes, such as mending a
torn seam or replacing a loose button. A person who sews for a

Occupations Require Sewing

Figure B: Garment
A tailor is a
person whose
occupation is to sew menswear style
jackets and the skirts or trousers that
go with them. Although the term dates
to the thirteenth century, tailor took on
its modern sense in the late eighteenth
century, and now refers to makers of
men's and women's suits, coats,
trousers, and similar garments, usually
of wool, linen, or .
Figure A: Tailor
SEWING PROFESSIONAL

Sewing Professional is the most general term for those who make their
living by sewing, teaching, writing about sewing, or retailing sewing supplies.
They may work out of their home, a studio, or retail shop, and may work part-
time or full-time. They may be any or all or the following sub-specialties:

1. Custom clothier

Figure B: Sewing Professional

1 | I n f o r m a ti o n S h e e t N o . 1 . 1 - 2 - R O S E L Y N N A U L - Y D Q U I L A
 Makes custom garments one at a time, to order, to meet an
individual customer's needs and preferences.

Figure C: Custom Clothier

2. Custom dressmaker
Specializes in women's custom
apparel, including day dresses, career
wear, suits, evening or bridal wear,
sportswear, or lingerie.

Figure D: Custom Dressmaker

3. Tailor
Makes custom menswear-style
jackets and the trousers or
skirts that go with them, for
men or women.

Figure E: Tailor

4. Alterations specialist, or
alterationist
Adjusts the fit of completed garments,
usually ready-to-wear, or restyles
them. Note that while all tailors can
do alterations, by no means can all
alterationists do tailoring. (Some
alterationists call themselves "custom
tailors": those who order suits from
them are typically surprised by the Figure F: Alterations Specialist
product of their work.

5. Designer
Thinks up combinations of
line, proportion, color, and
texture for intended garments.
They may or may not have
sewing or patternmaking skills,
and may only sketch or
conceptualize garments. They
need to work with people who

Figure G: Designers

know how to actually construct the garment, or else the sketch will
remain a sketch.

6. Patternmaker
Flat draft the shapes and sizes of the
numerous pieces of a garment by
hand using paper and measuring
tools or by computer using AutoCAD

2 | I n f o r m a ti o n S h e e t N o . 1 . 1 - 2 - R O S E L Y N N A U L - Y D Q U I L A

Figure H: Patternmaker
 based software, or by draping muslin on a dress form. The resulting
pattern pieces must comprise the intended design of the garment and
they must fit the intended wearer.

7. Wardrobe consultant, fashion

advisor, or stylist
Recommends styles and colors
that are flattering for a client.
They are often employed by
actresses and others who wear
haute couture clothes.

Figure I: Wardrobe Consultant

8. Seamstress
Sews seams, or in other words, a machine operator
in a factory who may not have the skills to make
garments from scratch or to fit them on a real
body. This term is not a synonym for dressmaker.
Seamstress is an old euphemism for prostitute.

Figure J: Seamstress

9. Shoe Worker
Creates and repair shoes and
related items, such as luggage and
saddles. According to the BLS, job
positions for these workers will
decrease by 15% between 2014 and
2024.

Figure K: Shoe Worker

10. F
abric Mender
Repairs things made of fabric that
are not clothes, such as curtains,
bedding and outdoor structures.

Sewing Job Descriptions Figure L: Fabric Mender

Sewing professionals work with materials bound together by needle and

thread. Apparel workers cut materials and sew them into clothing, while tailors
or dressmakers may create custom clothing, alter existing apparel or repair
garments for clients. Many jobs are available in the realm of manufacturing,
where workers commonly perform specialized tasks in large-scale garment
production. Fabric and apparel patternmakers take a clothing designer's
original model and convert it into a pattern that can be laid out on a length of
fabric for replication.

Education Options
3 | I n f o r m a ti o n S h e e t N o . 1 . 1 - 2 - R O S E L Y N N A U L - Y D Q U I L A
 Employers in the sewing trade prefer to hire those who are at least high
school graduates or the equivalent. However, vocational schools and sewing
schools offer programs that teach advanced techniques and even business
management. Vocational training programs can take anywhere from six
months to three years to complete and may prepare students for jobs in the
garment business. Classes or degrees in business administration or marketing
may also prove useful in the sewing industry. Aspiring sewing professionals
may also want to seek out apprenticeships in their area to gain supervised,
hands-on experience.

About the job

1. Pay. Pay for tailors varies depending on skills and experience.

 new tailors usually earn minimum wage of Php. 12,000.00 per
month
 tailors with two to five years' experience usually earn Php.
15,0000.00 per month
 tailors with more than five years' experience, and those who make
wedding outfits, can earn up to Php. 18, 000.00 per month

2. What you will do. Tailors may do some or all of the following:
 discuss customers' clothing requirements
 take customers' measurements and fit clothing on customers
 estimate how much the clothing will cost to make
 source materials
 mark and cut the material according to the design
 sew clothing
 do alterations or add details such as padding to clothing
 design or alter patterns.

3. Skills and knowledge. Tailors need to have:

 sewing skills and knowledge of tailoring techniques
 understanding of garment construction, and pattern-making skills
 clothing design skills
 knowledge of different fashions
 knowledge of fabric types, colors and fabric care
 cutting skills.

Note: Tailors who run their own business also need business skills.

4. Working conditions. Tailors:

 work full or part-time hours. Self-employed tailors may work irregular
hours, including evenings and weekends
 work in their own homes, workrooms, factories or showrooms
 may travel locally or to other areas to visit clients.

ACTIVIY SHEET 1.1-2

Directions: Among the occupations related in sewing, select one occupations that fits your skills or
desires and explain it in 10 sentences.

4 | I n f o r m a ti o n S h e e t N o . 1 . 1 - 2 - R O S E L Y N N A U L - Y D Q U I L A
5 | I n f o r m a ti o n S h e e t N o . 1 . 1 - 2 - R O S E L Y N N A U L - Y D Q U I L A