Dressmaker - Career Advice - Manufacturing and Production

Manufacturing & Production

Artistic or Creative

Dressmakers and Tailors work with patterns and free-hand to cut, sew, design and repair dresses and other similar garments. They must have excellent cutting and sewing technique and be able to provide Future Growth Decline detailed embellishments. Dressmakers may fulfil individual customer orders or large commercial size orders.

ANZSCO ID: 393213

Knowledge, skills and attributes

Artistic Abilities
Problem Solving Skills
Seamstress Expertise
Strong Attention to Details
Time Management

Dressmaker at work

Duties and Tasks

Assemble separate dress pieces by pinning or arranging them together
Consult with customers to decide on appropriate style, material, additions and quantity
Create or modify patterns working with designs, samples and sketches; cut fabric and lining to fit pattern specifications
Fit dresses and other garments on clients and make note for necessary repairs or alterations
Iron or steam dresses or garments for customers to pick-up
Machine and hand-sew garment sections and accessories such as buttons, hooks, zippers, etc.
Provide price estimates of orders and process payment

Dressmaker pinning a pattern

Working conditions

Dressmakers typically work Monday to Fridays, but may need to work long hours and weekends in order to finish orders on time. They usually work in a sewing room or factory environment with sewing machines and other dressmaking tools.

Education and training/entrance requirements

Of those currently employed in the clothing industry only 10% have Advanced Diplomas or Diplomas, and 27% have Certificate III or IV. 51% have no post school qualifications. However, to be able to work in the clothing industry as a skilled machinist, pattern maker, pattern cutter or small business owner you will usually need to complete formal qualifications.

TAFE offers courses relevant to this occupation including the Advanced Diploma of Applied Fashion Design and Technology. Pathways include the Certificate II & III in Applied Fashion Design and Technology.

You can always try a short course also offered through TAFE such as Pattern Making for Beginners or Sewing Your Own Fashion.

Did You Know?

The Conversation 2 January 2024

The craft and manufacture of gowns transformed the lives of women who now were able to create these gowns without the tailors and their guilds.
Read on...

Manufacturing & Production

Artistic or Creative

Tailors make made-to-measure clothes to fit and suit their clients' individual requirements, taking into consideration factors such as style, fabric and on what occasions the garment will be worn. Future Growth Decline

After consulting with the customer, and showing them fabric samples, the tailor then takes a range of measurements with a tape measure. The pattern is either created or an existing one used, and the garment is cut out. The pieces are then basted (tacked) and sewn together, by hand and/or machine. Before the collars, pockets and trims are sewn on, the tailor must do a fitting with customers to check the fit and make any necessary alterations. Usually there are one or two fittings before the final product is ready.

ANZSCO ID: 393213

Alternative names: Outfitter,

Knowledge, skills and attributes

Enjoy practical and manual activities
enjoy clothing design
good eyesight with normal colour vision
good hand-eye coordination
good eye for detail
able to work under pressure
good communication skills

Tailor at work

Duties and Tasks

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

tailor fitting
(Source: Your Career)

Working conditions

Tailors may work in made-to-measure or ready-made tailoring. In ready-made tailoring, the garments are sewn by machinists. Tailors in mass-production factories usually perform one of the listed tasks, whereas tailors in small firms may be involved in all tasks.

Education and training/entrance requirements

Did You Know?

Elias Howe is often credited with inventing the sewing machine because he held patents for it in 1844. But models had been built long before that—the earliest functional model in France, in 1830.

Old sewing machine

Bathelemy Thimonnier created the first working sewing machine.

People were afraid that the sewing machine would eliminate the need for hand stitchers, causing people to lose their jobs, and Thimonnier's factory was burned down and his machines destroyed. He fled to England to escape any further persecution, but he is truly the inventor of the first working sewing machine.
(Source: State University)