SEWING ROOM

Sewing room is an area where all work regarding fabrics used in the hotel- uniforms, hotel linen, soft furnishings, and guest clothing, - example – stitching, mending, altering, etc. are carried out. The sewing room is essentially a part of linen room operations and may be located in the linen or uniform room or serve both these areas. A well-run sewing room can definitely be an economy for a large organization.

Many hotels maintain a separate sewing room with tailors and seamstresses  to do odd jobs in mending and repairing uniforms, linen and furnishings. Some hotels may outsource the sewing functions if the volume of business demands or in case of constraint of space.

STAFFING –

The sewing room is managed by the Linen Keeper with a team of tailors, upholsters and seamstresses.

TIMINGS –

The timings kept by the sewing room are the same as for the linen room, i.e. 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. or they can work in a general shift from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., as they may not be required at the beginning or end of the linen room work shift.

ACTIVITIES OF SEWING ROOM-

The following are some of the common tasks of a sewing room:

1)      Designing, stitching, altering and mending uniforms –

Hemming, stitching of hooks, buttons, repairs to torn pockets, replacements of zips, etc. are carried out.

2)      Stitching and patching of table linen and various F&B linen like serviettes, jupone, napperons, etc.

3)      Making ‘make-overs’ or ‘cutting down’ from condemned linen into still- usable forms for guest areas or staff areas. Make-overs are rarely used in guest areas. A discarded or condemned bed sheet can be made over into a pillow case or a discarded table cloth can be cut down to a perfectly usable serviette.

4)      Making crib-size sheets, blankets and pillowcases.

5)      Sewing soft furnishings such as draperies and bedspreads if fabric is available.

6)      Repairing curtains, bedspreads, etc. – whatever is an expensive item and requires a minimum of repair to put it in order or be of use.

7)      Mending of linen and uniforms-

Frayed parts and tears frequently occur in towels, table and bed linen. These are repaired by machine darning. Patching, repairing flaps of pillowcases and torn pockets are common sewing tasks. Ideally mending should be carried out before laundering, but dealing with soiled or wet articles is unpleasant, so mending is usually done on laundered articles.

8)      Straightforward ordinary machining is done for hems on sheets and towel, and table linen. New items which require straight stitching like bed sheets and table clothes may be made.

9)      Repairing guests’ clothing-

This can be done on request and charges may or may not be levied as per hotel policy.

10)   Machine marking and monogramming may be carried out.

For marking linen, it is usual to mark on the right side of the article, on the wrong side, the name of the hotel and the department and the date it was put into circulation. The latter shows the wearing quality of the article and helps to estimate the life span of the article.

LAYOUT OF SEWING ROOM

ACTIVITY AREAS PROVIDED:

1.       Space for work tables/ cutting tables.

2.       Space for ironing

3.       2 or 3 sewing machines with storage-cum-work tables alongside

4.       Storage space for items to be mended or altered.

5.       Cupboard for storing accessories

6.       Storage space for rolls of fabric – uniforms, curtains, etc.

EQUIPMENTS REQUIRED:

The sewing room normally contains –

1.       Heat patching machines for neat repairs of holes, in table linen and bed linen.

2.       2 or 3 sewing machines able to stitch varying thickness of fabrics. Different runner attachments that facilitate zig-zag stitching, edging, mending and darning are desirable.

3.       Blind stitch or interlocking machines, especially useful for binding hems/ fabric edges of garments and uniforms.

4.       A zig-zag machine for mending darning, button sewing, and monogramming.

5.       Cutting tables

6.       Marking or tagging machine for marking guest garments and staff uniforms.

7.       Miscellaneous small items include-

a)      Spare bobbins

b)      Machine needles of varying thickness

c)       Darning needles

d)      Machine oil, machine repair kit

e)      Measuring scale

f)       Thimbles ( for protecting fingers during sewing)

g)      Buttons and hooks

h)      Pins and zips

i)        A heavy steam iron and ironing board

j)        Mannequin

k)      Different coloured threads

l)        Scissors

m)    Cutting boards

n)      Measuring tape

o)      Tailor’s chalk/ pencil/ marker

p)      Velcro/ touch and close fastener

q)      Ripper

r)       Buckram

All machines should be kept in good condition so they need to be oiled at the end of the day, the dust in the bobbin cases must be brushed out, the work tables should be cleaned.

SAFETY REQUIREMENTS:

Safety precautions in the sewing room include-

a)      Proper earthing of electrical connections.

b)      The sewing machines must be equipped with a guard permanently attached to the machine so that the operator’s fingers cannot pass under the needle.

c)       Dust and lint from synthetic fabrics can be uncomfortable and a health hazard so the sewing room should be cleaned nightly. This includes vacuuming shelves and vents, dusting and vacuuming or damp mopping the floors.

d)      One secure exit or entry for controlling movement as it stores a lot of material, fabrics.

e)      Fire safety and preventive equipment.

LOCATION AND DESIGN:

The sewing room is generally adjacent to the linen room as the Linen Keeper is responsible for it.

·         The sewing room should be airy and well ventilated.

·         It should be well-lit with a combination of general lighting for overall illumination and task lighting for areas where stitching, darning tasks are carried out to protect eyes from strain.

·         The floor should be smooth, strong and easy to clean.

·         The walls should be smooth and easy to maintain while being painted in light colours.

·         Regular pest control is essential for the safety of the fabrics especially wool and silk which are easily attacked by pests.

·         Fire safety precautions as defined for the linen room are required here as well.

GLOSSARY-

1.       Cutdowns or make-overs :  these refer to the using of any discarded materials for some other purpose, such as bed sheets being used as dust sheets or made into pillow covers.

2.       Darning: a reweaving process to repair small holes in a fabric. It should follow, as closely as possible, the way the original fabric was made.

3.       Seams: A seam is a method of joining 2 or more pieces of materials together by a row of stitching.

4.       Thimbles: Protective covers worn on the thumb and second finger when sewing.

5.       Shears:    Fabric Scissors

6.       Readymade: also called ‘ready-to-wear’, ‘off-the-rack’, ‘off-the-rails’, ‘off-the-hanger’, and ‘free size’.

7.       Custom made: also called ‘tailor made’,’made to order’, and ‘fitted’.

8.       Seamstress: staff who works under tailor and is responsible for all the work in the sewing room which is to be done manually by hands.

ASSIGNMENT:

1.       Enumerate the activities carried out in the sewing room.

2.       Write a note on the basic equipment used in the sewing room.