Sweated Work. The garment industry was one of the major employers of female labor throughout the nineteenth century. As spinning machines and power looms increased the production of fabric, demand for seamstresses multiplied. Sewing was one job virtually every woman knew how to do. In the preindustrial economy women had been assigned the sewing of women's and children's clothing, while male tailors made men's clothing. The first major change of the industrial era in the garment industry occurred with the introduction of machine-cut pieces. In a continuation of the putting-out process, women picked up these precut pieces and took them back to their urban apartments to sew together with needle and thread. These women then returned the finished articles of clothing to their employers. The labor of seamstresses who worked in putting-out industries was extremely easy for employers...