Textile colourist

A Textile Colourist is a specialist responsible for creating and selecting color combinations for textiles, ensuring that fabrics achieve the desired hues, tones, and color effects. They collaborate closely with textile designers and manufacturers to ensure color quality and consistency across different production batches. Textile Colourists play an essential role in the fabric production process, working with dyes, pigments, and printing techniques to match color trends and meet specific design requirements. Their expertise is crucial for creating visually appealing and commercially viable textiles used in fashion, home decor, and industrial applications.

Textile colourists typically do the following tasks:

• Develop color palettes and select dye formulations to achieve specific shades and color effects on textiles.
• Work with textile designers to understand color requirements and incorporate them into fabric designs.
• Conduct color tests and adjust formulations to ensure color accuracy, durability, and wash-fastness.
• Use color-matching software to create digital color samples and ensure consistency across production runs.
• Monitor and troubleshoot color issues during dyeing and printing processes, making necessary adjustments to achieve precise shades.
• Stay informed on color trends, dye technologies, and new materials to innovate in textile coloration.
• Maintain color standards and quality control throughout production to ensure color matches design specifications.
• Document and archive color recipes, dye formulas, and test results for future reference.
• Collaborate with environmental and safety teams to ensure that colorants and processes comply with sustainable and safety standards.

The following job titles also refer to textile colourist:

colorist dyer
textile colour maker
colourist
colour matcher
textile colourists
textile color maker
color matcher
colourist dyer
dyeing range operator
colorist

Textile Colourists typically work in textile mills, dye houses, or design studios, where they have access to dyeing equipment, color-matching software, and a variety of fabric samples. They spend significant time conducting color tests, mixing dyes, and overseeing production batches to ensure color consistency and quality. Working hours are generally standard, though project deadlines or production schedules may occasionally require extended hours. Textile Colourists may also need to travel to visit suppliers or oversee production at manufacturing facilities, especially when working with international clients or teams.

A bachelor’s degree in textile design, color science, or textile technology is commonly required for a career as a Textile Colourist. Training in color theory, dyeing techniques, and textile chemistry is essential. Many start their careers through internships or entry-level roles in textile companies, where they gain practical experience and develop an eye for color accuracy. Proficiency in color-matching software and understanding of environmental and safety standards in textile dyeing are also valuable. Keeping up-to-date with advancements in dye technology, sustainable practices, and color trends is key to success in this role.

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

• the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
• the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
• the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Textile colourist is a Skill level 4 occupation.

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to textile colourist.

textile designer
textile chemist
textile quality manager
textile product developer
textile, leather and footwear researcher

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of textile colourist.

• Dyeing technology: Processes involved in textile dyeing using different dyeing technologies. Also, addition of colours to textile materials using dye stuffs.
• Textile chemistry: Chemical processing of textiles such as the reactions of textiles to chemicals.
• Portfolio management in textile manufacturing: The process of managing teams and projects in textile and clothing product development.

These skills are necessary for the role of textile colourist.

• Use textile technique for hand-made products: Using textile technique to produce hand-made products, such as carpets, tapestry, embroidery, lace, silk screen printing, wearing apparel, etc.
• Prepare equipment for textile printing: Manufacture screens and prepare printing paste. Use tools and equipment associated with screen printing. Select screen types and mesh for appropriate substrates. Develop, dry, and finish screen image. Prepare screens, test screens and printed quality.
• Maintain work standards: Maintaining standards of work in order to improve and acquire new skills and work methods.
• Draw sketches to develop textile articles: Draw sketches to develop textiles or wearing apparel by hand. They create visualisations of the motives, patterns or products in order to be manufactured.
• Design yarns: Developing structural and colour effects in yarns and threads by using yarn and thread manufacturing techniques.
• Develop textile colouring recipes: Develop recipes for dyeing and printing processes of textiles.
• Draw sketches to develop textile articles using softwares: Draw sketches to develop textiles or wearing apparel using softwares. They create visualisations of the motives, patterns or products in order to be manufactured.
• Seek innovation in current practices: Search for improvements and present innovative solutions, creativity and alternative thinking to develop new technologies, methods or ideas for and answers to work-related problems.

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of textile colourist. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Textile marketing techniques: Creating, communicating and delivering value to customers of textile products and services.

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of textile colourist. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Conduct textile testing operations: Prepare for textile testing and evaluation, gathering the test samples, conducting and recording tests, validating data and presenting results.

2163 – Product and garment designers

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References

1. Textile colourist – ESCO
2. Featured image: Photo by Ron Lach