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Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers

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

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

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

    Skills

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Learning Strategies

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

    • Systems Evaluation

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

    • Monitoring

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

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Coordination

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

    • Equipment Selection

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

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Complex Problem Solving

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

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Systems Analysis

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

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Active Listening

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

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

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

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Operations Analysis

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

    • Operations Monitoring

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

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Troubleshooting

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

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Critical Thinking

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

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    4
    Workplace Documents
    4
    Graphic Literacy
    4

    Abilities

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Depth Perception

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

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Extent Flexibility

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

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Glare Sensitivity

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

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Rate Control

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

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Inductive Reasoning

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

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Auditory Attention

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

    • Gross Body Coordination

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

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Visualization

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

    • Multilimb Coordination

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

    • Dynamic Flexibility

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

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

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

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Perceptual Speed

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

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Reaction Time

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

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Response Orientation

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

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Control Precision

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

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    Knowledge

    • Biology

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

    • 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.

    • History and Archeology

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

    • 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.

    • Food Production

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

    • Transportation

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

    • English Language

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

    • 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.

    • Fine Arts

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

    • Law and Government

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

    • Telecommunications

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

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • Design

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

    • 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.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

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

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • Mathematics

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

    • Economics and Accounting

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

    • Production and Processing

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

    • 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.

    • Computers and Electronics

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

    • Mechanical

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

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    Career Video

    Additional videos and more information available on CareerOneStop

    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 36540/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 17.57/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 1,240
    • Yearly Projected Openings 150

    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:
    • Cooperation
    • Attention to Detail
    • Integrity
    • Self Control
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Achievement/Effort

    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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