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Tailor & Dressmaker

Skilled Trades

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

You can enter this career straight after SPM. A degree is optional, not required.

Creative Arts & Media

What you'd do all day

The tasks that matter most in this job, most important first.

  1. 1Measure parts, such as sleeves or pant legs, and mark or pin-fold alteration lines.
  2. 2Remove stitches from garments to be altered, using rippers or razor blades.
  3. 3Sew garments, using needles and thread or sewing machines.
  4. 4Let out or take in seams in suits and other garments to improve fit.
  5. 5Fit and study garments on customers to determine required alterations.
  6. 6Measure customers, using tape measures, and record measurements.
  7. 7Trim excess material, using scissors.
  8. 8Assemble garment parts and join parts with basting stitches, using needles and thread or sewing machines.
  9. 9Maintain garment drape and proportions as alterations are performed.
  10. 10Make garment style changes, such as tapering pant legs, narrowing lapels, and adding or removing padding.
  11. 11Take up or let down hems to shorten or lengthen garment parts, such as sleeves.
  12. 12Repair or replace defective garment parts, such as pockets, zippers, snaps, buttons, and linings.
  13. 13Fit, 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.
  14. 14Press garments, using hand irons or pressing machines.
  15. 15Estimate how much a garment will cost to make, based on factors such as time and material requirements.
  16. 16Position patterns of garment parts on fabric, and cut fabric along outlines, using scissors.
  17. 17Record required alterations and instructions on tags, and attach them to garments.
  18. 18Confer with customers to determine types of material and garment styles desired.
  19. 19Examine tags on garments to determine alterations that are needed.
  20. 20Develop, copy, or adapt designs for garments, and design patterns to fit measurements, applying knowledge of garment design, construction, styling, and fabric.
  21. 21Put in padding and shaping materials.
  22. 22Sew buttonholes and attach buttons to finish garments.

Also known as

What this job is called on JobStreet, LinkedIn and in job ads. Search these too.

  • Fitter
  • Tailor
  • Furrier
  • Quilter
  • Appliquer
  • Crocheter
  • Lacemaker
  • Coat Maker
  • Dressmaker
  • Fur Tailor

How far is this from you?

Roughly how much preparation this job usually takes. In Malaysia your UPU route and the programme's syarat still decide entry, so treat this as a guide, not a gate.

  1. 1

    Entry straight after SPM

  2. Typical entry

    SPM + sijil / short TVET course

  3. 3

    Diploma / TVET (sijil–diploma)

  4. 4

    Degree (ijazah sarjana muda)

  5. 5

    Postgrad (sarjana / PhD) or professional route

Typical educationHigh school diploma

Subjects that matter here

The SPM subjects worth your effort for this career, with the reason for each.

EnglishDraws directly on English Language — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Design & Technology (RBT)Draws directly on Production and Processing — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Mechanical Engineering StudiesDraws directly on Production and Processing — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
BusinessDraws directly on Administration and Management — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
EconomicsDraws directly on Administration and Management — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).

What you'd need to know

The subject areas this job leans on most, and the SPM subjects that build them.

  • Customer and Personal Service81%
  • English Language71%

    English

  • Production and Processing66%

    Design & Technology (RBT)Mechanical Engineering Studies

  • Administration and Management64%

    BusinessEconomics

  • Economics and Accounting63%

    Principles of AccountingEconomics

  • Design59%

    Visual Art (PSV)Technical Comm. GraphicsEngineering Drawing

Tools you'd use

Software and equipment that show up in this job, worth learning early.

Where to learn these, free

Scholarships & funding

What the work feels like

Day-to-day working conditions, so you can tell whether the job suits how you like to work.

  • Face-to-face discussionsEvery day
  • Contact with other peopleConstant contact
  • Dealing with customers or the publicVery high
  • Leading or coordinating othersVery high
  • Handling conflict situationsRarely
  • Indoors, air-conditionedEvery day
  • Outdoors, in all weatherAlmost never
  • Noisy environmentAlmost never

AI and demand for this job

A few real, dated data points — not a single score. AI making some tasks faster usually means a job changes, not that it disappears.

0%

Share of everyday tasks today's AI can already help with (2023)

This estimate is from 2023 — already out of date, since AI moves fast. Treat it as a rough, aging starting point, not the current picture.

Pay in Malaysia

We don't have a sourced Malaysian salary range for this job yet, and we'd rather show nothing than a number we can't stand behind.

Where to check:

  • JobStreet and Hiredly job ads for this title
  • DOSM Salaries & Wages Survey
  • SSPA scheme tables, if you're aiming for a government post
See pay for a related career: Welder

Check what you may qualify for

Enter your SPM grades and see which routes and programmes you may qualify for. An estimate to plan with, not an offer.

Check my eligibility Not sure yet? Take the quiz

How to get here

Post-SPM pathways with programmes in this career's fields. Tap one to see real programmes and entry requirements.

Asasi / Foundation

One-year runway into a specific university: public via UPU or private direct entry.

12 months

Diploma

Skill-first qualification. Work after, or enter degree Year 2. Polytechnics keep it affordable.

2.5–3 years

Related careers

If this interests you, these are worth a look too.

About this information

This describes what the job involves. Pay, demand and entry routes differ in Malaysia, so check the Pathways and Programmes pages for local requirements.

O*NET occupation: Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers

Job responsibilities, knowledge areas and work context from O*NET 30.3, US Department of Labor, used under CC BY 4.0. onetcenter.org

Programmes that lead here

Programmes from the official UPU (KPT) and MQA catalogues whose field of study typically leads to this career. Matched by field, not a job guarantee.

Public universities (UPU)

Private institutions (MQA-accredited)

Search the programme catalogue