How to be a seamstress?

[polkadotmonstera]

I've been sewing since I was little, I do my own clothes and do alterations too, I also do them for friends/family. I would love to become a seamstress and quit my current job but I don't know how to start, should I enrol in any official fashion studies? Do people still need a seamstress or not anymore? Should I offer my services on social media? I can sew at home and idont smoke or have pets.
Thank you

Depends on what type of seanstressing you do. You wouldn’t need to do a fashion or tailoring course if you were just doing curtains and hems.

But structural alterations need more knowledge. You need to know about pattern cutting. And the size of space you have is quite important. Curtains need big tables.

I live in a medium size town and we have at least 5 places where they do alterations in town. A lot of people don’t know how to alter their own clothes, so if you are ready to set up a business and are good at this, it could work.

Having said that, you need to be sure that you know what you are doing. I make my own clothes but I would not be prepared to alter somebody’s wedding dress, for example

I wouldn’t either. I make clothes and have a degree in fashion. But alterations make my blood run cold and l don’t know why. Fiddly l think the word is.

Dont mind hems hate curtains too much measuring, and really hate fit alterations.

I use a local seamstress as I can’t sew at all. The last item I took to her was a dress, I wanted the sleeves shortened by a couple of inches. It wasn’t just a question of cutting off and hemming the excess fabric though as there was a button and keyhole on each cuff, so she needed to re-sew the keyhole bit and reattach the button and loops.
She charged me £10 which I was happy to pay but I can’t see how she covered her time and costs, equally I wouldn’t have wanted to pay much more than that because then the dress would work out too expensive for me.
A common problem is people undervalue your time if they think it’s a hobby-turned-business, similar with cake decorating, almost like you should be grateful they’re letting you make their curtains, oh and they need them yesterday.

You're absolutely right about the time and cost.

I have been using the same dressmaker for at least 20 years for alterations. The last alteration she did for me was making a dress smaller - that involved lifting the shoulder seams and altering the waist. She charged £80. The dress was originally £300 and it was worth it for a pure wool woven dress which will last for ages.

Previous one was a voluminous, deliberately over sized cotton dress with masses of pleats pleated on to a waistband, which I loved in the shop but which was just too oversized. The dress cost £500 and she basically had to reconstruct it for which she charged £120.

I go to someone in my town who has a card in the window of her home offering alterations. She charges £18 to hem a skirt. I had a lined dress taken up and she charged £36, as basically two skirts. She has a room on the ground floor of her house where you go and she can pin things up etc...where her seeing machines are. I have never had anything done other than just taking things up.

I've seen cards up at the local launderette offering alterations and mending. Make up a card advertising your services.
Start by taking work to complete after hours and see how much work you get.

Some seamstresses make clothing to sell at local markets.

For employment, MacCulloch and Wallis and large haberdashery shops offer dress making and alterations.
Are there any high end dress makers, designers, in your town - like Victoria Beckham who might have full time job opportunities?

Interesting question!

If you google How to train as a seamstress you get a full and informative AI answer. Here’s the most obvious place to start

https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/dress-maker

I come from a long line of seamstresses but really can’t do more than sew on a button, so I’m an active supporter of the trade. It frustrates me greatly when people seem unaware that mass produced clothes won’t fit everyone perfectly and most of us need an alterations service in our lives.

I can sew, alter and understand fashion and fit. (Have altered everything from a wedding dress to a suede jacket to a wool coat) . I owned my own bridal boutique for over 13 years and employed a fantastic seamstress who trained with House of Fraser back in the 60’s and 70’s when there used to be a whole workshop of girls altering clothes that were bought in store. Even fur coats! Anyway, I could sew really well but she taught me so much and of course fitting wedding dresses again and again teaches you fit and form. I am still in the fashion industry just not customer facing but I alter nearly everything I buy to get a tailored fit ( although loose and baggy at the moment has made that easier!). I do get friends asking me to just take in the waistband of a pair of jeans or shorten a blazer! But that is sooo much time to do! So I always decline! If you are serious about being a seamstress, you need to focus on the luxury end. Think wedding dresses, occasion wear. This is because the value of the item would warrant the cost you will charge for your time. Whereas a jacket from Primark cannot justify a cost outweighing the original value(and most of it fits badly anyway due to one one fit for all). Maybe approach an occasion wear shop or bridal shop and ask if you can work part time on some of their alterations? If you are a good sewer then a wedding dress will follow the same principles. Don’t take on anything tooo huge to begin with, maybe bridesmaids hems or side seams? I know of someone who went on an alterations course, however it was over a thousand for the week. Also wedding boutiques do advertise for seamstresses. Just a thought. But if you want to do normal clothing, pop into care homes. I know of seamstresses that alter and fix clothes this way. If you want anymore information please feel free to ask me or pm me. Good luck!

Aside from the technical side already mentioned, I would say to anyone who wanted to turn a craft/hobby into a business, start off as a side gig to see if 1) there is enough demand where you are to sustain the business and 2) that you would actually want to do it full time. As much as you love doing something, if your livelihood depended on it, you may not enjoy it anymore.

I’m like you and have thought of doing this - mainly alterations.

Many people are starting realise that clothes can look so much better if they are altered to fit their body shape.

I have been sewing clothes since I was young so I understand most construction techniques.

I was going to start by watching tons of You Tube videos, practice on my own clothes (ones that don’t matter if I screw up), practice on friends and families clothes (for free), before getting paying customers. I would time myself so I knew roughly how much each alteration would take.

Then I would do an online search for local business alterations and see their prices to know what my competition was. I would even consider paying them to do an alteration to see their prices and quality of work. I think most people would assess you on the quality of your work and price, rather than having relevant qualifications.

I would be happy to start small as the replies here show that people continue to use the same seamstress as long as they can, so word of mouth is most important.

I haven’t started yet as I’ve been divorcing and have moved houses. I’ve ended up with a chest freezer I didn’t want - so I’ve also thought about an add on service where I offer to freeze clothes if they’ve got a moths infestation. Freezing is meant to be a good option, and most people don’t have enough room for bulky items in their freezer. My freezer can even take a good sized wool rug!

£10 is very cheap . My sil had to have the sleeves of his suit shortened. This was done from the shoulder and cost £70.

If you are doing it as a career, in your own home, have you got a separate room to allocate for it? Clients’ clothes hung in the living room or bedroom of the seamstress are likely to absorb smells, especially from smoking, food etc, plus if there are children and pets running around there is the danger of clothes being damaged or marked . I presume an insurance would have to be taken out anyway to cover accidental damage.

I don't have an spare room. I live in a 2 bedroom flat and I sew at my bedroom. I don't own pets and I don't smoke.

I forgot to add I have a child who has the other room. My child does not touch any clothes friends/family had given me for alterations and she is usually very clean and tidy. My plan was to start as self employed at home without quiting my job ( I'm a nurse and work 2 shifts per week) and if things go well then opening my own place or renting an studio flat which I can use to work from and quit nursing. Am I too delusional? Thank you.

There's a big difference between dressmaker and seamstressing/tailoring.
If you are planning on doing straightforward alterations like hemming, then you'll probably be good to go.
If you are planning on making wedding dresses and ballgowns, you'll need to understand pattern cutting and tailoring.

I use a seamstress who is qualified
What is a Seamstress? Key Skills, Qualifications and Career Path | UK Career Advice | Workbred
Textiles qualifications and training courses | City & Guilds

She gets a lot of work making wedding dresses. The brides are often ones who are unable to get what they wanted elsewhere, so the work is complicated and time-consuming.

Some customers expect it to be cheap, or bring unsuitable fabrics for the pattern. You need the tenacity to be able to get paid, and to have the diplomacy to advise the bride if she needs corsetry, that the fabric is unsuitable etc.

£10 for shortening sleeves is too cheap.

You could also start by offering 'piece' work to a local shop, where you are picking up items already pinned. Also local dance and theatre companies usually have costumes to alter or make.

That might work until you build up clientele, then maybe look for a 3 bed flat? Making enough to pay rent on a suite or commercial space would be tough to start, and this way you could work from home for now.

A woman down the street from me does tailoring and costumes; she has a separate room with walk in closet for changing. It is also near her back entrance, so she doesn't have strangers traipsing through her house. She's organized and inexpensive, and I'm assuming without a business license since there is no sign at her door. That is also something to think about; will your neighbours object to you running a business in your flat.