Suppose a man has a son who wants zippers on the cargo pockets of his cargo pants, but his cargo pants' cargo pockets only have buttons. And suppose this man wants to find someone who can sew zippers onto the cargo pockets of the cargo pants, so he decides to ask on iBrattleboro for suggestions about who he can hire to do this job.
Seems easy enough, until he starts to write the question, and suddenly realizes that there is no gender-neutral word for "seamstress." He can’t request a recommendation for a “seamster,” can he? The word “tailor” occurs to him, but that seems to have a masculine flavor. All he wants is to get zippers sewn onto the cargo pants’ cargo pockets, properly, soon, and at a reasonable cost. But he is stuck, unable to figure out the correct word which he needs to ask the question.
So the question is: What gender-neutral word can be used instead of “seamstress?”
Oh, and by the way… can anyone suggest someone who can do this small job?