Description
Design fabrics and surface patterns for apparel, home, and other products. Create original motifs, repeats, and colorways or adapt textile trends to brand, market, and manufacturing needs.
- • Direct and coordinate workers involved in creating artwork, repeats, and producing sample yardage or swatches.
- • Examine strike-offs, lab dips, handlooms, and sample yardage, modifying designs, repeats, or colorways to achieve desired effects.
- • Sketch textile motifs and layouts, and prepare specifications including color palettes, repeats, scale, weave/knit structures, yarns, and finishes.
- • Confer with sales, product managers, mills, or clients to discuss textile design ideas and requirements.
- • Identify target markets and end uses for fabrics, considering consumer demographics, performance needs, and price points.
- • Attend fabric and trend shows and review textile and fashion publications to gather trend and consumer insights.
- • Select fibers, yarns, dyes, finishes, and production techniques such as weaving, knitting, or printing.
- • Provide swatch cards and sample yardage to agents and sales representatives, and arrange showings at sales meetings or trade shows.
- • Adapt artisanal or high-end textile concepts for mass production and cost targets.
- • Source vintage textiles, artwork, or reference materials as inspiration or for incorporation into designs.
- • Visit mills, print houses, and textile showrooms to stay current on fabrics and capabilities.
- • Collaborate with fashion, home, and product designers to coordinate fabric collections and applications.
- • Design custom textiles for apparel, home furnishings, or theatrical, television, or film productions.
- • Develop cost estimates and target prices for fabrics and finishes.
- • Create print repeats and placements, prepare color separations, and build production-ready artwork files.
- • Develop cohesive textile collections and market them through wholesale, catalogs, or digital platforms.
- • Consult with creative teams to develop textile concepts and palettes for specific projects or collections.
- • Test or oversee testing for performance and care, including colorfastness, shrinkage, pilling, and abrasion to inform labeling.
- • Assemble sample books or mockups and coordinate sample weaving or printing runs with vendors.
- • Research historical and cultural textile styles, motifs, and techniques relevant to projects.
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Arts, Entertainment, & Design
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Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
