Occupation

Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials

Human Advantage 64%

Significant human skills needed

AI Automation Risk Moderate Risk
4.6 / 10

Some tasks in this role may be augmented by AI, but human oversight and interpersonal skills remain important.

Press or shape articles by hand or machine.

Also Known As: All-Around Presser, Armhole Presser, Automatic Presser, Blocker, Boarder, Bobbin Presser, Brim Presser, Buffing Wheel Presser +81 more

Video

Core Tasks

  1. Hang, fold, package, and tag finished articles for delivery to customers.
  2. Operate steam, hydraulic, or other pressing machines to remove wrinkles from garments and flatwork items, or to shape, form, or patch articles.
  3. Straighten, smooth, or shape materials to prepare them for pressing.
  4. Remove finished pieces from pressing machines and hang or stack them for cooling, or forward them for additional processing.
  5. Finish pleated garments, determining sizes of pleats from evidence of old pleats or from work orders, using machine presses or hand irons.
  6. Lower irons, rams, or pressing heads of machines into position over material to be pressed.
  7. Identify and treat spots on garments.
  8. Shrink, stretch, or block articles by hand to conform to original measurements, using forms, blocks, and steam.
  9. Finish fancy garments such as evening gowns and costumes, using hand irons to produce high quality finishes.
  10. Push and pull irons over surfaces of articles to smooth or shape them.
  11. Finish pants, jackets, shirts, skirts and other dry-cleaned and laundered articles, using hand irons.
  12. 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.
  13. Select appropriate pressing machines, based on garment properties such as heat tolerance.
  14. Spray water over fabric to soften fibers when not using steam irons.
  15. 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.
  16. Moisten materials to soften and smooth them.
  17. Clean and maintain pressing machines, using cleaning solutions and lubricants.
  18. Press ties on small pressing machines.
  19. Block or shape knitted garments after cleaning.
  20. Activate and adjust machine controls to regulate temperature and pressure of rollers, ironing shoes, or plates, according to specifications.

Supplemental Tasks (8)

  1. Use covering cloths to prevent equipment from damaging delicate fabrics.
  2. Examine and measure finished articles to verify conformance to standards, using measuring devices such as tape measures and micrometers.
  3. Finish velvet garments by steaming them on bucks of hot-head presses or steam tables, and brushing pile (nap) with handbrushes.
  4. Measure fabric to specifications, cut uneven edges with shears, fold material, and press it with an iron to form a heading.
  5. Insert heated metal forms into ties and touch up rough places with hand irons.
  6. Brush materials made of suede, leather, or felt to remove spots or to raise and smooth naps.
  7. Sew ends of new material to leaders or to ends of material in pressing machines, using sewing machines.
  8. Select, install, and adjust machine components, including pressing forms, rollers, and guides, using hoists and hand tools.

Education & Training

Job Zone 1 Job Zone One: Little or No Preparation Needed
Education: Some of these occupations may require a high school diploma or GED certificate.
Experience: Little or no previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, a person can become a waiter or waitress even if he/she has never worked before.
On-the-Job Training: Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few days to a few months of training. Usually, an experienced worker could show you how to do the job.

Education Level Distribution

Percentage of workers in this occupation with each education level.

Less than a High School Diploma
59%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)
26%
Doctoral Degree
14%
Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree)
1%

Technology & Tools

Hot Technologies

  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Word

Software (3)

  • Email software

Tools & Equipment (27)

  • Adjustable hand wrenches
  • Digital micrometers
  • Electric fabric cutters
  • Fabric cleaning brushes
  • Fabric shears
  • Flat pressers
  • Guides
  • Hand irons
  • Handheld sprayers
  • Heavy duty ironing boards
  • Hoists
  • Hot-head presses
  • Hydraulic pressing machines
  • Industrial sewing machines
  • Measuring gauges
  • Measuring tapes
  • Multipurpose hammers
  • Multipurpose hangers
  • Multipurpose screwdrivers
  • Personal computers
  • Pressing forms
  • Puff irons
  • Slip joint pliers
  • Small pressing machines
  • Steam fabric pressing machines
  • Steam tables
  • Tunnel presses

Where This Career Leads

Career progression organized by specialty track and experience level.

Production & Automation Advanced Manufacturing

Zone 1
Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials You are here
Zone 2
Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 96% match
Zone 3
Model Makers, Wood 80% match
Zone 4
Biomass Power Plant Managers 75% match
Zone 5
Microsystems Engineers 73% match

Resume Builder

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