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Textile designer skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Gina Pisut Ph.D.,

Elaine Grullón

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical textile designer skills. We ranked the top skills for textile designers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 15.4% of textile designer resumes contained textile design as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a textile designer needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 textile designer skills for your resume and career

1. Textile Design

Here's how textile designers use textile design:

Developed Jacquard Textile designs using a dedicated software application, satisfying and anticipating customer's requirements.
Participated and deliberated in textile design meetings with merchandisers and buyers.

2. CAD

Here's how textile designers use cad:

Prepared all CAD artwork files for production including color separations, color ways and repeats according to industry standards.
Created designs using CAD programs to meet specific client requests, artwork requirements, and to match current trends.

3. Graphic Design

Graphic design is the art of making visual content to communicate messages. Designers apply different page layout methods and visual hierarchy by using letters and pictures to meet the need of end-users. Most companies use graphic design to sell their product or services and to convey complicated information by using infographics.

Here's how textile designers use graphic design:

Delegate projects to eight Graphic Designers and establish appropriate targets to meet print priorities.
Handled the tasks of sketching designs by using computer graphic design.

4. Apparel

Apparel is anything worn especially formal clothes; outerwear; garments; attire; raiment worn on an important occasion to protect, wrap, adorn or beautify the body. Apparel also refers to clothing of a specific type that is sold in stores. Product categories include everything from basic items like underwear, badges, jewelry to luxury items. The general classification of clothing is as follows: men's wear, women's wear, children's wear, and others.

Here's how textile designers use apparel:

Conceptualized designs for home furnishing and apparel.
Develop original artwork for various apparel companies and print studios based out of NY, PA and London.

5. Trend Research

A trend is presumed future development that may have a long-term effect. Trend analysis is the practice of collecting data and attempting to spot a recurrence, or non-recurrence, pattern. This field revolves around predicting the future of a market based on data from past sales, client preferences, and demand.

Here's how textile designers use trend research:

Assisted designers in critiquing, trend research, studio upkeep, as well as individual projects.
Conducted trend research for the home to develop a greater understanding of the mass market.

6. Product Development

Product development is the complete procedure of creating a product from concept until release of the final product. Product development has many stages after which a product is released into the market. Identifying the need, creating the opportunity, conceptualizing a product, and providing a solution, all are different stages of product development.

Here's how textile designers use product development:

Coordinate with manufacturers to facilitate the entire design and product development process.
Awarded Pottery Barn Product Development Designer of the Month and nominated twice for Catch the Spirit Award.

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7. Design Trends

Here's how textile designers use design trends:

Researched current design trends, traveled to trade shows, and organized presentations for sales personnel and clients
Conducted market research for new color and design trends by traveling to domestic and international trade shows.

8. Adobe Photoshop

Here's how textile designers use adobe photoshop:

Design and edit variations of arrangements on Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.
Advance U4ia / Advance Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop.

9. Market Trends

Here's how textile designers use market trends:

Conducted market surveys for buyers that included studies of market trends and forecasts.
Re-designed and re-colored exclusive Chinese samples to meet U.S. RV industry market trends.

10. Tech Packs

A tech pack is an informative sheet that designers create to communicate with a manufacturer all the details and components necessary to turn a product into a finished product. It also serves as a "product contract" between a person and the manufacturer throughout the sampling and production process. Typically, designers include dimensions, materials, sketches, size specifications, colors, illustrations, hardware, grading, labels/tags, construction information, and legends. The tech pack is essential for quality control and also ensures that the submitted samples meet ones specifications exactly and that one does not waste time and money reproducing them if they are incorrect.

Here's how textile designers use tech packs:

Prepare production ready art and tech packs in PLM.
Managed tech packs and spec sheets; communicated designs and exact specifications to specialty manufacturing teams and oversaw development of product.

11. Strike Offs

Here's how textile designers use strike offs:

Approve strike offs, research the current trends.
Evaluated lab dips, strike offs, knit-downs, handlooms and sales samples.

12. Embroidery

Here's how textile designers use embroidery:

Designed original engineered embroidery layouts applied to all the garments.
Traveled to distribution center to work on personalized products and develop new print and embroidery techniques.

13. Concept Boards

Here's how textile designers use concept boards:

Researched design and color trends, created concept boards and developed new colors.
Produced and presented design concept boards.

14. Sketch

Here's how textile designers use sketch:

Guided sketchers how to develop the sketch.
Prepared flat sketch de-Kaunas, Lithuania signs and product specification.

15. Trade Shows

Here's how textile designers use trade shows:

Traveled extensively throughout the US and internationally, connecting with department store heads, visiting trade shows and performing market researching.
Researched trends and product through fashion services, shopping stores and trade shows extensively throughout Europe, China and America.

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What skills help Textile Designers find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What textile designer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Gina Pisut Ph.D.

Chair, Department of Human Sciences

In addition to being well versed in computer design software for Apparel Design and Fashion Merchandising graduates, students need to truly be open to learning, have strong communication skills, and be able to work well in a team. The most common feedback we get from fashion and retail companies is students must be willing to do the work, be open to learning and doing different aspects of the business, and be adaptable and able to pivot when changes come within this fast-paced industry.

What technical skills for a textile designer stand out to employers?

Elaine Grullón

Lecturer, University of Rhode Island

Some technical skills that stand out to employers is the ability to combine the manual with the technology, in other words combining the old and new media. The rise of new media has caused a need to understand social media but not just the practical but the functional side which includes data analysis. You have to be able to answer questions related to why this trend or if not favorable how we can make improvements. It is all about adaptability and responding to a change in need or even want. Also having knowledge on using computer aided programs such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator or even InDesign, it is important to be able to perform technical writing. Marketing is all about catching the consumers attention in that first moment. Without an understanding of design, and the principles and elements that go alongside the purpose of great marketing will be defeated.

What soft skills should all textile designers possess?

Lorrie Ivas

Full-time Faculty, Santa Monica College

Love the actual definition of "soft skills": personal attributes that enable someone to interact effectively and harmoniously with other people.

What is often overlooked is communicating professionally via email, text, phone, and/or personal interactions. Basic business etiquette is very important. Fashion is a creative field, yet it is also a business ... and professionalism always stands out... Attention to detail will set one apart from the others. So many resumes come in with spelling errors! It is often just one page! Not proofing once - and then proofing again, and then having someone else's fresh eyes proof it one more time - shows a lack of attention to detail.

Design is a collaborative proposition, so the ability to share ideas with a team is vital.

And again, knowledge of social media platforms, where professional and creative communication/writing skills are as important as the photographs, represents someone who will be a valuable addition to a design firm.

What hard/technical skills are most important for textile designers?

Lorrie Ivas

Full-time Faculty, Santa Monica College

The ability to communicate your design concepts to the team (or future boss/interviewer) is vital. Hand and digital fashion sketching and illustration skills are necessary at every step. Scholarships, competitions, or internships often request a sample portfolio, so it doesn't go any further if the illustrations don't "wow" the judging viewer. One can sew/tailor beautifully, but knowing how to "show" that skillset to the judge or employer is vital - i.e., photographing the step-by-step process with close-up details of tailoring skills and presenting it digitally... will win. One may not show actual garments... so knowing how to "sell" your skills is crucial.

Do you want to know more?

List of textile designer skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a textile designer resume and required skills for a textile designer to have include:

Textile Design
CAD
Graphic Design
Apparel
Trend Research
Product Development
Design Trends
Adobe Photoshop
Market Trends
Tech Packs
Strike Offs
Embroidery
Concept Boards
Sketch
Trade Shows
Mac

Fine Arts
Color Ways
Repeat Patterns
Presentation Boards
Design Studio
Design Concepts
Line Sheets
Market Research
Soft Goods
Color Separations
Nedgraphics
Mood Boards
Overseas Vendors
Art Direction
Lab Dips
Production Samples

Color Trends
Trend Boards
Trend Forecasting
Color Stories
NYC
Production Process
Seasonal Trends
Screen Print
Custom Design
Engraving
Trend Direction
Aided Design
Promotional Materials
Color Direction

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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