What Do Textile and Garment Pressers Do (including Their Typical Day At Work)

Job Description

Textile and Garment Pressers press or shape articles by hand or machine. They also hang, fold, package, and tag finished articles for delivery to customers.

Other tasks include:

• 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.

We asked Textile and Garment Pressers how satisfied they are with their job. Here is what they said.

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61% of them said they were satisfied with their job and 46% said they find that their job makes the world a better place or helps to make someone else’s life better.

Typical Day At Work

On a daily basis, Textile and Garment Pressers sew ends of new material to leaders or to ends of material in pressing machines, using sewing machines. They remove finished pieces from pressing machines and hang or stack them for cooling, or forward them for additional processing.

A typical day for a Presser, Textile, Garment and Related Material will also include:

• Operate steam, hydraulic, or other pressing machines to remove wrinkles from garments and flatwork items, or to shape, form, or patch articles.
• Push and pull irons over surfaces of articles to smooth or shape them.
• Hang, fold, package, and tag finished articles for delivery to customers.
• Select appropriate pressing machines, based on garment properties such as heat tolerance.
• Finish pants, jackets, shirts, skirts and other dry-cleaned and laundered articles, using hand irons.

We asked some Textile and Garment Pressers a few questions to find out what else does their work day look like. Here is what we found.

	Do you have telephone conversations everyday in this job?	15% said yes
	How important is it to work in a team in this job?	24% said very important
	Do you have group discussions everyday in this job?	35% said yes
	Do you talk or work with customers everyday in this job?	2% said yes
	Do you have to deal with angry customers everyday in this job?	34% said yes
	Do you have to make decisions everyday in this job?	33% said yes

Other responsibilities

Besides their typical day, Textile and Garment Pressers also clean and maintain pressing machines, using cleaning solutions and lubricants. They may also 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.

On a weekly to monthly basis, Textile and Garment Pressers Finish velvet garments by steaming them on bucks of hot-head presses or steam tables, and brushing pile (nap) with handbrushes. They might also Measure fabric to specifications, cut uneven edges with shears, fold material, and press it with an iron to form a heading.

In addition, they Select, install, and adjust machine components, including pressing forms, rollers, and guides, using hoists and hand tools.

Although specific duties may vary, many of them Brush materials made of suede, leather, or felt to remove spots or to raise and smooth naps.

To some Textile and Garment Pressers, it is also their responsibility to Finish fancy garments such as evening gowns and costumes, using hand irons to produce high quality finishes.

Working life

Standard 40 hour work week

Regular schedule like a 9 to 5

In a typical work week as a Presser, Textile, Garment and Related Material, you can expect to work 40 hour work week.

Is this right for me

People who are suitable for this job tends to like work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They like working with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery..

They also like following set procedures and routines. They like working with data and details more than with ideas.

You can read more about these career personality types here.

Explore other careers

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