Job Duties Custom List 51-6051.00 — Sewers, Hand
- Sew buttonholes, or add lace or other trimming.
Occupations with related tasks Save Table: XLSX CSV
- Sew garments, using needles and thread or sewing machines.
- Let out or take in seams in suits and other garments to improve fit.
- Assemble garment parts and join parts with basting stitches, using needles and thread or sewing machines.
- Make garment style changes, such as tapering pant legs, narrowing lapels, and adding or removing padding.
- Take up or let down hems to shorten or lengthen garment parts, such as sleeves.
- Fit, alter, repair, and make made-to-measure clothing, according to customers' and clothing manufacturers' specifications and fit, and applying principles of garment design, construction, and styling.
- Sew buttonholes and attach buttons to finish garments.
- Remove stitches from garments to be altered, using rippers or razor blades.
- Repair or replace defective garment parts, such as pockets, zippers, snaps, buttons, and linings.
- Measure parts, such as sleeves or pant legs, and mark or pin-fold alteration lines.
- Measure customers, using tape measures, and record measurements.
- Fit and study garments on customers to determine required alterations.
- Trim excess material, using scissors.
- Maintain garment drape and proportions as alterations are performed.
- Press garments, using hand irons or pressing machines.
- Estimate how much a garment will cost to make, based on factors such as time and material requirements.
- Position patterns of garment parts on fabric, and cut fabric along outlines, using scissors.
- Record required alterations and instructions on tags, and attach them to garments.
- Confer with customers to determine types of material and garment styles desired.
- Examine tags on garments to determine alterations that are needed.
- Develop, copy, or adapt designs for garments, and design patterns to fit measurements, applying knowledge of garment design, construction, styling, and fabric.
- Put in padding and shaping materials.
- Sew garments, using needles and thread or sewing machines.
- Let out or take in seams in suits and other garments to improve fit.
- Assemble garment parts and join parts with basting stitches, using needles and thread or sewing machines.
- Make garment style changes, such as tapering pant legs, narrowing lapels, and adding or removing padding.
- Take up or let down hems to shorten or lengthen garment parts, such as sleeves.
- Fit, alter, repair, and make made-to-measure clothing, according to customers' and clothing manufacturers' specifications and fit, and applying principles of garment design, construction, and styling.
- Sew buttonholes and attach buttons to finish garments.
- Remove stitches from garments to be altered, using rippers or razor blades.
- Repair or replace defective garment parts, such as pockets, zippers, snaps, buttons, and linings.
- Dye, soak, polish, paint, stamp, stitch, stain, buff, or engrave leather or other materials to obtain desired effects, decorations, or shapes.
- Align and stitch or glue materials such as fabric, fleece, leather, or wood, to join parts.
- Re-sew seams, and replace handles and linings of suitcases or handbags.
- Repair and recondition leather products such as trunks, luggage, shoes, saddles, belts, purses, and baseball gloves.
- Repair or replace soles, heels, and other parts of footwear, using sewing, buffing and other shoe repair machines, materials, and equipment.
- Stretch shoes, dampening parts and inserting and twisting parts, using an adjustable stretcher.
- Cut out parts, following patterns or outlines, using knives, shears, scissors, or machine presses.
- Construct, decorate, or repair leather products according to specifications, using sewing machines, needles and thread, leather lacing, glue, clamps, hand tools, or rivets.
- Inspect articles for defects, and remove damaged or worn parts, using hand tools.
- Drill or punch holes and insert or attach metal rings, handles, and fastening hardware, such as buckles.
- Prepare inserts, heel pads, and lifts from casts of customers' feet.
- Dress and otherwise finish boots or shoes, as by trimming the edges of new soles and heels to the shoe shape.
- Attach insoles to shoe lasts, affix shoe uppers, and apply heels and outsoles.
- Clean and polish shoes.
- Cement, nail, or sew soles and heels to shoes.
- Check the texture, color, and strength of leather to ensure that it is adequate for a particular purpose.
- Shape shoe heels with a knife, and sand them on a buffing wheel for smoothness.
- Place shoes on lasts to remove soles and heels, using knives or pliers.
- Cut, insert, position, and secure paddings, cushioning, or linings, using stitches or glue.
- Estimate the costs of requested products or services such as custom footwear or footwear repair, and receive payment from customers.
- Draw patterns, using measurements, designs, plaster casts, or customer specifications, and position or outline patterns on work pieces.
- Nail heel and toe cleats onto shoes.
- Read prescriptions or specifications, and take measurements to establish the type of product to be made, using calipers, tape measures, or rules.
- Attach accessories or ornamentation to decorate or protect products.
- Make, modify, and repair orthopedic or therapeutic footwear according to doctors' prescriptions, or modify existing footwear for people with foot problems and special needs.
- Select materials and patterns, and trace patterns onto materials to be cut out.
- Measure customers for fit, and discuss with them the type of footwear to be made, recommending details such as leather quality.
- Dye, soak, polish, paint, stamp, stitch, stain, buff, or engrave leather or other materials to obtain desired effects, decorations, or shapes.
- Align and stitch or glue materials such as fabric, fleece, leather, or wood, to join parts.
- Re-sew seams, and replace handles and linings of suitcases or handbags.
- Repair and recondition leather products such as trunks, luggage, shoes, saddles, belts, purses, and baseball gloves.
- Repair or replace soles, heels, and other parts of footwear, using sewing, buffing and other shoe repair machines, materials, and equipment.
- Stretch shoes, dampening parts and inserting and twisting parts, using an adjustable stretcher.
- Sew rips or tears in material, or create tufting, using needles and thread.
- Operate sewing machines or sew upholstery by hand to seam cushions and join various sections of covering material.
- Fit, install, and secure material on frames, using hand tools, power tools, glue, cement, or staples.
- Measure and cut new covering materials, using patterns and measuring and cutting instruments, following sketches and design specifications.
- Build furniture up with loose fiber stuffing, cotton, felt, or foam padding to form smooth, rounded surfaces.
- Make, restore, or create custom upholstered furniture, using hand tools and knowledge of fabrics and upholstery methods.
- Read work orders, and apply knowledge and experience with materials to determine types and amounts of materials required to cover workpieces.
- Examine furniture frames, upholstery, springs, and webbing to locate defects.
- Adjust or replace webbing, padding, or springs, and secure them in place.
- Remove covering, webbing, padding, or defective springs from workpieces, using hand tools such as hammers and tack pullers.
- Attach fasteners, grommets, buttons, buckles, ornamental trim, and other accessories to covers or frames, using hand tools.
- Repair furniture frames and refinish exposed wood.
- Interweave and fasten strips of webbing to the backs and undersides of furniture, using small hand tools and fasteners.
- Draw cutting lines on material following patterns, templates, sketches, or blueprints, using chalk, pencils, paint, or other methods.
- Stretch webbing and fabric, using webbing stretchers.
- Design upholstery cover patterns and cutting plans, based on sketches, customer descriptions, or blueprints.
- Maintain records of time required to perform each job.
- Discuss upholstery fabrics, colors, and styles with customers, and provide cost estimates.
- Pick up and deliver furniture.
- Attach bindings or apply solutions to edges of cut material to prevent raveling.
- Collaborate with interior designers to decorate rooms and coordinate furnishing fabrics.
- Make, repair, or replace automobile upholstery and convertible and vinyl tops, using knowledge of fabric and upholstery methods.
- Sew rips or tears in material, or create tufting, using needles and thread.
- Operate sewing machines or sew upholstery by hand to seam cushions and join various sections of covering material.
- Stitch or glue endpapers, bindings, backings, or signatures, using sewing machines, glue machines, or glue and brushes.
- Form book bodies by folding and sewing printed sheets to form signatures and assembling signatures in numerical order.
- Examine stitched, collated, bound, or unbound product samples for defects, such as imperfect bindings, ink spots, torn pages, loose pages, or loose or uncut threads.
- Read work orders to determine instructions and specifications for machine set-up.
- Install or adjust bindery machine devices, such as knives, guides, rollers, rounding forms, creasing rams, or clamps, to accommodate sheets, signatures, or books of specified sizes.
- Trim edges of books to size, using cutting machines, book trimming machines, or hand cutters.
- Monitor machine operations to detect malfunctions or to determine whether adjustments are needed.
- Maintain records, such as daily production records, using specified forms.
- Lubricate, clean, or make minor repairs to machine parts to keep machines in working condition.
- Set up or operate bindery machines, such as coil binders, thermal or tape binders, plastic comb binders, or specialty binders.
- Set up or operate machines that perform binding operations, such as pressing, folding, or trimming.
- Prepare finished books for shipping by wrapping or packing books and stacking boxes on pallets.
- Set up or operate glue machines by filling glue reservoirs, turning switches to activate heating elements, or adjusting glue flow or conveyor speed.
- Train workers to set up, operate, and use automatic bindery machines.
- Insert book bodies in devices that form back edges of books into convex shapes and produce grooves that facilitate cover attachment.
- Cut cover material to specified dimensions, fitting and gluing material to binder boards by hand or machine.
- Cut binder boards to specified dimensions, using board shears, hand cutters, or cutting machines.
- Bind new books, using hand tools such as bone folders, knives, hammers, or brass binding tools.
- Perform highly skilled hand finishing binding operations, such as grooving or lettering.
- Imprint or emboss lettering, designs, or numbers on book covers, using gold, silver, or colored foil, and stamping machines.
- Compress sewed or glued signatures, using hand presses or smashing machines.
- Meet with clients, printers, or designers to discuss job requirements or binding plans.
- Design original or special bindings for limited editions or other custom binding projects.
- Punch holes in and fasten paper sheets, signatures, or other material, using hand or machine punches and staplers.
- Repair, restore, or rebind old, rare, or damaged books, using hand tools.
- Apply color to edges of signatures using brushes, pads, or atomizers.
- Stitch or glue endpapers, bindings, backings, or signatures, using sewing machines, glue machines, or glue and brushes.
- Form book bodies by folding and sewing printed sheets to form signatures and assembling signatures in numerical order.
- Sew ends of cloth together, by hand or using machines, to form endless lengths of cloth to facilitate processing.
- Ravel seams that connect cloth ends when processing is completed.
- Weigh ingredients, such as dye, to be mixed together for use in textile processing.
- Start and control machines and equipment to wash, bleach, dye, or otherwise process and finish fabric, yarn, thread, or other textile goods.
- Observe display screens, control panels, equipment, and cloth entering or exiting processes to determine if equipment is operating correctly.
- Notify supervisors or mechanics of equipment malfunctions.
- Monitor factors such as temperatures and dye flow rates to ensure that they are within specified ranges.
- Add dyes, water, detergents, or chemicals to tanks to dilute or strengthen solutions, according to established formulas and solution test results.
- Examine and feel products to identify defects and variations from coloring and other processing standards.
- Adjust equipment controls to maintain specified heat, tension, and speed.
- Soak specified textile products for designated times.
- Inspect machinery to determine necessary adjustments and repairs.
- Confer with coworkers to get information about order details, processing plans, or problems that occur.
- Remove dyed articles from tanks and machines for drying and further processing.
- Study guides, charts, and specification sheets, and confer with supervisors to determine machine setup requirements.
- Prepare dyeing machines for production runs, and conduct test runs of machines to ensure their proper operation.
- Key in processing instructions to program electronic equipment.
- Test solutions used to process textile goods to detect variations from standards.
- Record production information such as fabric yardage processed, temperature readings, fabric tensions, and machine speeds.
- Thread ends of cloth or twine through specified sections of equipment prior to processing.
- Mount rolls of cloth on machines, using hoists, or place textile goods in machines or pieces of equipment.
- Install, level, and align components such as gears, chains, dies, cutters, and needles.
- Perform machine maintenance, such as cleaning and oiling equipment, and repair or replace worn or defective parts.
- Creel machines with bobbins or twine.
- Sew ends of cloth together, by hand or using machines, to form endless lengths of cloth to facilitate processing.
- Ravel seams that connect cloth ends when processing is completed.
- Prepare pointe shoes, by sewing or other means, for use in rehearsals and performance.
- Study and practice dance moves required in roles.
- Harmonize body movements to rhythm of musical accompaniment.
- Train, exercise, and attend dance classes to maintain high levels of technical proficiency, physical ability, and physical fitness.
- Coordinate dancing with that of partners or dance ensembles.
- Develop self-understanding of physical capabilities and limitations, and choose dance styles accordingly.
- Perform classical, modern, or acrobatic dances in productions, expressing stories, rhythm, and sound with their bodies.
- Collaborate with choreographers to refine or modify dance steps.
- Audition for dance roles or for membership in dance companies.
- Monitor the field of dance to remain aware of current trends and innovations.
- Perform in productions, singing or acting in addition to dancing, if required.
- Teach dance students.
- Devise and choreograph dance for self or others.
- Attend costume fittings, photography sessions, and makeup calls associated with dance performances.
- Prepare pointe shoes, by sewing or other means, for use in rehearsals and performance.
- Secure finished packaged items by hand tying, sewing, gluing, stapling, or attaching fastener.
- Attach identification labels to finished packaged items, or cut stencils and stencil information on containers, such as lot numbers or shipping destinations.
- Sort, grade, weigh, and inspect products, verifying and adjusting product weight or measurement to meet specifications.
- Stop or reset machines when malfunctions occur, clear machine jams, and report malfunctions to a supervisor.
- Observe machine operations to ensure quality and conformity of filled or packaged products to standards.
- Remove finished packaged items from machine and separate rejected items.
- Monitor the production line, watching for problems such as pile-ups, jams, or glue that isn't sticking properly.
- Inspect and remove defective products and packaging material.
- Start machine by engaging controls.
- Tend or operate machine that packages product.
- Clean, oil, and make minor adjustments or repairs to machinery and equipment, such as opening valves or setting guides.
- Regulate machine flow, speed, or temperature.
- Adjust machine components and machine tension and pressure according to size or processing angle of product.
- Supply materials to spindles, conveyors, hoppers, or other feeding devices and unload packaged product.
- Stack finished packaged items, or wrap protective material around each item, and pack the items in cartons or containers.
- Package the product in the form in which it will be sent out, for example, filling bags with flour from a chute or spout.
- Stock and sort product for packaging or filling machine operation, and replenish packaging supplies, such as wrapping paper, plastic sheet, boxes, cartons, glue, ink, or labels.
- Count and record finished and rejected packaged items.
- Clean packaging containers, line and pad crates, or assemble cartons to prepare for product packing.
- Clean and remove damaged or otherwise inferior materials to prepare raw products for processing.
- Secure finished packaged items by hand tying, sewing, gluing, stapling, or attaching fastener.
- Mend and sew articles, using hand stitching, adhesive patches, or sewing machines.
- Load articles into washers or dry-cleaning machines, or direct other workers to perform loading.
- Start washers, dry cleaners, driers, or extractors, and turn valves or levers to regulate machine processes and the volume of soap, detergent, water, bleach, starch, and other additives.
- Operate extractors and driers, or direct their operation.
- Remove items from washers or dry-cleaning machines, or direct other workers to do so.
- Sort and count articles removed from dryers, and fold, wrap, or hang them.
- Clean machine filters, and lubricate equipment.
- Examine and sort into lots articles to be cleaned, according to color, fabric, dirt content, and cleaning technique required.
- Receive and mark articles for laundry or dry cleaning with identifying code numbers or names, using hand or machine markers.
- Apply bleaching powders to spots and spray them with steam to remove stains from fabrics that do not respond to other cleaning solvents.
- Determine spotting procedures and proper solvents, based on fabric and stain types.
- Spray steam, water, or air over spots to flush out chemicals, dry material, raise naps, or brighten colors.
- Pre-soak, sterilize, scrub, spot-clean, and dry contaminated or stained articles, using neutralizer solutions and portable machines.
- Mix bleaching agents with hot water in vats, and soak material until it is bleached.
- Apply chemicals to neutralize the effects of solvents.
- Mix and add detergents, dyes, bleaches, starches, and other solutions and chemicals to clean, color, dry, or stiffen articles.
- Sprinkle chemical solvents over stains, and pat areas with brushes or sponges to remove stains.
- Match sample colors, applying knowledge of bleaching agent and dye properties, and types, construction, conditions, and colors of articles.
- Inspect soiled articles to determine sources of stains, to locate color imperfections, and to identify items requiring special treatment.
- Operate dry-cleaning machines to clean soiled articles.
- Operate machines that comb, dry and polish furs, clean, sterilize and fluff feathers and blankets, or roll and package towels.
- Iron or press articles, fabrics, and furs, using hand irons or pressing machines.
- Hang curtains, drapes, blankets, pants, and other garments on stretch frames to dry.
- Clean fabrics, using vacuums or air hoses.
- Test fabrics in inconspicuous places to determine whether solvents will damage dyes or fabrics.
- Rinse articles in water and acetic acid solutions to remove excess dye and to fix colors.
- Identify articles' fabrics and original dyes by sight and touch, or by testing samples with fire or chemical reagents.
- Start pumps to operate distilling systems that drain and reclaim dry cleaning solvents.
- Immerse articles in bleaching baths to strip colors.
- Spread soiled articles on work tables, and position stained portions over vacuum heads or on marble slabs.
- Dye articles to change or restore their colors, using knowledge of textile compositions and the properties and effects of bleaches and dyes.
- Wash, dry-clean, or glaze delicate articles or fur garment linings by hand, using mild detergents or dry cleaning solutions.
- Mend and sew articles, using hand stitching, adhesive patches, or sewing machines.
