What Do Seamstresses, Tailors, Stitchers, and Sewers Do?

Seamstresses, tailors, stitchers, and sewers work closely with the costume department to create costumes for on-stage and on-screen stars. Their work helps to quickly give valuable insight to audience members about how a character lives, what type of work they do, the hobbies they are interested in, the era in which they are living in, and more.

From dying and shredding clothes for a horror flick to building superhero costumes that are tailored to flatter an actor’s frame to embellishing a dress for a 1950s themed musical, seamstresses, tailors, stitchers, and sewers rely on a variety of techniques to help create the type of clothing that fits the time period and storyline of a production.

In addition to supporting the filmmaker’s vision through their work, seamstresses, tailors, stitchers, and sewers help actors move around comfortably in the clothes they are wearing. One of their responsibilities is to alter outfits to enable an actor to move around as necessary. For example, a tight leather jacket may restrict movement and keep an actor from being able to fully express their character’s personality and emotions through gestures, so a seamstress or tailor can help alter a jacket so that it not only looks like it belongs in the production but also so that it functions to facilitate movement.

Research is another large aspect of what seamstresses, tailors, stitchers, and sewers do, particularly for period films. Other than the overall look of a costume, even the tiniest bit of visible stitching must be carefully crafted to fit the machinery/tools available and sewing/stitching techniques used during the period or else risk ruining the authenticity of the piece.

Also, while shopping for vintage clothing can be a great way to cut down on the labor involved in creating a costume for period films and ensure its authenticity, it is not always a practical option. As fashion trends have changed and fabric technology has evolved over the years, there are times when using actual clothes from a certain era isn’t worthwhile due to the quality of the materials and normal wear and tear on the clothes. Blending modern fabric technology along with the style of the fashion trend, plus taking into account the comfort of wearing those articles of clothing, seamstresses, tailors, stitches, and sewers can do wonders in creating beautiful and functional costumes.

If you are looking for a seamstress, tailor, stitcher or sewer for your television show, movie, music video or commercial photo shoot, check out our online Nevada Production Directory for a list of seamstresses, tailors, stitchers, and sewers in Nevada or drop by our office and pick up a free printed directory!

If you offer are a professional seamstress, tailor, stitcher or sewer residing in Nevada and are not yet listed in our Nevada Production Directory, you can learn more about how to sign up for the NPD here.

Related Production Services: Costume Designer, Set Costumer, Stylist

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