Professionals who work on design teams at clothing companies are known as sample machinists. Their mission is to create samples of garments that a designer wants to sell. A potential sample machinist should have good sewing skills, be creative, and be able to follow instructions. Before pursuing a career as a sample machinist, a person can enroll in higher education courses and receive practical entry-level training.
If you want to be a sample machinist, you should take college-level pattern cutting, machine embroidery, or textile machining classes. Trade associations offer these types of classes, which cover topics like the history of the textile industry, industry tools, and trade materials that you will use on a sample machinist job. Sample machinist training classes typically result in a certificate, and while post-secondary education is not required for employment in the field, it does make you more appealing to potential employers.
People who want to work in the textile machinist industry should get hands-on experience making clothes. If you want to work as a sample machinist, look for a textiles company or a garment manufacturer where you can intern or even apprentice. Working on a design team requires you to gain practical experience sewing garment sample sections together and pressing them to make the piece look fresh, as well as learning how to create a garment according to a designer’s standards for colors and materials. As a result, when creating sample garments such as sportswear or formal gowns, you must know how to work with products like leather and cotton appropriately.
In order to become a professional who produces garment samples, you must also improve your leadership skills. A sample machinist, for example, is in charge of advising a design team on how to best produce a garment and make changes to its construction before it is mass-produced. If you want to work as a sample machinist, you’ll also need to learn how to conduct quality control inspections during the manufacturing process. You should not be afraid to express your expert opinion about flaws in a potential garment, and you should be able to do so with good communication and interpersonal skills.
For possible job opportunities, a person interested in becoming a clothes sample creator should consult his or her training program and internship site. The career services department at your training institution can provide you with the names of companies that are looking for sample machinists. You should also network with people at your internship or apprenticeship site to see if they know of any local businesses that are hiring.