Explore by Career/Production
Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers
Design, make, alter, repair, or fit garments.
- Median pay
- $40,860
- per year
- 10-year outlook
- -4.5%
- Declining
- Typical entry
- No formal educational credential
Key skills
- Time Management
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Monitoring
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Reading Comprehension
What they do
- 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.
Majors that lead here
No mapped majors yet.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, Employment Projections) and O*NET, used under CC BY 4.0.