Dressmakers design, make or fit, alter, repair tailored, bespoke or hand-made garments from textile fabrics, light leather, fur and other material for women and children. They produce made-to-measure wearing apparel according to customer's or garment manufacturer's specifications. They are able to read and understand size charts, details surrounding finished measurements, etc.

Tasks

Tasks include -
(a) Making overcoats, suits, skirts, shirts, blouses, lingerie, corsetry, hats, wigs and similar garments, often to clients' individual requirements;
(b) Selecting textile fabrics, leather or fur pelts matching the desired size, colour, texture, and quality of the garment; cutting to shape them to garment pattern and arranging them on pattern according to the design of the garment;
(c) Making garment style changes, such as tapering trouser legs, narrowing lapels, and adding or removing padding;
(d) Selecting and modifying commercial patterns to customers' and clothing manufacturers' specifications and fit;
(e) Fitting, altering and repairing tailored clothing, dresses, coats and other made-to-measure garments according to customers' requests;
(f) Making and caring for costumes used in theatrical, television and motion picture productions;
(g) Folding, twisting and draping material, such as satin or silk, or sewing ribbon or cloth in the form of artificial flowers or bows around crown and brim to shape and decorate hats;
(h) Sewing, and fastening together materials and hair strands to make wigs;
(i) Blending shades of hair to give natural appearance to wigs and arranging woven hair in specified position and sewing hair together to form hairpiece;
(j) Making, altering, restyling and repairing fur garments and other fur articles;
(k) Reclaiming furs or skins from old coats, gluing fabric to interior of fur coats and trimming fur garments.