Occupation: Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials

Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials

Press or shape articles by hand or machine.

51-6021.00 | 28 tasks | 10 job titles

Reported Job Titles

(10)
  • Boarder
  • Dry Cleaner Presser
  • Garment Presser
  • Ironing Machine Operator
  • Ironing Worker
  • Pants Presser
  • Presser
  • Pressing Machine Operator
  • Shirt Presser
  • Silk Presser

Core Tasks

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

Supplemental Tasks

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