Clothing technologists work on the design, development and production of textile and apparel products. They carry out a range of technical, investigative and quality control work to ensure the end product (from clothing to household up to industrial textiles). They perform to specifications, improve production efficiency and quality while liaising with those involved in the production process. They liaise with designers, adapt designs to suit production methods, make and size pre-production garments, source fabrics and accessories, undertake quality evaluations of materials, check the quality of the final product, and consider ecological aspects.
No competences in this bucket.
Traditional and advanced apparel manufacturing technologies. Technologies including processes, machinery, etc. in order to compile and design pattern requirements, contribute to product costing and finalise assembly sequence and quality assurance criteria.
Costumes and the cultural traditions around clothing.
Manufacturing processes in wearing apparel and made-up textiles. Different technologies and machinery involved in the manufacturing processes.
The processes used to fabricate wearing apparel and the different technologies and machinery involved in the manufacturing processes.
Standard sizing systems for clothing developed by different countries. Differences among the systems and standards of different countries, the development of the systems according to the evolution of the shape of the human body and their usage in the clothing industry.
Processes used for changing the properties of textile materials. This includes operating, monitoring and maintaining textile finishing machines.
The requirements, rules and applications of health and safety measures in the textile industry.
No competences in this bucket.
Alter wearing apparel repairing or adjusting it to the clients/manufacturing specifications. Perform altering by hand or using equipment.
Planning and monitoring textile production to achieve control on behalf of quality, productivity and delivery time.
Create patterns for garments using pattern making softwares or by hand from sketches provided by fashion designers or product requirements. Create patterns for different sizes, styles, and components of the garments.
Develop and coordinate recycling programs; collect and process recyclable materials in order to reduce waste.
Distinguish accessories in order to determine differences among them. Evaluate accessories based on their characteristics and their application in wearing apparel manufacturing.
Distinguish fabrics in order to determine differences among them. Evaluate fabrics based on their characteristics and their application in wearing apparel manufacturing.
Apply the specific product to provide information about materials, accessories, seams, artwork and label. Distinguish and apply the different steps to elaborate a detailed tech pack.
Inspect and test products, parts and materials for conformity with specifications and standards. Discard or reject the ones not meeting the specifications.
Read and understand technical texts that provide information on how to perform a task, usually explained in steps.
Manage briefs from clients for the manufacturing of wearing apparel. Collect customers' demands and prepare them into specifications for the production.
Organize, manage, and maintain all aspects of production, including product design, production planning, and production control systems (for example by the use of the computer program WFM).
Manufacture either mass-product or bespoke wearing apparels of various types, assembling and joining together wearing apparel components using processes such as sewing, gluing, bonding. Assemble wearing apparel components using stitches, seams such as collars, sleeves, top fronts, top backs, pockets.
Calculate and establish operative times in goods manufacturing using various method and techniques. Control the production timings, comparing with estimates.
Operate and monitor machines which make miscellaneous wearing apparel articles. Operate and monitor machines that fold cloth into measured length, and measure size of pieces.
Using textile technique to produce hand-made products, such as carpets, tapestry, embroidery, lace, silk screen printing, wearing apparel, etc.
Examine an organisation's planning details of production, their expected output units, quality, quantity, cost, time available and labour requirements. Provide suggestions in order to improve products, service quality and reduce costs.
Adhere to standards of hygiene and safety established by respective authorities.
Coordinate manufacturing activities based on production strategies, policies and plans. Study details of the planning such as expected quality of the products, quantities, cost, and labour required to foresee any action needed. Adjust processes and resources to minimise costs.
Ensure that the equipment required for operations is regularly checked for faults, that routine maintenance tasks are performed, and that repairs are scheduled and performed in the case of damage or flaws.
Evaluating stitching, construction, attachments, fasteners, embellishments, shading within the garment; evaluating pattern continuity-, matching; evaluating tapes and linings.
Make technical drawings of wearing apparel, leather goods and footwear including both technical and engineering drawings. Use them to communicate or to convey design ideas and manufacturing details to pattern makers, technologists, toolmakers, and equipment producers or to other machine operators for sampling and production.
Operate electronic or computerised control panels to monitor and optimise processes, and to control process start-up and shut-downs.
Performs process control to wearing apparel products in order to assure mass production in an uninterrupted production manner. Control processes to ensure that processes are predictable, stable and consistent.
Prepare early models or prototypes in order to test concepts and replicability possibilities. Create prototypes to assess for pre-production tests.
Compose technical customer reports understandable for people without technical background.
No competences in this bucket.
The principles and usage of technologies for 3D body scanning used to capture the size and shape of the human body.
The methods of buttonholing using specialised buttonholing machines in order to make buttonholes to wearing apparel.
Softwares of computer aided design for garment manufacturing which allow create 2 or 3 dimensional drawings.
The characteristics and properties of different textile and fabric materials. These include strength, flexibility, elasticity, softness, durability, heat insulation, low weight, water absorbency/repellence, dyeability and resistance to chemicals. Moreover, the influence of chemical composition and molecular arrangement of yarn and fibre properties and fabric structure on the physical properties of textile fabrics; the different fibre types; the materials used in different processes and the effect on materials as they are processed.
New developments and trends in the world of fashion.
No competences in this bucket.
Analyse 3D scanned data for the development of prototypes, of avatars, for the creation of size charts, the garment pattern modification, alteration and manipulation, and for testing fit.
Evaluate the use and possible recycling of raw materials in the whole product life cycle. Consider applicable regulations, such as the European Commission's Circular Economy Policy Package.
Bundle fabrics and place several cut components together in a single package. Join related products and items together. Sort the cut fabrics and add them with the accessories required for assembling. Care for the adequate transportation to the sewing lines.
Cut fabrics and other wearing apparel materials considering measures, placement of the fabrics in the cutting table in multiple layers, and making the most efficient usage of the fabric avoiding waste. Cut fabrics by hand, or using electric knives, or other cutting tools depending on the fabric. Use computerised systems or automatic cutting machines.
Decorate wearing apparels and made up textile articles by hand or using machines. Decorate textile articles with ornaments, braided cords, golden yarns, soutaches, jewellery, and cristals.
Embroider fabrics of different proveniences or finished articles by using embroidery machines or by hand.
Examine sample garments; alter designs of sample garments.
Visit textile showrooms, read fashion magazines, keep up-to-date with trends and changes in the world of fabrics and designs.
Manufacture personal protective equipment made out of textiles following standards and norms, and depending on the application of the product.
Investigate ideas and spot opportunities to improve the collection, process and recycling of waste materials.
Operate basic or specialised sewing machines whether domestic or industrial ones, sewing pieces of fabric, vinyl or leather in order to manufacture or repair wearing apparels, making sure the threads are selected according to specifications.