How do you refer to yourself as a person who sews? Let's explore some historical terms and modern alternatives!
We often associate the word seamstress with women, and tailor with men, but the history goes deeper than gender roles. These terms grew out of words that descibed the specific work that people were doing.
Historically, suits were not made by one person alone, but by a team of individuals, each with a highly specialized skill set.
The word tailor has its roots in a word which literally means cutter, which indicates the single job this person would have had. The cutter not only cut the fabric, but drafted and fitted the pattern.
The person actually seaming the garment was the seamstress, which had the male equivalent seamster. Another common variant was sempstress.
Dressmakers often operated with fewer staff but could still include various workers with specialized skills.
Nowadays tailor usually refers to either a person who makes suits or a person who does alterations for fit, rather than the pattern cutter.
Sewer is often used as a gender-neutral alternative, but some folks* dislike the way it reads like sewer, as in the system that carries waste out of a city.
Sewist is a modern alternative, which combines sewing and artist in a delightful portmanteau.
Creator, garment maker, or simply maker are other great additions to our seaming vocabulary!
What did we miss? Let us know which terms you like to use!
Check out all our Friday Fun Facts in the archive here!
* some folks includes this gal!
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