A professional seamster who specializes in customizing or repairing existing clothing is known as an alterations tailor. He differs from a regular tailor in that he usually does not make new garments out of fabric, instead altering and repairing existing ones. An alterations tailor may work for a department store, a private clothier, or as a self-employed individual.
Men, women, and children’s clothing may be presented to the tailor. It could be brand-new, unworn clothing, lightly worn clothing, or decades-old outfits. Typically, the alterations or repairs range from simple to complex.
Although an alteration tailor would prefer to have the person who will be wearing the article of clothing on their person when assessing the needed adjustments, in many cases he will not have that advantage. Clothing is frequently presented to him with requests for alterations or repairs written on an attached tag. It’s usually more difficult because he doesn’t have an actual human body to gauge the success or progress of his work.
Torn or ripped pockets, coat, jacket, or pant linings, lapels, and pocket flaps are all common clothing repairs presented to an alterations tailor. Hand or machine stitching may be required to correct these flaws. The damaged area may need to be replaced if the tears are extensive and irreversible.
A request for a change can be made for almost any part of a garment. Adjusting the lengths of sleeves or legs, narrowing or expanding waistbands, and adjusting the heights of lapels or collars are among the most common requests. Requests to have shoulder pads inserted or removed from jackets, blouses, shirts, and coats are less common.
An alterations tailor uses a tape measure to gauge the extent of the changes and marks the fabric accordingly, whether he is repairing or altering clothing. Multicolored straight pins have traditionally been used to mark points for revision. If a garment needs to be restructured, the stitches are usually removed with a razor blade or a special tool called a ripper.
A needle and thread or a sewing machine is used to complete the clothing modifications. Hand sewing is typically used on small areas that are difficult to sew with a machine. After the seamster finishes sewing the garment, he presses it by hand or machine before returning it to the customer.
This job usually does not necessitate any formal education. It’s usually a job-based skill learned by assisting an experienced tailor, seamster, or seamstress. In most cases, a keen eye for detail and advanced math skills are required.