Weaver and Hand-loom Textile Artist
Impact: Preserving the ancient craft of hand weaving and creating original woven textiles of exceptional quality and artistic merit
Create handwoven textiles on traditional and contemporary looms for fashion, interior design, and fine art applications, combining technical weaving knowledge with artistic vision to produce woven works of exceptional quality and originality. Design and weave textiles on floor looms, table looms, and tapestry looms; develop original weave structures and colour palettes; create commissions for fashion designers and interior designers; teach weaving; and develop a body of woven work. Develop expertise in a specific weaving domain such as tapestry weaving, Harris Tweed weaving, or Jacquard weaving.
What the day looks like
- People interaction
- Minimal
- Team vs solo
- 15% Team / 85% Solo
- Client facing
- Rarely
- Impact visibility
- High
- Travel
- 10-20% travel to exhibitions and commissions
- Schedule flexibility
- Very Flexible
- Remote work
- Hybrid
- Typical work hours
- 30-50 hours/week
- Stress level
- Low
At a glance
- Median salary
- $28,000
- Entry-level
- $14,000 - $22,000
- Senior
- $60,000+
- Growth by 2033
- 5% (handwoven textile market growing; sustainable fashion driving demand for natural fibre textiles)
- Demand
- Stable
- Freelance potential
- High
- Salary growth potential
- Very High -- 100-300% growth from weaving assistant to established textile artist
- Typical student debt
- $0 - $25,000
Skills you'll use
Hard skills
- Floor loom and table loom weaving (plain weave
- twill
- satin
- complex structures)
- Tapestry weaving (Gobelin
- Aubusson
- Navajo)
- Yarn and fibre knowledge (wool
- silk
- cotton
- linen
- synthetic)
- Weave structure design (threading
- tie-up
- treadling)
- Colour theory and dyeing for weavers
- Jacquard and dobby loom operation
Soft skills
- Creativity
- Technical knowledge
- Patience
- Attention to detail
- Design sensibility
Technical complexity: High
How to get there
- Minimum education
- Certificate or Vocational Training
- Licensing
- No
- Years to mid-career
- 5-8 years
- Years to senior
- 10-20 years
- Career switching
- Hard
Where this career leads
How people arrive here
- Textile Designer
- Fine Artist
Where you can go from here
- Textile Artist
- Weaving Teacher
Typical progression
- Weaving Student
- Weaver
- Established Weaver
- Textile Artist
- Master Weaver
Future outlook
- Automation probability
- 5% -- handwoven textiles require human creativity and craftsmanship
- AI disruption risk
- Very Low
- Demand trend
- Stable
How people feel about it
- Overall satisfaction
- 9/10
- Meaning
- 9.5/10
- Work-life balance
- 8.5/10
- Prestige
- 7.5/10
- Social perception
- High