Textile designer

A Textile Designer is a creative professional who designs patterns, textures, and color schemes for fabrics used in fashion, home furnishings, and industrial applications. They bring artistic and technical skills to the development of textiles, translating visual ideas into fabrics that meet functional and aesthetic goals. Textile Designers work with various techniques, such as weaving, knitting, and printing, to create unique, marketable designs that align with trends and brand needs. Their expertise is key in producing textiles that are both visually appealing and suited to the intended product, whether it be apparel, upholstery, or industrial materials.

Textile designers typically do the following:

• Develop original designs and patterns for fabrics using both traditional methods (hand-drawing, painting) and digital tools like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, or CAD software.
• Research color trends, textures, and styles to create textile collections that meet market demands.
• Experiment with different materials, dyes, and printing techniques to achieve desired effects in fabric design.
• Create technical specifications for textile production, including details on colors, repeat patterns, and material requirements.
• Work closely with manufacturers to oversee the production process and ensure quality control.
• Collaborate with fashion or interior designers to develop fabrics that complement overall design concepts.
• Adjust designs based on feedback from clients or team members to meet specific functional or aesthetic requirements.
• Develop sample swatches or prototypes to demonstrate the final look and feel of the fabric before full production.
• Attend trade shows, workshops, and industry events to stay updated on new technologies, materials, and trends in textile design.

The following job titles also refer to textile designer:

print designer
textile design expert
knits designer
fabric designer
textiles designer
textile artist
canvas pattern designer
textile design specialist
pattern design
textile and graphic artist
design and technology technician
design technology technician
textile CAD designer

Textile Designers work primarily in design studios, corporate offices, or manufacturing facilities. They spend a significant amount of time creating designs on computers, sketching, or preparing samples. Some designers may work on-site with textile manufacturers to oversee production and ensure their designs are accurately reproduced on fabric. Freelance designers may work from home or independent studios, handling multiple clients and projects. Although regular hours are typical, meeting deadlines for seasonal collections or custom orders may require extra hours, especially in the fast-paced fashion industry.

Most Textile Designers have a bachelor’s degree in textile design, fashion design, or a related field. Knowledge of color theory, fabric types, and textile production processes is essential, as is proficiency in design software like Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. Experience in fabric printing methods, weaving, and dyeing can be beneficial, as these techniques are often central to textile design. Many designers gain hands-on experience through internships or entry-level roles in fashion or interior design firms, allowing them to build portfolios and network within the industry. Staying current with emerging trends, sustainable practices, and new technologies in textile production is crucial for career advancement.

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 designer is a Skill level 4 occupation.

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

textile colourist
textile product developer
textile chemist
textile technologist
textile quality manager

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

• Textile marketing techniques: Creating, communicating and delivering value to customers of textile products and services.
• Portfolio management in textile manufacturing: The process of managing teams and projects in textile and clothing product development.
• Properties of fabrics: The influence of chemical composition and molecular arrangement of yarn and fibre properties and fabric structure on the physical properties of textile fabrics; the different fibre types, their physical and chemical characteristics and different material characteristics; the materials used in different processes and the effect on materials as they are processed.
• Textile printing technology: Addition of colour partially, according to the designed pattern, onto textile-based materials. Processes for adding coloured patterns onto textile materials using printing machines and techniques (rotary of flatbed screen printing or others, heat transfer, inkjet, etc.).

These skills are necessary for the role of textile designer.

• Distinguish accessories: Distinguish accessories in order to determine differences among them. Evaluate accessories based on their characteristics and their application in wearing apparel manufacturing.
• 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.
• Design weft knitted fabrics: Developing structural and colour effects in weft-knitted fabrics by using the weft knitting technique.
• Create mood boards: Create mood boards for fashion or interior design collections, gathering different sources of inspirations, sensations, trends, and textures, discussing with the people involved in the project to make sure that the shape, design, colours, and global genre of the collections fit the order or the related artistic project.
• Measure yarn count: Be able to measure yarn length and mass to assess fineness of roving, sliver and yarn in different measuring systems.Also able to convert into the various numbering system such as tex, Nm, Ne, denier, etc.
• Distinguish fabrics: Distinguish fabrics in order to determine differences among them. Evaluate fabrics based on their characteristics and their application in wearing apparel manufacturing.
• 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.
• Decorate textile articles: Decorate wearing apparel and made-up textile articles by hand or using machines. Decorate textile articles with ornaments, braided cords, golden yarns, soutaches, jewellery, and cristals.
• Design yarns: Developing structural and colour effects in yarns and threads by using yarn and thread manufacturing techniques.
• Design woven fabrics: Designing and developing structural and colour effects in woven fabrics by using the weaving technique.
• Design warp knit fabrics: Developing structural and colour effects in warp knitted fabrics by using the warp knitting technique.
• 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.
• Gather reference materials for artwork: Gather samples of the materials you expect to use in the creation process, especially if the desired piece of art necessitates the intervention of qualified workers or specific production processes.
• 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 designer. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Knitting machine technology: Manufacturing technologies that use loop-forming techniques to convert yarns into fabrics in order to form knitted fabrics.
• Dyeing technology: Processes involved in textile dyeing using different dyeing technologies. Also, addition of colours to textile materials using dye stuffs.
• Nonwoven machine technology: Manufacturing of nonwoven fabrics according to specification. Development, manufacture, properties and evaluation of nonwoven fabrics.
• Textile chemistry: Chemical processing of textiles such as the reactions of textiles to chemicals.
• Challenging issues in the textile industry: The efficiency aims and environmental issues posed by challenges in the textile industry.

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

• Develop textile colouring recipes: Develop recipes for dyeing and printing processes of textiles.
• Use warp knitting technologies: Use warp knitting machine technologies that enable the formation of fabrics. Able to set machines for warp knitting, colour and pattern for monitoring and controlling the warp knitting process on electronic automatic warp knitting machines equipped with multifunction microprocessor and software.

2163 – Product and garment designers

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References

1. Textile designer – ESCO
2. Textile designer job profile | Prospects.ac.uk
3. Textile designer | Explore Careers – National Careers Service
4. Textile Designer: Career Profile, Job Outlook and Education Requirements – Learn.org
5. Featured image: Photo by Ron Lach