What Does a Textile Designer Do? A Day in the Life of a Textile Designer.

Published by Shikha Kumari on May 26, 2025

What Does a Textile Designer Do? Being a textile designer means a lot more than just designing the surface of a textile. Being a textile designer means designing in two dimensions. The surface of a textile matters as much as the quality of the chosen textile. Knowing which fabric to choose, which pattern of stitching or embroidery enhances that fabric while identifying the needs of the user. It is not only a creative activity, but a balancing act between creativity and utility, making sure that textiles are not only beautiful but also functional. This is one of the oldest designing professions in the world and it still carries on with the same elegance, dignity and utility. In this article we will go into the life of a textile designer and learn what they do on a daily basis.

Responsibilities of a Textile Designer

As we have discussed the role of a textile designer there also exists a wide range of responsibilities of a textile designer such as development of concept and design, Colour expertise, Collaboration and production oversight. Given below are some of the important responsibilities of a Textile designer and their key activities:

Daily Routine of a Textile Designer

From the initial idea to the afterwards refinements, Textile designers design every phase of the life of the textile. They have three fundamental phases to their activity:

Morning: Research and Discovery

One of the most important roles of a Textile designer includes spending weeks working on market research and putting their pencil down. They might study market trends to determine patterns of buying behavior or collaborate with brands to develop industry wide designs. 

Afternoon: Technical Execution and Meetings

Afternoons involve manipulating CAD files, preparing strike-offs (fabric samples), and meetings with production teams and with knowledge, designers create interactive designs, which are low-level sketches. Then tools such as CAD software and Figma are used to expand them. 

Evening: Industry Engagement.

Many Designers attend trade fairs or source materials from markets, which inform future designs, they translate consumer feedback into technical requirements, whereas for marketers, they align images with brand standards. This cooperative attitude ensures textiles meet company goals and consumer needs.

Skills Required for a Textile Designer

There are multiple skills required to be a Textile Designer and not just the technical ones. Given below are the skills required for a textile designer including technical skills, soft skills and their education.

1. Technical skills

A Textile Designer needs to have a plethora of technical skills and given below are those skills that will come in handy for a Textile Designer

Design Tools: Familiarity with CAD software, silk screen printing and dying techniques are mandatory for textile designer

Formal Training:While not always required, degrees in textile design or related fields provide foundational skills to be a great textile designer

Material Expertise: Choosing the right materials or right fabrics for any pattern and design as it is like choosing the canvas for your painting 

2. Soft Skills

A textile designer needs soft skills to be able to explain their ideas to others and given below are those soft skills that are needed by a textile designer

Storytelling: Being able to explain their ideas with a narrative presentation is a must have for textile designer

Adaptability: Changing designs and understanding the technical limitations such as budget, time and material constraints.

Cultural Awareness: Creating inclusive textiles to cater to international and local markets.