What does a seamstress do?
A seamstress designs, repairs, and alters clothing as well as fashion accessories like hats and purses. Your duties and responsibilities may vary depending on your employer, including taking a customer's body measurements to fit clothes to their specifications, constructing garments specified by the customer, and advising customers on the appropriate types of patterns and fabrics that meet their needs. The skills and qualifications for this role include strong sewing skills, knowledge with design and fashion, and creativity.
Seamstress responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real seamstress resumes:
- Place spools of thread on spindles, insert bobbins, and thread ends through machine guides and components.
- Sew cushions and upholstery for furniture
- Deconstruct and reinforce clothing, repair t-shirts, hats, etc.
- Place spools of thread on spindles, ensure machine is threaded properly.
- Operate a Juki pattern tact machine and an auto matrix cutting table.
- Use vinyl plotter to create designs and press on to t-shirts etc.
- Work on garments, such as coats and suits for men or women.
- Provide a high level of professional behavior: promptness, punctuality, and preparedness.
- Sew inside pockets and labels on men's suit coats; assist supervisor with repairs
- Design custom embroidery stitch files per order, setting up names/title, merging with logo.
- Sew panels of fabric together on an industrial Juki sewing machine and over-locking seams for a secure fit.
- Alter clothing, primarily formal dresses, slacks, and jackets using industrial machines, serger and blind hemmer.
- Inspect garments: ensuring stitching, buttons and zippers are up to standards and also ensuring garments are clean and press.
- Sew custom make home decor (drapes, cushions and pillows); and custom make clothes for a perfect fit.
- Monitor sewing machine operations and observe defects in stitching or machine malfunctions.
Seamstress skills and personality traits
We calculated that 67% of Seamstresses are proficient in Customer Service, Punctuality, and Industrial Sewing Machines.
We break down the percentage of Seamstresses that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 67%
Completed personalized customer alterations Developed positive customer service relationships to encourage repeat client patronage
- Punctuality, 18%
Provided a high level of professional behavior: promptness, punctuality, and preparedness.
- Industrial Sewing Machines, 3%
Sewed medical braces according to strict quality standards-Trimmed and packaged completed products-Assisted mechanic in tuning and repairing industrial sewing machines
- Stitching, 2%
Inspect garments: ensuring stitching, buttons and zippers are up to standards and also ensuring garments are clean and pressed.
- Embroidery, 1%
Operated embroidery machine with the use of EDS III for Windows 3.1 to perform different operations according to customer orders.
- Inventory Control, 1%
operate sewing machines, assist others with their tasks, inventory control
Most seamstresses use their skills in "customer service," "punctuality," and "industrial sewing machines" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential seamstress responsibilities here:
The three companies that hire the most seamstresss are:
- Buckle111 seamstresses jobs
- Cintas26 seamstresses jobs
- Caesars Entertainment4 seamstresses jobs
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Compare different seamstresses
Seamstress vs. Bead worker sewing
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, seamstress responsibilities require skills like "customer service," "punctuality," "industrial sewing machines," and "stitching." Meanwhile a typical bead worker sewing has skills in areas such as "hand tools," "excavations," "mowing," and "water samples." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Bead workers sewing tend to reach similar levels of education than seamstresses. In fact, bead workers sewing are 2.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Seamstress vs. Lining closer
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that seamstress responsibilities requires skills like "punctuality," "industrial sewing machines," "stitching," and "embroidery." But a lining closer might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "front line," "back line," "temperature logs," and "evening shifts."
In general, lining closers achieve similar levels of education than seamstresses. They're 1.8% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Seamstress vs. Lockstitch lining maker
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, seamstresses are more likely to have skills like "customer service," "punctuality," "industrial sewing machines," and "stitching." But a lockstitch lining maker is more likely to have skills like "production schedules," "drive-thru," "hand-held tools," and "dishes."
Most lockstitch lining makers achieve a similar degree level compared to seamstresses. For example, they're 2.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Seamstress vs. Embroidery machine operator
Types of seamstress
Updated January 8, 2025
