Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Material Career

Job Description: Press or shape articles by hand or machine.


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Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Material Career

What Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials do:

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

What work activities are most important?

Importance Activities

Controlling Machines and Processes - Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).

Performing General Physical Activities - Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.

Handling and Moving Objects - Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.

Getting Information - Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials - Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.

Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates - Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work - Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

Scheduling Work and Activities - Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.

Assisting and Caring for Others - Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.

Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings - Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.

Making Decisions and Solving Problems - Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment - Servicing, repairing, adjusting, and testing machines, devices, moving parts, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of mechanical (not electronic) principles.

Thinking Creatively - Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.

Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events - Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.

Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards - Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.

Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People - Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.

Developing Objectives and Strategies - Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.

Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge - Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.

Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information - Estimating sizes, distances, and quantities; or determining time, costs, resources, or materials needed to perform a work activity.

Processing Information - Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.

Coaching and Developing Others - Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.

Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others - Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.

Holland Code Chart for a Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Material