Senior Industrial Sewing Machinist / Textiles Lead

Quest Employment Ltd.; Huntingdon; On-site; GBP 33,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

Quest Employment Ltd. in Huntingdon is seeking a Senior Industrial Sewing Machinist / Textiles Lead. This stand-alone, hands-on position requires you to sew garments from patterns, manage materials, and ensure quality across textiles production.

You will work with technical teams, adjust patterns, and maintain equipment. The role is office-based, Monday to Friday, offering a clear ownership of the textiles function.

Qualifications

• This role requires strong practical sewing experience in industrial textiles.
• Proven ability to sew garments directly and work from patterns and tech specs.
• Experience with pattern adjustments and garment construction is essential.

Responsibilities

• Sew and produce garments and textile products yourself.
• Work from patterns, drawings, specifications, and technical instructions.
• Review samples and adjust for better fit, finish, and construction.
• Create and amend patterns as needed.
• Write and update work instructions and technical drawing packs.
• Manage your own workload and production priorities.
• Ensure finished products meet quality standards.
• Inspect and repair finished or returned items when required.
• Control stock, fabrics, materials, and replenishment.
• Maintain machinery and ensure equipment is serviceable.
• Support prototypes, development work and new product ideas.
• Collaborate with engineering and other technical teams.
• Identify improvements in materials, processes and manufacturing methods.

Skills

Practical sewing

Industrial sewing

Textiles experience

Pattern-based drafting

Quality inspection

Materials management

Machinery maintenance

Attention to detail

Communication

Reading drawings (engineer)

Education

NVQ Level 3 in textiles

Apprenticeship background

Strong equivalent practical experience

Tools

Word

Excel

Job description

Senior Industrial Sewing Machinist / Textiles Lead

Huntingdon | £33,000 - £35,000 per annum | Monday to Friday | Office Based

The Role

This is not a "stand back and manage it" role.

It is a stand-alone, hands-on textiles position where you will take ownership of the function and physically make the garments yourself.

You will be sewing, working from patterns and technical information, checking quality, managing materials and keeping the whole textiles operation running properly day to day.

There is responsibility here, absolutely. But there is also a sewing machine.

So if you enjoy being practical, like knowing exactly what is going on in your area and would rather get stuck in than spend your day forwarding emails about it, this should appeal.

The original role covers production delivery, planning, quality and close working with technical teams. 25 Textiles Manager JD

What You’ll Be Doing

• Sewing and producing garments and textile products yourself.

• Working from patterns, drawing packs, specifications and technical instructions.

• Reviewing samples and making adjustments to improve fit, finish and construction.

• Creating and amending patterns where needed.

• Writing and updating work instructions and technical drawing packs.

• Managing your own workload and production priorities.

• Making sure finished products meet the required quality standards.

• Inspecting and repairing finished or returned items where necessary.

• Keeping control of stock, fabrics, materials and replenishment.

• Looking after the machinery and making sure equipment is maintained and serviceable.

• Supporting prototypes, development work and new product ideas.

• Working closely with engineering and other technical teams.

• Spotting ways to improve materials, processes and manufacturing methods instead of accepting "we've always done it that way" as the final answer. 25 Textiles Manager JD

What You’ll Need

• Strong practical sewing experience within an industrial, manufacturing or technical textiles environment.

• Confidence using industrial sewing machinery.

• Around 3-5 years’ experience within textiles would be ideal. 25 Textiles Manager JD

• An NVQ Level 3 in a textiles-related discipline, apprenticeship background or strong equivalent practical experience. 25 Textiles Manager JD

• Good knowledge of fabrics, raw materials and garment construction.

• The ability to work from patterns, drawings and technical specifications.

• Experience making adjustments to patterns, fit or construction methods.

• Good organisation because you will largely be managing your own area and priorities.

• An eye for detail. A wonky seam is still a wonky seam, however nicely we describe it.

• Confidence using basic systems including Word and Excel.

• Good communication skills and the confidence to work with technical colleagues and senior stakeholders. 25 Textiles Manager JD

• Experience reading engineering drawings would be useful. 25 Textiles Manager JD

What You Might Not Like

This is a stand-alone role, so there is nowhere to hide and nobody else in the department to quietly pass the fiddly bits to.

You will be sewing the garments yourself, managing the materials, checking quality, dealing with the paperwork and keeping the area organised.

If you are looking for a traditional management role where other people do the making and you mainly supervise, this is not that.

It is also a structured manufacturing environment, so quality procedures, health & safety and 5S working practices matter. 25 Textiles Manager JD

What To Do Next

If you are an experienced sewing machinist or textiles professional who enjoys having real ownership of your work, this could be a cracking opportunity.

You do not need a fancy job title behind you. What matters more is that you can genuinely sew, understand garment construction, work accurately and are comfortable taking responsibility for the whole textiles function.

THIS ROLE IS BEING MANAGED BY BEA UKAYE AT OUR PETERBOROUGH BRANCH