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Date: 01/19/2026

Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers

Design, make, alter, repair, or fit garments.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Estimate how much a garment will cost to make, based on factors such as time and material requirements.
    • Develop, copy, or adapt designs for garments, and design patterns to fit measurements, applying knowledge of garment design, construction, styling, and fabric.
    • 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.
    • Sew buttonholes and attach buttons to finish garments.
    • Measure customers, using tape measures, and record measurements.
    • Take up or let down hems to shorten or lengthen garment parts, such as sleeves.
    • Position patterns of garment parts on fabric, and cut fabric along outlines, using scissors.
    • 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.
    • Put in padding and shaping materials.
    • Make garment style changes, such as tapering pant legs, narrowing lapels, and adding or removing padding.
    • Assemble garment parts and join parts with basting stitches, using needles and thread or sewing machines.
    • Assemble garment parts and join parts with basting stitches, using needles and thread or sewing machines.
    • Maintain garment drape and proportions as alterations are performed.
    • Remove stitches from garments to be altered, using rippers or razor blades.
    • Let out or take in seams in suits and other garments to improve fit.
    • Trim excess material, using scissors.
    • Measure parts, such as sleeves or pant legs, and mark or pin-fold alteration lines.
    • Measure customers, using tape measures, and record measurements.
    • Sew garments, using needles and thread or sewing 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.
    • Confer with customers to determine types of material and garment styles desired.
    • Examine tags on garments to determine alterations that are needed.
    • Sew garments, using needles and thread or sewing machines.
    • Fit and study garments on customers to determine required alterations.
    • Repair or replace defective garment parts, such as pockets, zippers, snaps, buttons, and linings.
    • Press garments, using hand irons or pressing machines.

    Skills

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    4
    Workplace Documents
    4
    Graphic Literacy
    4

    Abilities

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    Knowledge

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • 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.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      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.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    Career Video

    Additional videos and more information available on CareerOneStop

    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 37550/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 18.05/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 1,290
    • Yearly Projected Openings 170

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Cautiousness

    Tools

    • Buttonhole machines
    • Curves
    • Desktop computers
    • Domestic clothing irons
    • Dressmakers ruler
    • Fabric or tailors chalk holders
    • Full body form or mannequin
    • Ironing boards
    • Ironing machines or presses
    • Laser printers
    • Protective gloves
    • Razor knives
    • Rotary paper or fabric cutter
    • Rulers
    • Safety pins
    • Seam gauge
    • Seam ripper
    • Serrated pattern tracing wheel
    • Sewing kits
    • Sewing machines
    • Sewing needles
    • Sewing patterns
    • Shears
    • Steam pressing machines
    • Straight pins
    • Tape measures

    Technology

    • Accounting software
    • Computer aided design CAD software
    • Customer relationship management CRM software
    • Inventory management software
    • Office suite software
    • Point of sale POS software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Word processing software

    Tags

    • Apprenticeships are available for this occupation. These programs can help you get hands-on experience and build your skills.
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