What You Need to Know About Sewing Machine Operator
Job Description & Duties Operate or tend sewing machines to join, reinforce, decorate, or perform related sewing operations in the manufacture of garment or nongarment products.
Life As a Sewing Machine Operator: What Do They Do?
- Position material or articles in clamps, templates, or hoop frames prior to automatic operation of machines.
- Fold or stretch edges or lengths of items while sewing to facilitate forming specified sections.
- Baste edges of material to align and temporarily secure parts for final assembly.
- Perform specialized or automatic sewing machine functions, such as buttonhole making or tacking.
- Remove holding devices and finished items from machines.
- Examine and measure finished articles to verify conformance to standards, using rulers.
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What a Sewing Machine Operator Should Know
Sewing Machine Operators state the following job skills are important in their day-to-day work.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Operation Monitoring: Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Time Management: Managing one’s own time and the time of others.
Complex Problem Solving: Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Other Sewing Machine Operator Job Titles
- Machine Fancy Stitcher
- Padder
- Suspender Maker
- Coat Feller
- Sample Maker
What Kind of Sewing Machine Operator Job Opportunities Are There?
There were about 153,900 jobs for Sewing Machine Operator in 2016 (in the United States). There is little to no growth in job opportunities for Sewing Machine Operator. There will be an estimated 12,300 positions for Sewing Machine Operator per year.

The states with the most job growth for Sewing Machine Operator are Nevada, Alaska, and Wyoming. Watch out if you plan on working in New York, Pennsylvania, or Ohio. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
Average Sewing Machine Operators Salary
The typical yearly salary for Sewing Machine Operators is somewhere between $19,040 and $37,880.

Sewing Machine Operators who work in Alaska, District of Columbia, or Connecticut, make the highest salaries.
How much do Sewing Machine Operators make in different U.S. states?
State | Annual Mean Salary |
---|---|
Alabama | $23,960 |
Alaska | $38,270 |
Arizona | $29,940 |
Arkansas | $24,270 |
California | $26,670 |
Colorado | $28,820 |
Connecticut | $35,120 |
Delaware | $28,530 |
District of Columbia | $35,830 |
Florida | $27,060 |
Georgia | $24,760 |
Hawaii | $27,450 |
Idaho | $25,360 |
Illinois | $29,010 |
Indiana | $28,180 |
Iowa | $28,320 |
Kansas | $28,530 |
Kentucky | $23,530 |
Louisiana | $24,540 |
Maine | $29,910 |
Maryland | $27,910 |
Massachusetts | $30,980 |
Michigan | $27,860 |
Minnesota | $29,610 |
Mississippi | $27,910 |
Missouri | $24,390 |
Montana | $27,750 |
Nebraska | $25,570 |
Nevada | $29,340 |
New Hampshire | $31,700 |
New Jersey | $24,370 |
New Mexico | $23,600 |
New York | $30,020 |
North Carolina | $27,990 |
North Dakota | $26,960 |
Ohio | $26,190 |
Oklahoma | $23,120 |
Oregon | $28,290 |
Pennsylvania | $26,670 |
Rhode Island | $30,870 |
South Carolina | $24,570 |
South Dakota | $27,130 |
Tennessee | $24,470 |
Texas | $23,850 |
Utah | $27,500 |
Vermont | $27,500 |
Virginia | $25,640 |
Washington | $33,320 |
West Virginia | $25,390 |
Wisconsin | $28,750 |
Wyoming | $28,910 |
Tools & Technologies Used by Sewing Machine Operators
Below is a list of the types of tools and technologies that Sewing Machine Operators may use on a daily basis:
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Office
- Web browser software
- Email software
Becoming a Sewing Machine Operator
Individuals working as a Sewing Machine Operator have obtained the following education levels:

How Long Does it Take to Become a Sewing Machine Operator?

Where do Sewing Machine Operators Work?

Below are examples of industries where Sewing Machine Operators work:

References:
More about our data sources and methodologies.
Featured Schools
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