What the work involves, what it pays, and grounded tasks, skills, tools, and experience you can choose from.
Also called alteration tailor, alterations and tailor shop fitter, alterations and tailor shop sewer and alterations tailor.
Real figures for this work, and lines you can use in your own resume. Where they come from is at the foot of this page.
An example
Common skills that can help you remember what you used on the job.
Every line comes from the same public record as the rest of this page. The greyed parts are the ones only you can answer.
Tailor, Dressmaker, and Custom Sewer
Tailor designing, making, altering, and repairing garments, measuring customers and recording sizes, fitting clothes, and discussing materials and styles with clients
Where you worked
Yours will not say this. You choose what matches your experience, and every line remains yours to confirm or change.
Nothing to write from scratch
Real duties for this job, already written the way a resume reads. Inside Rung you choose the ones that were yours.
becomes
On your resume
These are written the way a resume line reads. Rung asks which ones are actually yours, keeps your own words, and never claims work you did not do.
Then it asks for one more thing
Make it stronger
A few lines could show more. Each one is asked, and answered by choosing.
The line
Measured several garment parts each day for accurate alterations and adjustments
Add how many measurements you took each day
Pick one that fits
Adding it to the line…
The line
Sewed garments using sewing machines to ensure quality and durability
Show what improved in garment quality because you sewed them
Pick one that fits
Adding it to the line…
Every ready answer is in plain words, never a figure. Nothing is invented to fill a gap.
The work itself
The public record of what this job is, in one paragraph.
Design, make, alter, repair, or fit garments.
What it pays
Annual pay across the United States. The middle figure is the median: half earn less than that, and half earn more.
| 25th percentile | $35,230 |
|---|---|
| Median | $41,640 |
| 75th percentile | $50,200 |
| State | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| AL | $27,380 | $31,200 | $69,530 |
| AR | $30,560 | $30,990 | $34,210 |
| AZ | $38,630 | $40,360 | $44,720 |
| CA | $39,270 | $44,360 | $49,540 |
| CO | $33,840 | $51,110 | $57,050 |
| CT | $37,440 | $40,000 | $46,260 |
| DC | $57,720 | $57,720 | $84,760 |
| DE | $44,450 | $44,450 | $45,120 |
| FL | $35,380 | $39,790 | $48,330 |
| GA | $31,110 | $43,260 | $58,910 |
| HI | $38,160 | $53,680 | $65,700 |
| IA | $28,400 | $31,680 | $39,260 |
| IL | $36,210 | $42,330 | $47,240 |
| IN | $34,000 | $36,450 | $50,050 |
| KS | $20,800 | $27,110 | $29,570 |
| KY | $31,200 | $32,530 | $35,620 |
| LA | $27,960 | $33,560 | $42,990 |
| MA | $46,230 | $50,470 | $58,570 |
| MD | $40,000 | $48,200 | $52,310 |
| MI | $36,040 | $37,500 | $46,400 |
| MN | $36,430 | $46,180 | $48,170 |
| MO | $35,900 | $48,240 | $48,840 |
| MS | $20,980 | $25,340 | $35,920 |
| MT | $34,230 | $34,710 | $38,020 |
| NC | $35,130 | $41,260 | $45,470 |
| NE | $36,080 | $38,380 | $40,580 |
| NH | $41,540 | $45,970 | $46,690 |
| NJ | $36,380 | $43,150 | $57,980 |
| NM | $31,110 | $43,350 | $44,980 |
| NV | $37,960 | $49,150 | $57,660 |
| NY | $47,400 | $60,210 | $79,450 |
| OH | $34,300 | $37,170 | $42,730 |
| OK | $25,770 | $26,300 | $36,530 |
| OR | $34,180 | $47,450 | $62,030 |
| PA | $36,760 | $48,310 | $56,770 |
| PR | $21,840 | $23,190 | $23,190 |
| SC | $17,300 | $33,030 | $46,230 |
| TN | $26,660 | $38,650 | $42,720 |
| TX | $30,930 | $36,260 | $45,050 |
| UT | $35,450 | $48,040 | $48,780 |
| VA | $33,640 | $46,060 | $59,820 |
| WA | $46,260 | $54,300 | $65,230 |
| WI | $35,680 | $43,300 | $45,960 |
Other names
alteration tailor, alterations and tailor shop fitter, alterations and tailor shop sewer, alterations tailor, coat tailor, collar tailor, custom garment tailor, custom tailor, fur tailor, hand alterations tailor, merchant tailor, retail alterations tailor.
shop and alteration tailor, shop tailor, tailor, tailor fitter, tailor garment fitter, tailors dressmakers and custom sewers, alterations associate, alterations expert, alterations sewer, alterations specialist, appliquer, bridal designer, bridal gown fitter, cloth cutter, clothing busheler, clothing cutter, clothing pattern designer, coat baster, coat cutter, coat maker, collar cutter, collar setter, collar turner, corset fitter, couture dressmaker, crocheter, custom dressmaker, custom sewer, drapery maker, drapery seamstress, dress cutter, dress fitter, dressmaker, dressmaker garment fitter, embroiderer, embroidery machine operator, embroidery specialist, embroidery worker, fancy needleworker, fitter, fur finisher seamstress, furrier, garment cutter, garment fitter, garment sample stitcher, hand alterations seamstress, hand loom weaver, hat trimmer.
What you can already claim
Below are the tasks a Tailor, Dressmaker, and Custom Sewer job is made of. Choose the ones you have really done. There is no wrong answer here, and you can change any of it later.
Which of these tasks have you actually done?
4 chosen. Rung never adds a task you did not choose.
Already yours: Sewing clothing and articles, Repairing textiles or apparel, Reading work orders or instructions
4 of the 12 tasks this job is made of
| Median pay | $41,640 a year |
|---|
What you have not done yet. Measuring clients, Operating sewing equipment, Adjusting fabrics or materials
Great news! Your skills can open up even more doors.
The tasks for Tailor, Dressmaker, and Custom Sewer also qualify you for the jobs below. Creating a resume for one of these could help you land even more interviews.
Choose a job below that you would like to target next:
Already yours: Reading work orders or instructions, Measuring materials
2 of the 12 tasks this job is made of
| Median pay | $46,680 a year |
|---|
What you have not done yet. Assembling wood products, Applying decorative finishes, Reviewing blueprints and instructions
Read about Cabinetmaker and Bench CarpenterBuild a Cabinetmaker and Bench Carpenter resume
Your resume, already started
Tailor, Dressmaker, and Custom Sewer
Nothing here was invented. Every line is something you chose above, and it comes with you when you start.
Build a Tailor, Dressmaker, and Custom Sewer resumeThose are all the jobs your answers reach.
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Your situation
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Nearby work
Near this job. If one of these fits better, its page is the same as this one.
This page is about the occupation Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers. What this job involves and what it is made of come from O*NET 30.3, the US Department of Labor's occupation database, refreshed July 2026; Rung writes those records into the plain sentences you see. Pay comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS release for 2025. How Rung handles accuracy is on the accuracy page, and the full data credits are on the credits page.