Help me say sewer, but not sewer, en español por favor.
November 28, 2012 6:57 AM   Subscribe

How do I say "sewer" in Spanish? Not the pipe that waste water goes into, but a person who sews on a sewing machine?

I need to say "industrial sewer", as in "industrial sewing machine operator" in Spanish, like you might see in a job description. All the online translators seem to think I'm talking about a drainage sewer, not one who uses a machine on fabrics. Maybe there isn't a Spanish noun for that, or it's just worded differently than in English. And this is about sewing heavy fabrics, so maybe "upholstery" comes into it?

So I'm interested in how to say it, and any differences between the following terms, all related to sewing machine use:
1) "industrial sewer"
2) "industrial sewing machine operator"
3) "upholstery sewer"

Thank you for your help.
posted by buzzv to Writing & Language (9 answers total)
 
Coser = to sew, so cosedor(a) would be sewer or stitcher.
posted by elizardbits at 7:03 AM on November 28, 2012


Well there's One Who Sews: uno quién cose

A Seamstress would be: Costurera

Sewing Machine: Maquina de Coser

Industrial is Industrial

Upholstery is: tapicería
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 7:07 AM on November 28, 2012


"Costurera" is the word for seamstress.
"Costurera industrial" might work for what you are looking for.
posted by pantarei70 at 7:07 AM on November 28, 2012


Try "Costurera de Maguina Industrial" or "Costurera Maguinista"

That is, there is no direct match for 1) but there is for 2)
posted by vacapinta at 7:12 AM on November 28, 2012 [3 favorites]


That should be "maquinista" or "máquina industrial".
posted by clearlydemon at 7:18 AM on November 28, 2012 [1 favorite]


Best answer: I'm seconding pantarei70's costurera industrial and vacapinta's costurera maquinista for (1) and (2), respectively. I'll also add operador(a) de máquina de coser as another alternative for industrial sewing machine operator. Costurera maquinista may be more common in Spain and operador de máquina de coser might be more common in Mexican/US Spanish, but either term would certainly be understood in either context.

"costurera de tapicería" would be upholstery sewer, but only in the literal sense of someone who sews upholstery fabrics for upholstered furniture. If it's just heavy fabric but for some other use (clothing, tents, mattresses, what have you) that would need some other appropriate modifier.
posted by drlith at 7:37 AM on November 28, 2012 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Okay, so far, so bien! So maybe something like costurera / operadora de maquina de coser industrial para telas pesadas o tapiceria?
posted by buzzv at 7:48 AM on November 28, 2012


Native Spanish speaker here, it sounds perfect. Just add some accents in máquina and tapicería (but it's 100% understandable without accents).
posted by clearlydemon at 10:11 AM on November 28, 2012


Response by poster: Thanks!
posted by buzzv at 7:54 PM on November 28, 2012


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