A professional who tends feed-end of range that applies size, starch, water-repellent, wrinkle resistant, or other chemical finishes to cloth, stretches cloth to specified width, and dries finished cloth. Respnsibilities include:

• Positions truck of folded cloth at feed-end of machine or inserts rod through cloth roll and pushes roll onto brackets.
• Sews cloth end to leader in machine, using portable sewing machine.
• Turns valve to permit flow of finish to trough under mangle.
• Turns handwheels and knobs to control temperature of drying cans and movement of cloth through range, and to adjust width and tension guides.
• Observes cloth entering machine to detect flaws, such as holes and torn selvages.
• Cuts out flaws, using scissors.
• When back-filling cloth with starch, positions doctor at specified angle to scrape excess starch from cloth.
• Cleans and greases machines.
• May be designated according to type of finish applied as back sizer; waterproofing-machine operator.