Tailor | Career Planet

What is a Tailor?

A Tailor is a skilled person who makes fitted clothes for individual customers.

Many Tailors specialise in alteration work, as there is a demand for this service in retail stores and dry-cleaners offering alterations as part of their service.

Being a Tailor is a really exciting career choice. Due to ever-changing fashion – it will keep you on your toes and therefore give you job satisfaction. You won’t get bored.

What does a Tailor do?

helping the customer choose the correct fabric and style for the garment
taking the customer’s measurements
developing a design for the garment or modifying an existing design
drawing an individual pattern or altering a standard pattern to fit the customer
cutting the material for the garment
assembling and sewing the garment
fitting the garment on the customer and marking areas requiring alterations
doing the alterations
inserting zips, creating button-holes and sewing on buttons and any other decorative features

Are you … ?

interested in style, clothes and materials?
good with your hands?
detail orientated?
accurate?
technically orientated?
a person with good sewing skills?
able to communicate with people?
patient?
a person with good eyesight?

How do I become a Tailor?

You may get on-the-job training alongside an experienced Tailor but to jump ahead of the rest, you may consider doing a few courses.
Courses in pattern making or fashion design may help you jump ahead of the rest.

Education and Training Colleges (FET) may offer programmes for specific Trade or Skills in tailoring.

Visit the Career Planet Training Institutions page to find your nearest FET College.

We advise contacting these institutions directly.

Here are few examples: