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Boston Career Explorer

Production

Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers

Design, make, alter, repair, or fit garments.

Also called: Alterations Expert, Alterations Sewer, Bridal Designer, Clothing Pattern Designer, Custom Dressmaker, Custom Sewer

Median pay in Greater Boston
$50,470
$24.27/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
100
Massachusetts 2024–2034
+2.4%
160 openings a year
Typical U.S. entry requirement
No formal educational credential
plus Moderate-term on-the-job training

Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.

Pay range in Greater Boston

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$42,220$46,690$50,470$61,560$63,550

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • Measure parts, such as sleeves or pant legs, and mark or pin-fold alteration lines.
  • Remove stitches from garments to be altered, using rippers or razor blades.
  • Sew garments, using needles and thread or sewing machines.
  • Let out or take in seams in suits and other garments to improve fit.
  • Measure customers, using tape measures, and record measurements.
  • Fit and study garments on customers to determine required alterations.

AI and this job

AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.

Lower exposure27 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 35
  • Language-model AIOE 30
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 17

Observed AI use today: Some (Anthropic Economic Index)

AI exposure for tailors and custom sewers is lower, and observed AI use is some. Tools may help with recording measurements or suggesting fit changes. Fitting a real person, removing stitches, and sewing the garment are hands-on tasks that tools do not do.

Likely to change

  • Recording customer measurements
  • Planning alterations from measurements

Still relies on people

  • Fitting garments on real customers
  • Sewing and ripping seams by hand

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

Next steps from here

Related jobs that build on what you already do.

  • Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters

    Measuring, checking fit, and assembling pieces to exact sizes carry over, with higher pay and on-the-job training.

    Pay difference
    +$8,650 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +1.2%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

  • Machinists

    Precise measuring and attention to exact dimensions carry over. Machinists earn notably more, but training is long-term.

    Pay difference
    +$21,590 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +2.2%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

  • Carpenters

    Measuring and marking cutting lines is familiar work. Carpentry offers much higher pay and 6.3% growth through an apprenticeship.

    Pay difference
    +$24,740 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +6.3%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

Training near Boston

College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).

No college programs near Boston map to this job. Many people enter through on-the-job training or apprenticeship.

Talk to a career coach at the Office of Workforce Development about apprenticeships and City partner programs.

Related occupations

Talk to a career coach

A coach at the Office of Workforce Development can help you plan your next step, and connect you with training, apprenticeships and City partner programs that are not listed here.

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