Profession clothing alteration machinist

Clothing alteration machinists ensure the alteration of finished garments in line with business demands. They are responsible for the quality of any alterations or customisations and brand generic stock in line with customer branding guidelines.

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Personality Type

• Realistic / Conventional

Knowledge

• Buttonholing

  The methods of buttonholing using specialised buttonholing machines in order to make buttonholes to wearing apparel.

• Manufacturing of made-up textile articles

  Manufacturing processes in wearing apparel and made-up textiles. Different technologies and machinery involved in the manufacturing processes.

• Properties of fabrics

  The influence of chemical composition and molecular arrangement of yarn and fibre properties and fabric structure on the physical properties of textile fabrics; the different fibre types, their physical and chemical characteristics and different material characteristics; the materials used in different processes and the effect on materials as they are processed. 

• History of fashion

  Costumes and the cultural traditions around clothing.

• Apparel manufacturing technology

  Traditional and advanced apparel manufacturing technologies. Technologies including processes, machinery, etc. in order to compile and design pattern requirements, contribute to product costing and finalise assembly sequence and quality assurance criteria.

• Manufacturing of wearing apparel

  The  processes used to fabricate wearing apparel and the different technologies and machinery involved in the manufacturing processes.

• Standard sizing systems for clothing

  Standard sizing systems for clothing developed by different countries. Differences among the systems and standards of different countries, the development of the systems according to the evolution of the shape of the human body and their usage in the clothing industry.

• Fabric spreading in the fashion industry

  Preparatory operation for cutting textile pieces which consists of laying piles of cloth on top of the other in a pre-determined direction and relationship between the right and the wrong side of the cloth.

• Marker making

  Marker diagram of a precise arrangement of pattern pieces for a specific style and the sizes to be cut from a single spread. Markers can be made by manually tracing master patterns onto the fabric or paper or by manipulating and plotting computerised pattern images. Process of determining the most efficient layout of pattern pieces for a specified style, fabric and distribution of sizes. 

Skills

• Evaluate garment quality

  Evaluating stitching, construction, attachments, fasteners, embellishments, shading within the garment; evaluating pattern continuity, matching; evaluating tapes and linings.

• Alter wearing apparel

  Alter wearing apparel repairing or adjusting it to the clients/manufacturing specifications. Perform altering by hand or using equipment.

• Cut fabrics

  Cut fabrics and other wearing apparel materials considering measures, placement of the fabrics in the cutting table in multiple layers, and making the most efficient usage of the fabric avoiding waste. Cut fabrics by hand, or using electric knives, or other cutting tools depending on the fabric. Use computerised systems or automatic cutting machines.

• Analyse supply chain strategies

  Examine an organisation's planning details of production, their expected output units, quality, quantity, cost, time available and labour requirements. Provide suggestions in order to improve products, service quality and reduce costs.

• Iron textiles

  Press and iron in order to shape or flatten textiles giving them their final finishing appearance. Iron by hand or with steam pressers.

• Sew textile-based articles

  Sew different products based on textiles and wearing apparel articles. Combine good hand-eye coordination, manual dexterity, and physical and mental stamina.

• Distinguish accessories

  Distinguish accessories in order to determine differences among them. Evaluate accessories based on their characteristics and their application in wearing apparel manufacturing.

• Manufacture wearing apparel products

  Manufacture either mass-product or bespoke wearing apparels of various types, assembling and joining together wearing apparel components using processes such as sewing, gluing, bonding. Assemble wearing apparel components using stitches, seams such as collars, sleeves, top fronts, top backs, pockets.

• Prepare production prototypes

  Prepare early models or prototypes in order to test concepts and replicability possibilities. Create prototypes to assess for pre-production tests.

• Create patterns for garments

  Create patterns for garments using pattern making softwares or by hand from sketches provided by fashion designers or product requirements. Create patterns for different sizes, styles, and components of the garments.

• Distinguish fabrics

  Distinguish fabrics in order to determine differences among them. Evaluate fabrics based on their characteristics and their application in wearing apparel manufacturing.

• Inspect wearing apparel products

  Inspecting and testing products, parts and materials for conformity with specifications and standards; discarding or rejecting products, materials, and equipment not meeting specifications.

• Operate garment manufacturing machines

  Operate and monitor machines which make miscellaneous wearing apparel articles. Operate and monitor machines that fold cloth into measured length, and measure size of pieces.

• Grade patterns for wearing apparel

  Grading patterns by performing processes of resizing initial patterns in order to create nest of patterns to fit various body types and sizes.

• Sew pieces of fabric

  Operate basic or specialised sewing machines whether domestic or industrial ones, sewing pieces of fabric, vinyl or leather in order to manufacture or repair wearing apparels, making sure the threads are selected according to specifications.

• Coordinate manufacturing production activities

  Coordinate manufacturing activities based on production strategies, policies and plans. Study details of the planning such as expected quality of the products, quantities, cost, and labour required to foresee any action needed. Adjust processes and resources to minimise costs.

• Use textile technique for hand-made products

  Using textile technique to produce hand-made products, such as carpets, tapestry, embroidery, lace, silk screen printing, wearing apparel, etc.

Optional knowledge and skills

Source: Sisyphus ODB