How to become a Tailor, Dressmaker or Custom Sewer

Official title: Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers

Also called: Alterations Expert, Alterations Sewer, Bridal Designer, Clothing Pattern Designer, Custom Dressmaker, Custom Sewer, Custom Tailor, Dressmaker, Seamstress, Tailor

Design, make, alter, repair, or fit garments.

Main tasks

• Measure parts, such as sleeves or pant legs, and mark or pin-fold alteration lines.
• Remove stitches from garments to be altered, using rippers or razor blades.
• Sew garments, using needles and thread or sewing machines.
• Let out or take in seams in suits and other garments to improve fit.
• Measure customers, using tape measures, and record measurements.
• Fit and study garments on customers to determine required alterations.
• Trim excess material, using scissors.
• Assemble garment parts and join parts with basting stitches, using needles and thread or sewing machines.

How to become one

Typical education to start: No formal educational credential

Ways in

• Apprenticeship: Alteration Tailor.
• Apprenticeship: Custom Tailor (Garment).
• Apprenticeship: Dressmaker.

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

• Median pay: $41,640 a year The middle half earn $35,230 to $50,200.
• About 33,200 people work in this job now, and about 30,300 are projected by 2035. (-8.8%)
• People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Related jobs

• Sewers, Hand
• Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers
• Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials
• Sewing Machine Operators
• Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers
• Shoe Machine Operators and Tenders

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Tailor, Dressmaker or Custom Sewer?

Ways in include: Alteration Tailor.

How much does a Tailor, Dressmaker or Custom Sewer earn in the US?

Median full-time pay is $41,640 a year (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). The middle half earn $35,230 to $50,200.

Is a Tailor, Dressmaker or Custom Sewer a growing career in the US?

Employment is projected to fall 9% by 2035, from about 33,200 to about 30,300 people (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Do you need a degree to become a Tailor, Dressmaker or Custom Sewer?

Usually not. Only 24% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Ways in include: Alteration Tailor.

Will AI change the work of a Tailor, Dressmaker or Custom Sewer?

People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Sources

• Microsoft Research: Working with AI: AI applicability by occupation (2025-12-22 (built on O*NET 29.0)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employment Projections (2025-35 (released 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.