Skip navigation

Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials - 51-6021.00

O*NET-SOC Description

Press or shape articles by hand or machine.

Sample of Reported Job Titles

  • Boarder
  • Dry Cleaner Presser
  • Garment Presser
  • Ironing Machine Operator
  • Ironing Worker
  • Pants Presser
  • Presser
  • Pressing Machine Operator
  • Shirt Presser
  • Silk Presser

SOC Occupation Groups

51-0000 Production Occupations
51-6000 Textile, Apparel, and Furnishings Workers
51-6020 Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials
51-6021.00 Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials

Related Occupations

Tasks

  • Activate and adjust machine controls to regulate temperature and pressure of rollers, ironing shoes, or plates, according to specifications.
  • Block or shape knitted garments after cleaning.
  • Brush materials made of suede, leather, or felt to remove spots or to raise and smooth naps.
  • Clean and maintain pressing machines, using cleaning solutions and lubricants.
  • Examine and measure finished articles to verify conformance to standards, using measuring devices such as tape measures and micrometers.
  • Finish fancy garments such as evening gowns and costumes, using hand irons to produce high quality finishes.
  • Finish pants, jackets, shirts, skirts and other dry-cleaned and laundered articles, using hand irons.
  • Finish pleated garments, determining sizes of pleats from evidence of old pleats or from work orders, using machine presses or hand irons.
  • Finish velvet garments by steaming them on bucks of hot-head presses or steam tables, and brushing pile (nap) with handbrushes.
  • Hang, fold, package, and tag finished articles for delivery to customers.
  • Identify and treat spots on garments.
  • Insert heated metal forms into ties and touch up rough places with hand irons.
  • Lower irons, rams, or pressing heads of machines into position over material to be pressed.
  • Measure fabric to specifications, cut uneven edges with shears, fold material, and press it with an iron to form a heading.
  • Moisten materials to soften and smooth them.
  • Operate steam, hydraulic, or other pressing machines to remove wrinkles from garments and flatwork items, or to shape, form, or patch articles.
  • Position materials such as cloth garments, felt, or straw on tables, dies, or feeding mechanisms of pressing machines, or on ironing boards or work tables.
  • Press ties on small pressing machines.
  • Push and pull irons over surfaces of articles to smooth or shape them.
  • Remove finished pieces from pressing machines and hang or stack them for cooling, or forward them for additional processing.
  • Select appropriate pressing machines, based on garment properties such as heat tolerance.
  • Select, install, and adjust machine components, including pressing forms, rollers, and guides, using hoists and hand tools.
  • Sew ends of new material to leaders or to ends of material in pressing machines, using sewing machines.
  • Shrink, stretch, or block articles by hand to conform to original measurements, using forms, blocks, and steam.
  • Slide material back and forth over heated, metal, ball-shaped forms to smooth and press portions of garments that cannot be satisfactorily pressed with flat pressers or hand irons.
  • Spray water over fabric to soften fibers when not using steam irons.
  • Straighten, smooth, or shape materials to prepare them for pressing.
  • Use covering cloths to prevent equipment from damaging delicate fabrics.

Detailed Work Activities

  • Adjust fabrics or other materials during garment production.
  • Adjust temperature controls of ovens or other heating equipment.
  • Clean fabrics or apparel.
  • Clean production equipment.
  • Cut fabrics.
  • Inspect garments for defects, damage, or stains.
  • Install mechanical components in production equipment.
  • Maintain production or processing equipment.
  • Mark products, workpieces, or equipment with identifying information.
  • Measure dimensions of completed products or workpieces to verify conformance to specifications.
  • Measure materials to mark reference points, cutting lines, or other indicators.
  • Operate sewing equipment.
  • Package products for storage or shipment.
  • Prepare fabrics or materials for processing or production.
  • Remove products or workpieces from production equipment.
  • Select production equipment according to product specifications.
  • Set equipment guides, stops, spacers, or other fixtures.
  • Smooth garments with irons, presses, or steamers.
  • Stack finished items for further processing or shipment.

Military Crosswalk Titles

  • Retail Services Specialist (Navy - Enlisted)
  • Shower and Laundry Specialist (Army - Enlisted)

Apprenticeship Crosswalk Titles

No information available.

DOT Crosswalk Titles

  • Blocker
  • Bobbin Presser
  • Brim Presser I
  • Brim-and-Crown Presser
  • Calender-Machine Operator
  • Creaser
  • Drapery-Head Former
  • Fur Ironer
  • Hat Blocker
  • Hat-Lining Blocker
  • Hydraulic-Press Operator
  • Leather Finisher
  • Mangler
  • Molder
  • Patching-Machine Operator
  • Press Operator
  • Presser, All-Around
  • Presser, Automatic
  • Presser, Buffing Wheel
  • Presser, Form
  • Presser, Hand
  • Presser, Handkerchief
  • Presser, Machine
  • Seam Presser
  • Shaper and Presser
  • Shirt Presser
  • Silk Finisher
  • Steam-Press Tender
  • Straw Hat Presser, Machine
  • Straw-Hat-Plunger Operator
  • Strip Presser
  • Tie Presser