Textiles Area

General Information

MakeICT's Textiles area is in the front part of the Makerspace, and is intended for making textiles. It will have several home sewing machines, small looms, irons, padded work table for ironing and pinning, a fold down murphy cutting board, mannequins, a full-length 3-way mirror, a serger, a commercial sewing machine, and more.

This area is currently accepting donations in the form of fabric, thread, machine needles, sewing/fabric scissors/shears, large lint rollers, distilled water, sewing notions (such as zippers, buttons, etc), adjustable dress forms & mannequins, pins, bobbins, hand sewing needles, yarn, tape measures. etc.

Jess Bechtelheimer is the Benevolent Dictator over studio arts.

Access Policy

Those who wish to access the textile room must read and follow the Textile Room Guidelines posted on the Wiki. (The guidelines will likely be updated and evolve over time. Users are expected to review and comply with the current guidelines.) Use of the equipment requires authorization by one of the approved authorizers listed on the wiki.

Textile Room Guidelines

Guidelines will be updated periodically at the discretion of the Textile BD.

The Room

• The Textile Room is a CLEAN SPACE. No food, drinks, or any other messy/dirty/liquidy/greasy substances including yourself are allowed in the room.

In particular, do not place anything besides the clothes iron, clean laundered fabric, pins and notions on the padded work table. If something has been on the floor or anywhere dirty, it should not be on the work surface.

• Put things back where you got them (or put them in their proper place if someone else happened to leave them out).
• Clean up after yourself. (Lint roll the table, sweep, etc)
• Children under 8 are not permitted in the room.

Ironing:

• The padded table is for ironing and pinning projects together. Do not cut fabric on the padded surface.
• Always use the distilled water provided in the Textile Room to fill the irons and spray bottles.
• When using steam you may want to use a barrier fabric to prevent color transfer from the table fabric to your project.

Cutting:

• Do not cut fabric on the padded table. To cut fabric, lower the Murphy Cutting Board so it lays flat on top of the padded work table and only cut on the cutting board itself.
• Textile scissors and shears have been labeled as “Fabric Only” and are only to be used to cut the following Acceptable Fabrics. Do not cut material from the Unacceptable Fabrics list below. If the material you would like to cut is not on either list, ask the Area Lead if it is safe.

Acceptable Fabrics: are woven or felted up to ⅛” thick. Some examples are cotton, linen, wool, cashmere, polyester, rayon/viscose, nylon, spandex, silk, leather...

Unacceptable Fabrics: Some examples are burlap, metallic, kevlar, fur, faux fur, or anything above 12 oz per square yard… (Fur and faux fur are cut from the back side with a straight edge knife or ripped on grain.) 

Sewing:

• All our current machines are previously loved and have some quirks. We will try our best to keep information on each machine on the wiki. If you learn something about a machine that is not listed, please let us know.
• If a machine is broken, place a sticky note on the machine and email the Area Lead asap so we can work to get it up and running again.
• Machine needles are available on the honor system for $1 each. Machines will typically be found without a needle. If you take or break one, please deposit the appropriate amount in the Needle Fund jar.
• Long pile furs such as rabbit require a furrier machine which we do not possess at this time.
• If using a fusible web such as Heat and Bond please use silicone on the machine needle to prevent build up while sewing.

Equipment List

Picture	What	Manufacturer	Model	Status	Authorizers
	White 954 Sewing Machine	White	954	Working	Jess Bechtelheimer Malissa Long
	Kenmore Sewing Machine	Kenmore	10690	Not Working	--
	De Lux Sewing Machine	New Home	De Lux	Working-ish	Jess Bechtelheimer Malissa Long
	Singer 3223 Sewing Machine	Singer	3223	Working	Jess Bechtelheimer Malissa Long
	Padded Work Table	Geoff & Jess	001	Good Condition	NA - Read Guidelines
	Iron	??	??	Working	NA - Read Guidelines
	Iron	??	??	Working	NA - Read Guidelines
	Murphy Cutting Board	Geoff & Jess	001	Not yet installed	NA - Read Guidelines