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51-6021.00 · Task explorer

Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials: reported tasks and exploration worksheet

Press or shape articles by hand or machine.

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This source lists 28 tasks, including 20 marked Core and 8 marked Supplemental. Labels and dates are retained below. Employers can combine or divide these responsibilities differently; explore the task itself before assuming it belongs in every version of the role.

Task source dates: 07/2017.

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28 tasks shown

Core · Task 14038 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Hang, fold, package, and tag finished articles for delivery to customers.

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Core · Task 14035 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Operate steam, hydraulic, or other pressing machines to remove wrinkles from garments and flatwork items, or to shape, form, or patch articles.

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Core · Task 14043 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Straighten, smooth, or shape materials to prepare them for pressing.

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Core · Task 14037 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Remove finished pieces from pressing machines and hang or stack them for cooling, or forward them for additional processing.

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Core · Task 14042 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Finish pleated garments, determining sizes of pleats from evidence of old pleats or from work orders, using machine presses or hand irons.

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Core · Task 14036 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Lower irons, rams, or pressing heads of machines into position over material to be pressed.

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Core · Task 21026 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Identify and treat spots on garments.

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Core · Task 14051 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Shrink, stretch, or block articles by hand to conform to original measurements, using forms, blocks, and steam.

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Core · Task 14049 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Finish fancy garments such as evening gowns and costumes, using hand irons to produce high quality finishes.

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Core · Task 14041 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Push and pull irons over surfaces of articles to smooth or shape them.

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Core · Task 14044 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Finish pants, jackets, shirts, skirts and other dry-cleaned and laundered articles, using hand irons.

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Core · Task 14039 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

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.

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Core · Task 14040 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Select appropriate pressing machines, based on garment properties such as heat tolerance.

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Core · Task 14046 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Spray water over fabric to soften fibers when not using steam irons.

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Core · Task 14045 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

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.

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Core · Task 14047 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Moisten materials to soften and smooth them.

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Core · Task 14052 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Clean and maintain pressing machines, using cleaning solutions and lubricants.

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Core · Task 14057 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Press ties on small pressing machines.

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Core · Task 14053 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Block or shape knitted garments after cleaning.

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Core · Task 14050 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Activate and adjust machine controls to regulate temperature and pressure of rollers, ironing shoes, or plates, according to specifications.

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Supplemental · Task 14056 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Use covering cloths to prevent equipment from damaging delicate fabrics.

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Supplemental · Task 14059 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Examine and measure finished articles to verify conformance to standards, using measuring devices such as tape measures and micrometers.

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Supplemental · Task 14048 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Finish velvet garments by steaming them on bucks of hot-head presses or steam tables, and brushing pile (nap) with handbrushes.

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Supplemental · Task 14061 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Measure fabric to specifications, cut uneven edges with shears, fold material, and press it with an iron to form a heading.

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Supplemental · Task 14054 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Insert heated metal forms into ties and touch up rough places with hand irons.

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Supplemental · Task 14055 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Brush materials made of suede, leather, or felt to remove spots or to raise and smooth naps.

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Supplemental · Task 14060 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

Sew ends of new material to leaders or to ends of material in pressing machines, using sewing machines.

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Supplemental · Task 14058 · 07/2017 · Incumbent

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

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Make the shortlist useful

Choose one to three activities that tell you something different about the work. Avoid selecting several ways of describing the same interest.
For each, write an example you can discuss or a question that would change your understanding of the role.
Keep source task IDs with your notes so you can return to the same description. Do not include private employer or customer information.

The exported worksheet distinguishes the reported task from your own notes. It supports exploration, not a hiring decision or a validated assessment.

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Source and practice material

Occupational context uses the O*NET® 31.0 Database from the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, under CC BY 4.0. View the occupation.

Skill Workbench selected and adapted the occupational information and added its own fictional cases, calculations, guidance and worksheets. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these additions. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.