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Employment Percentage
-116.6626214
SOC ID
51-6031
SOC Title
Sewing Machine Operators
ONET ID
51-6031.00
ONET Concat ID
51603100
Median Salary
28163.43
Ed Level High School
94.300003
Ed Level Certificate
0.72
Ed Level Some College
0
Ed Level Associates
4.97
Ed Level Bachelors
0
Ed Level Masters
0
Ed Level Doctors
0
Typical Ed Level
a high school diploma or less
Career Description
Operate or tend sewing machines to join, reinforce, decorate, or perform related sewing operations in the manufacture of garment or nongarment products.
Core Tasks
  • Monitor machine operation to detect problems such as defective stitching, breaks in thread, or machine malfunctions.
  • Position items under needles, using marks on machines, clamps, templates, or cloth as guides.
  • Place spools of thread, cord, or other materials on spindles, insert bobbins, and thread ends through machine guides and components.
  • Guide garments or garment parts under machine needles and presser feet to sew parts together.
  • Match cloth pieces in correct sequences prior to sewing them, and verify that dye lots and patterns match.
  • Select supplies such as fasteners and thread, according to job requirements.
  • Cut excess material or thread from finished products.
  • Fold or stretch edges or lengths of items while sewing to facilitate forming specified sections.
  • Remove holding devices and finished items from machines.
  • 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.
  • Turn knobs, screws, and dials to adjust settings of machines, according to garment styles and equipment performance.
  • Repair or alter items by adding replacement parts or missing stitches.
  • Attach tape, trim, appliques, or elastic to specified garments or garment parts, according to item specifications.
  • Perform equipment maintenance tasks such as replacing needles, sanding rough areas of needles, or cleaning and oiling sewing machines.
  • Mount attachments, such as needles, cutting blades, or pattern plates, and adjust machine guides according to specifications.
Start Annual Earnings
24857.04
Top Annual Earnings
40823.12
EMSI Career Title Slug
sewing-machine-operator