Textile Designer

Also known as:

Cloth/Textile Designer
Designer, Textile

Introduction

Textile designers create designs for printed, woven and knitted fabrics. As well as keeping up with current fashion trends, textile designers need to understand how textiles can be used to make things.

Back to Top

Work Activities

Textile designers create designs for woven, printed and knitted fabrics and soft furnishings. A designer's duties vary according to where they work.

Designers who work for a small company may spend most of their time reworking traditional designs. For example, a designer working for a small worsted company, may modify the design of an existing woollen cloth.

Large design companies usually employ a small team of designers who create original designs. However, these designs usually have to fit a particular house style or image. In some cases, companies buy designs from freelance designers and pass them to their own in-house designers to modify and adapt them.

Designers will probably spend most of their time at a drawing board in a design studio or using computer-aided design (CAD) systems which are now widespread. Designers may travel to various national and international shows and exhibitions during the course of their research. However, this will often depend on finance.

When they have finished the design, they send it to a print laboratory where a sample can be made up and passed on to the design director to examine and comment on. Self-employed designer-craftworkers usually make their own samples.

The designer may also be responsible for preparing colourways or swatches. These are small pieces or sections of the finished article that they can show to a buying team and retailers. These give everyone involved in the design process a better idea of the appearance and texture of the final product.

Textile designers may specialise in a particular area, such as clothing or furnishing fabrics.

Back to Top

Personal Qualities and Skills

You should be creative and imaginative with a good eye for colour, design and texture. You should also have a strong interest in fashion with a flair for predicting new trends.

You should be enthusiastic and self-confident and able to accept constructive criticism of your work. It is important that you are able to work calmly under pressure and meet deadlines.

Although some designers are not directly involved in textile production, it is very important that you have technical knowledge of yarns and dyes, as well as manufacturing processes and constraints, as this will affect your designs. For example, some machines may not be able to reproduce a wide range of colours, so you would be restricted to using just two or three.

It is helpful to have a good business sense, including an appreciation of sales and marketing.

Back to Top

Pay and Opportunities

Pay rates for textile designers vary with employer and responsibilities.

The pay rates given below are approximate.

Textile designers earn in the range of £18,000 - £21,500 a year, rising to £25,000 - £30,000. Higher earners can make around £31,500 - £40,000 a year.

Textile designers work a basic 39-hour week, Monday to Friday. Working hours for self-employed designers may be irregular, depending on the project they are working on. Late finishes and weekend work may be required from time to time, especially to meet deadlines.

Employers include in-house design units of textile manufacturers, and specialist studios that work for a number of manufacturers. Some designers work as self-employed, freelance textile designers. Some designers work as textile/fashion buyers or salespeople.

Entry to this area of work is very competitive.

Back to Top

Adult Opportunities

It is illegal for any organisation to set age limits for entry to employment, education or training, unless they can show there is a real need to have these limits.

Skills gained as an assistant in a design studio or workshop, or in a design consultancy are valued. Commercial awareness and an understanding of the textiles industry is an advantage.

If you don't have the qualifications needed to enter your chosen degree or HND course, a college or university Access course (eg, Access to Art and Design) could be the way in. No formal qualifications are usually required, but you should check individual course details.

They can lead to relevant degree/HND courses.

Relevant courses in textile design subjects, at various levels, are offered by a number of centres, by distance learning.

Universities and colleges of higher education (HE) will usually consider applications from candidates who do not meet their usual entry requirements, especially those with experience in arts, crafts or design. You should check the admissions policy of individual universities and HE colleges.

To enter this work or relevant courses, you will need to have a portfolio of work showing your creative ability.

• 45% of people in occupations such as textile designer are self-employed.
• 19% work part-time.
• 12% have flexible hours.
• 3% of employees work on a temporary basis.

Back to Top

New Developments

This occupation may involve homeworking.  Find out more about Working from home.