SEAMSTRESS TRAINING PROGRAM

Are you interested in a career as a professional sewist?

Positions in Kansas City are available with apparel manufacturers, alteration & tailoring companies, retailers and many others.

Advance your skills and connect with employers through our Seamstress Training Program.

What you’ll learn

In our Production Sewing course, participants focus on factory line sewing, speed, accuracy, quality control processes, machine repair, cutting, marker-making, managing other staff, and more. Participants move through a rigorous curriculum, visit potential employer sites, carry out regular homework assignments, and log extensive hours on industrial-grade sewing machines (including single needle, 4-thread serger, coverstitch, and blind hem) and conventional sewing machines and sergers.

Details

This program is being taught at the Rightfully Sewn Academy by our Academy Programs Manager Lacey Daniels.

What you need

Prior sewing experience and education degrees are not required. Participants must display spatial skills, receive constructive feedback, and work well with others. Must be at least 18 years old. All genders welcome to apply. Because of limited space in the program, we seek to enroll students with serious intent to obtain full-time employment in the sewn product industry upon graduation.

After graduation

Rightfully Sewn® will connect you to employers through a Jobs Fair and personalized assistance.

Interested?

Because the demand for our classes is high and there are only five spaces available, each participant must undergo a skills assessment and interview to be admitted.

Rightfully Sewn Academy would like your help! We continually work to keep our program the most relevant and useful that it can be for the Kansas City job market's changing needs.

Our Seamstress Training Program is being honed to provide better options for training, depending on what your goals are!

Our team of instructors would love to hear of your interest and personal goals through the survey below.

Your submission will ensure you will receive future correspondence about the Seamstress Training Program at Rightfully Sewn. Thank you!

Name

First Name

Last Name

Email

Zip Code

Age

Why are you interested in this program?

Do you have any sewing experience?

What is your ultimate goal in pursuing this certification?

If you picked other, please explain here:

Does your schedule require daytime classes or evening classes?

Which of the following example class schedules works best for you?

If you picked other, please provide a class schedule that works for you:

Are you willing to work your schedule around this training if accepted to the program?

Our trainings have historically ranged between $2500-5100. Will you require financial assistance?

Our trainings are intensive with a high request rate, therefore we require a very high attendance rate. Do you anticipate any obstacles to attending classes regularly?

How did you hear about us?

“This experience has been life-changing for me, personally. I come from a background of nursing—which is so different. It came at an awesome time for me when I needed a change.

The Instructor was just awesome. She took the time to teach you the basics, and she had tons of patience with everyone. She dedicated her time equally to everyone in the program.

And I would like to say a personal thank-you to Jennifer for her guidance and for helping me get a job before I finished the class. We had done a tour at [a local manufacturer], and I was looking for part-time work at the time, and she got the ball rolling for me. I went in and did the interview, and they liked what they saw and hired me before the class was over. To this day—this is my third week with them—I am in heaven! I am truly in heaven.”

— Alicia, Spring 2022 Graduate

We boast a 95% graduation rate and >89% seamstress job offer rate.

PARTNERS

Seamstress Training Program participants so far have been referred from the following social service agency partners, a group we are continually expanding:

Alphapointe
Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas
Full Employment Council
Hope Faith Ministries
Jewish Vocational Service
Job One
Kansas City Anti-Violence Project
Literacy KC
Prosperity Center for Financial Opportunity
Sheffield Place
Workforce Partnership

Contact us at programs@rightfullysewn.org or 816-491-8136 if you are interested in partnering with our program.

THANK YOU!

Thank you to our generous 2022 funders of the Seamstress Training Program, including:

The Ronald D. Deffenbaugh Foundation

Elaine Feld Stern Charitable Trust

Francis Family Foundation

Hartley Family Foundation

Helen S. Boylan Foundation

Mariner Wealth Advisors Foundation

Oppenstein Brothers Foundation

PNC Foundation

Fall 2022 Seamstress Training program GRADUATION

SPRING 2022 Seamstress Training program GRADUATION

AUTUMN 2021 Seamstress Training program GRADUATION

In a well-lit production atelier, standing in front of a sewing table, Jennifer Lapka presents the graduation certificate to graduate Natasha, as both women smile at the camera. — Photo by Samantha Levi Photography

spring 2021 Seamstress Training program GRADUATION

Eight women, including four graduates holding their certificates, stand in a park on a sunny day. — Photo by Jeff Evrard Photography

autumn 2020 basic sewing graduation

Five graduates (three women and two men) stand in the Rightfully Sewn atelier holding their certificates. — Photo by Samantha Levi Photography

Autumn 2019 basic sewing graduation

Summer 2019 pilot Alterations & Tailoring graduation

summer 2018 Basic sewing graduation

summer 2017 PILOT basic sewing graduation

Left to right: Marzia, Sholeh, Amna, Jasmin, Liliane, and Andrescia (Photo by Jeff Evrard) — Photo by Jeff Evrard