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Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Set up, operate, or tend machines that knit, loop, weave, or draw in textiles.
Also Known As:
Knitter
Knitting Machine Operator
Loom Fixer
Machine Operator
Operator
Tufting Machine Operator
Tufting Operator
Warp Knit Operator
Weaver
Winder Operator
Wages
Annual wages for Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders in United States
Job Outlook
Below Average
New job opportunities are less likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
13,600
-11% Change From 2024
Explore Textile Bleaching and Dyeing Machine Operators and Tenders video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Inspect products to ensure that specifications are met and to determine if machines need adjustment.
- Thread yarn, thread, and fabric through guides, needles, and rollers of machines for weaving, knitting, or other processing.
- Remove defects in cloth by cutting and pulling out filling.
- Install, level, and align machine components such as gears, chains, guides, dies, cutters, or needles to set up machinery for operation.
- Record information about work completed and machine settings.
- Study guides, loom patterns, samples, charts, or specification sheets, or confer with supervisors or engineering staff to determine setup requirements.
- Study guides, loom patterns, samples, charts, or specification sheets, or confer with supervisors or engineering staff to determine setup requirements.
- Repair or replace worn or defective needles and other components, using hand tools.
- Confer with co-workers to obtain information about orders, processes, or problems.
- Observe woven cloth to detect weaving defects.
- Program electronic equipment.
- Notify supervisors or repair staff of mechanical malfunctions.
- Inspect machinery to determine whether repairs are needed.
- Start machines, monitor operations, and make adjustments as needed.
- Install, level, and align machine components such as gears, chains, guides, dies, cutters, or needles to set up machinery for operation.
- Install, level, and align machine components such as gears, chains, guides, dies, cutters, or needles to set up machinery for operation.
- Repair or replace worn or defective needles and other components, using hand tools.
- Stop machines when specified amounts of product have been produced.
- Operate machines for test runs to verify adjustments and to obtain product samples.
- Examine looms to determine causes of loom stoppage, such as warp filling, harness breaks, or mechanical defects.
- Adjust machine heating mechanisms, tensions, and speeds to produce specified products.
- Operate machines for test runs to verify adjustments and to obtain product samples.
- Set up, or set up and operate textile machines that perform textile processing and manufacturing operations such as winding, twisting, knitting, weaving, bonding, or stretching.
- Clean, oil, and lubricate machines, using air hoses, cleaning solutions, rags, oil cans, or grease guns.
- Clean, oil, and lubricate machines, using air hoses, cleaning solutions, rags, oil cans, or grease guns.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")