MISCELLANEOUS OCCUPATIONS

TAILORING

Tailoring shops either small or big are found in all parts of the district. The tailor has been an indispensable component of the society since long. Independent tailoring shops may not be found in all the villages of the district, yet all the same, a group of two or three small villages do have a tailor. Particularly in rural areas the profession is characterised by its traditional nature. A few tailors add to their monthly income by selling readymade clothes kept in a small depot attached to their shops. A few of them also have agriculture as either a subsidiary or main occupation looked after by their family members. However, a majority of them have nothing else to supplement their earnings and have exclusively to depend on their income from the profession. Most of the tailors in small villages are unskilled and only stitch waist-coats, bodices, payjamas and make a precarious living while the tailors found in bigger villages undertake stitching of shirts, pants, among other  things. The skilled tailors lound only in big towns seem to be  adept in the art of tailoring and specialise in stitching clothes  of men, women and children.

Employment.

The occupation employs a good number of persons. With an increase in money incomes of the people and their adaptability to the ever-changing fashions, the demand for skilled tailoring services has gone up and this ensures a prosperous future to this profession. However, tailors have to cater to the new requirements which change from day to day and learn to adopt new fashions. The following figures give the number of persons engaged in the occupation during the last 50 years: -

Accessories.

Accessories available locally, consist of thread, buttons, canvas- cloth, needles, oil, etc. The amount spent on accessories varies from Rs. 5 to more than Rs. 50 per month, depending on the turnover of the shop.

A sewing machine, a pair of scissors, a stool or a chair, low stool (big pal) and a tape are the important items of the equipment of a tailoring shop. A medium-sized tailoring shop has  two to three sewing machines, some chairs or benches, a low stool, pat or table, a cupboard, whereas in a big shop more than two machines are kept and tailors are employed either on daily or monthly wages. Besides, big shops have other equipment such as a large table for cutting cloth, one or two cupboards for keeping clothes, stitched or otherwise, and a few chairs or benches for customers to sir upon. Of the tools and equipment, a sewing machine costs from Rs. 400 to Rs. 700, and a pair of scissors from Rs. 10 to Rs. 20.

In a village, the tailor collects orders from house to house, takes measures, receives cloth and finally delivers stitched articles. But in towns and cities customers visit the shops. The skill of a tailor consists in the way he cuts the cloth, as per the required measurement and design. This work in big shops is usually done either by the owners of the shops or by a specially employed tailor and stitching is given to other employees. The employed tailors are generally paid on a piece-rate basis. In some cases, they are paid salaries. Monthly wages per labourer are from Rs. 60 to Rs. 90 in towns and from Rs. 30 to Rs. 45 in big villages.

Shirts, pants, trousers, coats, waist-coats, blouses and bodices make the usual items of stitching. The stitching charges differ according to the quality as well as the type of the work and the demand for tailoring services.

TAILORING Accessories.

The tailor's output of work depends upon the situation of the shop, whether in a village or in a town, whether in a central place or otherwise or on the work that may be available at the place as also on his capacity to deliver the goods to the satisfaction of the customers. In a village the daily output of work is worth a rupee or two. At the time of some festivals such as annual fairs, Gudhipadava, Dipavali, Nagpanchami, etc., and marriages, the business is brisk and a tailor earns between Rs. 4 and Rs. 6 per day. In a city or big town it ranges from Rs. 10 to Rs. 25 per day. The picture of a decent, well-equipped tailoring shop managed by expert tailors by applying the fundamental principles of modern business is rather an uncommon scene in the district except the Amravati city.

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