Tailors spend busy nights ahead of Eid

It is 2.30 am. Sewing machines are spinning and housewives are busy preparing for Sehri. Young people can be heard shouting to wake people up. Elsewhere, needle and thread workers are spending sleepless nights, with little or no time to even have a meal.
With tailors busy preparing attractive dresses for Eid, this is what has now become a common scene at every tailor house days ahead of the festival.
“Most of the dresses are made to wear at home on Eid day,” said
Nasir from Choyonika Tailors at Tejkunipara. A majority of the tailors in the Farmgate area start working from as early as midnight. Clothes are arranged in layers and shops are filled with the crispy smell of new dresses. Many tailors in the capital are also busy making Eid dresses for big shops to be sold at different shopping malls.
Meanwhile, many students and young housewives are opting to customise their dresses with a fabric of their choice at the local tailor shop. “I usually prefer to wear stitched fabric as it customised to my size. Besides, I design the dress as per my choice. I have bought two pieces of cloth from Probortona and Chandni Chawk and sent it to the tailor to prepare the dresses,” said Afsana Rahman,
a housewife who lives in Mohammadpur. She further pointed out that dress making charges had gone up by Tk 30 to Tk 50 as comapred to last year.
Acknowledging her comment, tailor Chand Mia at Chalantika tailors of Gauchia said it was common practice during any festival. Chand Mia said the cost of sewing a salwar kameez and other items had been hiked by
Tk 20 to Tk 40. However, he did note that the number of customers was comparatively low this year and that he had not received enough work orders yet. When asked to explain the reason behind it, he said that escalating prices of many essential commodities had discouraged customers to spend that extra buck on dresses.
Tailors at Ismail Mansion from New Market and Concord Arched also echoed the views of Chand Mia.“It will be difficult to take new orders for Eid after a few days. We are not taking any more orders other than from our regular customers,” said a tailor at Ismail Mansion.
A visit to different tailor shops this year revealed that the price of a cotton salwar-kameez ranges between Tk 400 to Tk 600 per yard. Price varies depending upon the beads and fabric. Going for a synthetic fabric dress will cost between Tk 500 to Tk 900, while women may have to shell out anywhere between Tk 800 to Tk 1,700 for an Anarkali dress.
The capitals shopping centres – New market, Gauchia, Chandnichawk, Basundhara City Shopping Mall, Sunrise Plaza and Mirpur – have an array of fabric with attractive colours and design on display for custom made dresses.
The sewing cost for a three-piece embroidery dress would range between Tk 850 to Tk 1,500. Cotton gauze fabric will cost between Tk 300 to Tk 900 per yard, while block print and batik cloth made of cotton costs Tk 1,500 a yard. On the other hand, a design-laced georgette or chiffon fabric would cost you anywhere between Tk 1,200 to Tk 4,000, while the cost of cotton katan ranges between Tk 250 to Tk 400 per yard.

Tailors spend busy nights ahead of Eid

It is 2.30 am. Sewing machines are spinning and housewives are busy preparing for Sehri. Young people can be heard shouting to wake people up. Elsewhere, needle and thread workers are spending sleepless nights, with little or no time to even have a meal. With tailors busy preparing attractive dresses for Eid, this is what has now become a common scene at every tailor house days ahead of the festival. Most of the dresses are made to wear at home on Eid day, said Nasir from Choyonika Tailors at Tejkunipara. A majority of the tailors in the Farmgate area start working from as early as midnight. Clothes are arranged in layers and shops are filled with the crispy smell of new dresses. Many tailors in the capital are also busy making Eid dresses for big shops to be sold at different shopping malls. Meanwhile, many students and young housewives are opting to customise their dresses with a fabric of their choice at the local tailor shop. I usually prefer to wear stitched fabric as it customised to my size. Besides, I design the dress as per my choice. I have bought two pieces of cloth from Probortona and Chandni Chawk and sent it to the tailor to prepare the dresses, said Afsana Rahman, a housewife who lives in Mohammadpur. She further pointed out that dress making charges had gone up by Tk 30 to Tk 50 as comapred to last year. Acknowledging her comment, tailor Chand Mia at Chalantika tailors of Gauchia said it was common practice during any festival. Chand Mia said the cost of sewing a salwar kameez and other items had been hiked by Tk 20 to Tk 40. However, he did note that the number of customers was comparatively low this year and that he had not received enough work orders yet. When asked to explain the reason behind it, he said that escalating prices of many essential commodities had discouraged customers to spend that extra buck on dresses. Tailors at Ismail Mansion from New Market and Concord Arched also echoed the views of Chand Mia.It will be difficult to take new orders for Eid after a few days. We are not taking any more orders other than from our regular customers, said a tailor at Ismail Mansion. A visit to different tailor shops this year revealed that the price of a cotton salwar-kameez ranges between Tk 400 to Tk 600 per yard. Price varies depending upon the beads and fabric. Going for a synthetic fabric dress will cost between Tk 500 to Tk 900, while women may have to shell out anywhere between Tk 800 to Tk 1,700 for an Anarkali dress. The capitals shopping centres New market, Gauchia, Chandnichawk, Basundhara City Shopping Mall, Sunrise Plaza and Mirpur have an array of fabric with attractive colours and design on display for custom made dresses. The sewing cost for a three-piece embroidery dress would range between Tk 850 to Tk 1,500. Cotton gauze fabric will cost between Tk 300 to Tk 900 per yard, while block print and batik cloth made of cotton costs Tk 1,500 a yard. On the other hand, a design-laced georgette or chiffon fabric would cost you anywhere between Tk 1,200 to Tk 4,000, while the cost of cotton katan ranges between Tk 250 to Tk 400 per yard.