Sewers, Hand
Sew, join, reinforce, or finish, usually with needle and thread, a variety of manufactured items. Includes weavers and stitchers.
Most important skills
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Time Management
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Monitoring
- Complex Problem Solving
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
Key knowledge
- Customer and Personal Service
- Administration and Management
- English Language
- Mechanical
- Education and Training
- Mathematics
- Design
- Production and Processing
What the work involves
- Sew, join, reinforce, or finish parts of articles, such as garments, books, mattresses, toys, and wigs, using needles and thread or other materials.
- Trim excess threads or edges of parts, using scissors or knives.
- Select thread, twine, cord, or yarn to be used, and thread needles.
- Measure and align parts, fasteners, or trimmings, following seams, edges, or markings on parts.
- Use different sewing techniques such as felling, tacking, basting, embroidery, and fagoting.
- Draw and cut patterns according to specifications.
- Fold, twist, stretch, or drape material, and secure articles in preparation for sewing.
- Smooth seams with heated irons, flat bones, or rubbing sticks.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Artistic.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Less than a High School Diploma (82.2% of respondents)
- Related experience
- None (58.7%)
- On-the-job training
- Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (66.7%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Sewers, Hand is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Very low | Lower on contact with others than 97% of occupations compared | 36% of surveyed respondents chose “Occasional contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Low | Lower on dealing with the public than 61% of occupations compared | — |
| Teamwork | Low | Lower on teamwork than 62% of occupations compared | 53% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 98% of occupations compared | 40% of surveyed respondents chose “No freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very low | Lower on time pressure than 90% of occupations compared | — |
| Conflict situations | Very low | Lower on conflict situations than 92% of occupations compared | 46% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Very low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 94% of occupations compared | 41% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | Low | Lower on consequence of error than 69% of occupations compared | 47% of surveyed respondents chose “Serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very low
- Conflict situations: very low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very low
- Consequence of error: low
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 4.52%
- Occasional contact with others: 35.85%
- Contact with others about half the time: 4.54%
- Contact with others most of the time: 29.32%
- Constant contact with others: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 16, Incumbent 08/2024
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 28.31%
- Fairly important: 20.98%
- Important: 0%
- Very important: 8.8%
- Extremely important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2024
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 4.69%
- Fairly important: 2.48%
- Important: 21.49%
- Very important: 18.07%
- Extremely important: 53.27%
n = 16, Incumbent 08/2024
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 39.93%
- Very little freedom: 0.31%
- Limited freedom: 17.84%
- Some freedom: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- A lot of freedom: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 16, Incumbent 08/2024
Time pressure
- Never: 20.98%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 20.98%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 5.86%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 20.58%
- Every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2024
Conflict situations
- Never: 33.23%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 46.03%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 0.37%
- Once a week or more but not every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Every day: 0.44%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2024
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 32.49%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 40.96%
- Once a month or more but not every week: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a week or more but not every day: 0%
- Every day: 0.44%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2024
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 2.53%
- Fairly serious: 43.57%
- Serious: 46.52%
- Very serious: 7.37%
- Extremely serious: 0%
n = 16, Incumbent 08/2024
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O*NET-SOC 51-6051.00 · SOC 51-6051 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8