Sewing Machine Operators

What the job really is

Operate or tend sewing machines to join, reinforce, decorate, or perform related sewing operations in the manufacture of garment or nongarment products.

At a glance

• Sector: Production
• O*NET-SOC code: 51-6031
• O*NET job zone: 2 — some preparation
• Work sample tasks on file: 12
• Tools and technologies listed: 12

What you actually do

Work sample tasks recorded for this occupation:

• Monitor machine operation to detect problems such as defective stitching, breaks in thread, or machine malfunctions.
• Place spools of thread, cord, or other materials on spindles, insert bobbins, and thread ends through machine guides and components.
• Position items under needles, using marks on machines, clamps, templates, or cloth as guides.
• Guide garments or garment parts under machine needles and presser feet to sew parts together.
• Remove holding devices and finished items from machines.
• Match cloth pieces in correct sequences prior to sewing them, and verify that dye lots and patterns match.
• Fold or stretch edges or lengths of items while sewing to facilitate forming specified sections.
• Cut excess material or thread from finished products.
• Select supplies such as fasteners and thread, according to job requirements.
• Examine and measure finished articles to verify conformance to standards, using rulers.
• Start and operate or tend machines, such as single or double needle serging and flat-bed felling machines, to automatically join, reinforce, or decorate material or articles.
• Record quantities of materials processed.

Tools and technology

Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Word, Ball point bodkins, Bobbins, Buttonhole makers, Clothes pressing irons, Cutting pads, Double needle sewing machines, Drawstring threaders, Email software

What employers expect you to already be comfortable with.

Where this job leads

Related occupations — the usual moves up and sideways:

• Shoe Machine Operators and Tenders
• Sewers, Hand
• Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials
• Cutters and Trimmers, Hand
• Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
• Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
• Textile Cutting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
• Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

Getting in

O*NET assigns this occupation job zone 2 (some preparation). The related occupations above are the realistic routes in and out.

Find openings

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Check this against the source

O*NET OnLine: Sewing Machine Operators — the authoritative public-domain profile this page is derived from, including the full task list, reported skills and the wage estimates for your region.

Derived and rewritten from the public-domain O*NET database (U.S. Department of Labor / Employment and Training Administration). Figures are observations, not promises — always confirm salary, licensing and visa requirements with the employer and the relevant authority.