Textile Designer

Textile designers create the fabric designs for woven/knitted/printed fabrics used to make clothing, interior furnishings and other textile products.

They sometimes work as part of a design team, and are involved with each stage of the design process.

Freelance designers are involved in all parts of the production process and market their work directly from studios/craft fairs, or indirectly through galleries/shops.

The key duties of a textile designer include: producing initial sketches by hand or on computer, using specialist computer aided design (CAD) software; manipulating digital designs until they meet customers' requirements.

They are also involved in: making up samples or having them constructed by technicians; researching design trends and forecasts to decide what is likely to sell; liaising with clients, technical staff, marketing and buying staff; and keeping up to date with developments in manufacturing technology.

Newly-qualified designers earn around £15,000. Experienced textile designers can earn £25,000 upwards.

Income for textile designers varies depending on the type of employer. Freelance designers may charge per design or per collection and rates vary widely.

To be a textile designer you will usually need a degree in a design or textile-related subject.

To get on to a degree, you will normally need a recognised art and design foundation qualification or equivalent.

If you already have proven work experience you may be able to start a degree course without the usual qualifications.

You could take a more practical route by doing courses such as City & Guilds levels 1 to 3 in Creative Techniques in Textiles. This may help you to develop the skills needed to become self-employed as a craftsperson, or to build up a portfolio of work to be considered for a degree or other higher education course.

You will need to present a design portfolio when you are looking for work. You can also use your portfolio to make speculative applications to companies whose products match your style.