Embroidery Machine Operator Jobs: Duties, Pay and Hiring

Embroidery machine operator jobs are production jobs in which workers run machines that stitch designs, logos and names onto garments and other products, such as shirts, caps, bags and uniforms. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) does not count embroidery machine operators as a separate occupation. In O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor’s occupation database, the closest match is sewing machine operators.

This guide covers what embroidery machine operators do, where they work, what the work pays, the training involved, the outlook, and how to find embroidery jobs. Figures were checked in October 2026.

What Embroidery Machine Operators Do

O*NET lists several sewing machine operator tasks that describe embroidery work directly:

Positioning material or items in clamps, templates or hoop frames before the machine runs automatically.
Performing specialized or automatic sewing machine functions.
Drawing markings or pinning appliqués on fabric to create design variations.
Placing spools of thread on spindles and threading machines.
Watching machines for thread breaks, defective stitching and malfunctions.
Cutting excess thread and material from finished items.
Inspecting finished items against standards.
Replacing needles, cleaning and oiling machines, and mounting attachments.

In practice, an operator loads a design into the machine, hoops each item so the design lands in the right place, sets the thread colors, runs the machine, and checks and trims each finished piece. On multi-head machines, one operator may run several stations at once.

Related Work

Many embroidery shops also do other kinds of decoration, such as screen printing or heat transfers. Some operators also learn digitizing, which means converting artwork into a stitch file the machine can read.

Where Embroidery Operators Work

Embroidery operators work in shops and plants that decorate apparel and promotional products, uniform companies, and garment manufacturers. The BLS does not publish data for embroidery shops on their own. For sewing machine operators as a whole, the industries with the most jobs in May 2025 were cut and sew apparel manufacturing (20,940), other textile product mills (17,920), textile furnishings mills (5,730), furniture manufacturing (5,450) and printing and related support activities (5,440).

Pay

The BLS does not publish pay for embroidery operators separately. For all sewing machine operators, the median wage was $17.63 an hour, or $36,670 a year, in May 2025. The lowest 10% earned less than $27,860, and the highest 10% earned more than $47,840.

The median is the wage at which half the workers earned more and half earned less. Pay for embroidery work varies with the employer, location and how much setup and design work the job involves.

Training

The BLS lists no formal educational credential and short-term on-the-job training as typical for sewing machine operators. Embroidery operators typically learn their machines on the job.

Helpful skills include:

Careful, consistent hooping so designs are placed correctly.
Attention to detail when checking thread colors and finished work.
Basic machine care, such as changing needles and fixing thread breaks.
Computer skills for loading designs and, later, digitizing.

Job Outlook

The BLS projects that employment of sewing machine operators will decline by 15% from 2025 to 2035. In its projections, it says robots and other technology allow apparel manufacturers to automate cutting, fitting and sewing.

Even so, O*NET projects about 9,800 openings a year for sewing machine operators overall, as workers retire or change jobs.

How to Find Embroidery Machine Operator Jobs

Search several titles. Try embroidery machine operator, embroidery operator, embroidery technician and apparel decorator.
Look for local decoration shops. Search for custom embroidery, screen printing, uniform and promotional product companies in your area.
Check uniform and workwear companies. Many embroider names and logos on garments.
Use public job services. CareerOneStop lists openings and the American Job Centers near you.
Show your work. Photos of embroidered items you have produced, and a list of machine brands you have used.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need experience to get an embroidery job?

Not always. The BLS lists short-term on-the-job training as typical for sewing machine operators, the closest occupation.

How much do embroidery machine operators make?

The BLS does not publish a separate figure. Sewing machine operators, the closest occupation, earned a median of $17.63 an hour in May 2025.

Can I do machine embroidery from home?

Embroidery jobs with an employer are done on site. Running an embroidery machine at home for your own customers is a business. Note that federal rules restrict industrial homework in embroideries, so be cautious about offers to do embroidery at home for a company. Our guide to product assembly jobs from home explains these rules.

Embroidery Machine Operator Jobs