All about the profession of a seamstress

Since primitive times, people have been hiding from the wind and cold in their own "clothes" made from the skins of killed animals. Pieces of hide were torn and stitched together with a hair thread using a stone needle. More often women were engaged in sewing while they were waiting for the head of the family from the hunt. With the development of sewing skills in the seamstress profession, there has been tremendous progress, and, having acquired this specialty, girls can now implement a variety of creative ideas.

The activity of a seamstress is based on sewing together individual pieces of clothing or any other product. There is a great demand for such workers in various factories, as well as in shops where they sell their own products. Depending on the specifics of production, high-class seamstresses can work with absolutely different materials and produce not only standard wardrobe items, but also bags, covers and even shoes.

This type of activity implies long monotonous work in a sitting position, which can cause injuries and diseases of the spine, deterioration of blood flow in the extremities - this is an undoubted disadvantage, however, as well as deterioration of visual acuity. If a person is on the staff of a large sewing enterprise, then the place of work due to the high level of noise should also be attributed to a negative point.

Despite this, there are many advantages to the profession in question.

• Self-realization... A skilled seamstress will never sit around. If you have additional education, it is quite possible to start working for yourself: fulfill orders at home or open your own production. A very good option to become self-employed.
• Affordable training. You can unlearn your profession in almost any city. And everyone will be able to prove themselves in this creative business.
• The ability to sew clothes for the whole family. Knowing how to sew, a woman can be useful not only to society, but also to her family. If you have equipment at home, it is quite possible to replenish your family wardrobe with unique outfits.

Seamstresses, like tailors, are directly involved in sewing clothes or other products. Differences are only in the form of work. The tailor is more qualified. He conducts all the main work (from beginning to end) on the product and in some way combines in himself both a seamstress and a cutter. The place of work of a tailor, as a rule, is in the atelier and various sewing workshops, where orders are carried out to individuals. His task is to take measurements, cut fabrics, cut and much more - up to the transfer of the finished product to the customer.

Starting a professional growth in the field of sewing clothes, you need to understand that with an increase in level, with each grade, responsibilities also increase. There are six levels of skill in total.

All students of a special college or vocational school receive them.

With this rank, the hand-held seamstress can perform the basic skills of the profession. An employee may well sew bed linen, shorten or lengthen a simple product, use a sewing machine to hem cuffs and pockets. Usually, The beginning seamstress works with inner seams on cotton fabric.

Having improved her qualifications, the worker begins to process the external seams. They allow connecting various simple and complex parts. The seamstress-designer of the 4th category can sew already small elements on clothes, topstitch the edges, buttonholes and work with a double needle. It also becomes possible to work with more complex materials, such as wool, nylon, viscose..

Further, according to the qualifications, the craftswoman expands her capabilities and begins to sew various products on her own. The seamstress works with curved edges. Performs work on altering clothes without disturbing the general pattern, connects curved parts, knows how to alter pockets and cuffs, can do work on sewing curtains.

He is considered the most highly qualified professional in his field. Having received the last rank, the seamstress already has quite a lot of experience. Such a master is allowed to absolutely any complexity of the work, he is entrusted with the most important tasks, where mistakes are unacceptable, so as not to disrupt the entire appearance of the finished product. The seamstress deftly works with multi-layered products (jacket, coat), takes on sewing overalls and even expensive suits. Highly specialized seamstresses, in addition to a garment factory, can also work in furniture production.

Despite the various skills, a seamstress of any category has its own responsibilities and must comply with the job descriptions that are in one or another sewing production. The employee must be able to refuel the sewing unit, clean and lubricate it if necessary, adjust the thread tension and the length of the stitch itself, and adjust the speed. Specialists of 3 and 6 categories must be able to work with heavy products weighing up to 20 kilograms.

Due to the fact that the profession of a seamstress itself implies a long and monotonous work in one position, the main requirement for a master is perseverance. Good eye, manual dexterity, neatness are also integral parts. As a rule, men do not have these qualities, so the profession is most likely suitable for the female half. Patience is also important in work, because if you do not follow the rules and techniques of sewing, then the finished product can upset the customer, and in large-scale production it will be formalized as a marriage and forced to redo it.

The enterprise has its own professional standard, which all employees undertake to comply with. It includes:

• compliance with safety regulations;
• production of various things from fabrics, leather and other materials;
• the ability to adjust the thread tension and keep the stitching;
• the ability to operate a sewing machine and other similar equipment, as well as carry out minor repairs;
• checking the color matching of fittings and fabrics;
• finishing of the finished product and preparation;
• quality control of the cut.

In order to get the basics in the field of sewing skills, optional higher education... You can unlearn at any vocational college or school by profession "Operator of sewing equipment" or "Operator of knitting and sewing production". As a rule, there are such educational institutions in every city. The most popular in our country:

• Vocational school No 99, g. Moscow, specialty - "Seamstress for making clothes" and "Operator of sewing skills";
• Vocational school No 119, Moscow, here, in addition to the fact that one can unlearn a seamstress, they get the profession of a tailor and cutter;
• Technological College of Sewing Profile, Moscow, the best graduates of this institution can do an internship abroad;
• Higher vocational school of sewing design No 307, Moscow, here you can unlearn not only a seamstress, but also gain knowledge of modeling and designing clothes, further employment is guaranteed.

Applicants can enroll in all vocational schools on the basis of grades 9-11. Education lasts on average 2-3 years. The profession itself is a creative one, so in-depth knowledge of mathematics is not required. In the future, if you study well in college, you can improve your skills in college and get a higher-paying profession of a fashion designer.

The advantage of sewing skills is that a seamstress who does her job well and with high quality can realize herself by opening her own business, or actively moving up the career ladder at a prestigious sewing enterprise and earn decent sums.