Design Job Descriptions — Letter K

Two design job descriptions begin with the letter K, and they are the two halves of the knitted world: the Knit Fabric Designer, who designs knitted cloth itself for mills, and the Knitwear Designer, who designs finished knitted garments such as sweaters. Both think in loops; they differ by where their product stops — at the fabric buyer's desk, or on the wearer's back.

More Design Job Descriptions by Letter:

Cloth First, Then Garment

The knit fabric designer selects yarns, gauges and stitch structures — jersey, rib, interlock, jacquard — and samples fabrics on the mill's machines until weight, stretch, recovery and finish perform as designed, writing the specification that lets the mill reproduce the cloth in bulk. The knitwear designer starts where that work ends, choosing yarns and stitches for garments: swatching cables, colourwork and textures, specifying fully-fashioned shaping or cut-and-sew construction, and fitting knitted samples whose tension and measurements must hold across a whole production. A change of stitch alters both designers' products at once, which is why the two crafts understand each other so well.

How to Use This Letter

Compare the two descriptions by their customer: the fabric designer sells cloth to garment makers, and is judged on adoption and bulk reproducibility; the knitwear designer sells garments to wearers, and is judged on fit, hand feel and sell-through. The links below are carried from the original K index page: the job category directory, employment agencies and search engines, the fashion directory and industry news. Students deciding between textile and garment routes will find the K pair the clearest illustration in this directory of how one technology supports two different design careers.