Textiles
| Location: | Northwest corner of the main building |
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| Shop Colors: | |
| Shop Captain(s): | Chad Marks |
| Shop Email: | textiles@tinkermill.org |
| Slack Channel(s): | #textiles-shop and #sewing-embroidery |
| Shop Usage Fees: |
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Contents
General
The Textiles Shop at TinkerMill is one of the best sewing and fabric arts maker space shops in Colorado. We provide equipment, hand tools, and basic supplies to support home sewing, industrial sewing, machine embroidery, upholstery, clothing care, and general fabric and textiles crafts. We have a clean, comfortable, dedicated room specifically for textiles work. The centerpiece of our shop is a large, 8' x 5' cutting table with gridlines and self-healing cutting surface. We have a variety of home sewing machines, sergers, embroidery machines, and industrial sewing machines. The full list of shop equipment is listed in the Equipment section below.
Our shop is open to TinkerMill members and non-members alike. Non-members are welcome to use the shop but must be accompanied by a member. To ensure safety and proper equipment usage, the computerized embroidery machines, industrial sewing machines, and the heat press require training before use. The home sewing machines, sergers, and all hand tools are available for anyone to use at any time. The shop is open to TinkerMill members 24x7 and to non-members whenever accompanied by a member.
Donations
Shops at TinkerMill are mostly self funded. We use donations from shop usage, materials fees, and class fees to keep the shop running. If you use the Textiles Shop please make a donation for time spent and materials used. Cash donations can be placed in the blue donation box by the door or can be made electronically via the payment kiosk at the front office. See the Info Box in the top right corner for suggested donation amounts.
Equipment
Here is a list of some of the equipment, tools, and supplies in the Textiles Shop:
- seamless 8'x5' cutting table with measurement grid and self-healing mat
- a variety of measuring tools, including tailor's tape measures, straight edges, rulers of various sizes, and templates
- a variety of cutting tools, including basic sewing scissors, dressmaker shears, pinking shears, and cutting wheels
- two straight stitch Industrial Sewing Machines with walking presser feet and attachments
- a variety of home sewing machines from Singer, Brother, and Husqvarna / Viking with attachments
- a Brother SE-400 sewing machine configured for machine embroidery
- a BabyLock EMP-6 six-needle large hoop embroidery machine with accessories (on loan)
- two sergers
- a selection of needles, thread, scrap fabric, and notions
- a professional grommet and snap press, and hand-held rivet and snap presses
- a few leather-working tools, such as an awl, hand stitcher, chisels and mallet
- a heat press
- a hot knife for cutting poly webbing
- electric carving knives and an insulation saw for carving foam
- hand tools for automotive and furniture upholstery
- a Surebonder 9600B pneumatic staple gun
- a clothes iron, ironing board, press cloth, and other supplies for clothing care
- a Windows 10 PC loaded with various types of productivity software, graphic design software, and specialized embroidery software
We are always open to suggestions for other tools and supplies that would help to make the shop more useful. If you have something that you would like to donate, please contact a shop captain or the TinkerMill executive director first to discuss your donation. Please do not leave anything in the shop as a donation without prior approval as it creates administrative overhead for our volunteer shop captains.
Activities
The Textiles Shop can be used for a variety of activities, including tracing and cutting patterns; hand and machine sewing; garment construction; hand and machine embroidery; knitting and crocheting; clothing care and mending; basic upholstery; and basic leather working. The shop is also a generally fun place to hang out, talk to other members, and get creative!
Basic Sewing
We have several home sewing machines and basic sewing tools and supplies available for anyone to use. Types of home sewing machines include the Brother SE-400 and the Brother XL-2600i. For more information, see the Basic Sewing Machine page.
In addition to regular sewing machines, we also have two sergers available for use. For more information, see the sergers page.
Industrial Sewing
The Textiles Shop has two industrial sewing machines available for use: a Juki DNU-1541S and a Kingmax GC1541S. Both machines are straight stitch only with walking feet. They are capable of sewing leather and other materials that would not be suitable for a home sewing machine. Each can sew through 1/2" of fabric! We have accessory feet for zippers, rolled hems, and welting / piping. Both of the sewing machines have been fitted with variable speed motors which make it much easier for new users to learn.
Because these sewing machines can be dangerous if not used properly, users are required to take a training class before using the industrial sewing machines. Members with previous experience on these types of sewing machines can take a "fast pass" certification test to pass out of the training class, but must be able to demonstrate their skill and must still pay a certification fee.
For more information, see the Industrial Sewing Machines page.
Machine Embroidery
One of the most popular activities in the Textiles Shop is machine embroidery. We have four machines with embroidery capabilities: two Brother SE-400s, a BabyLock EMP-6, and a Husqvarna Viking 1. All of these machines require certification training before use. Certification can be obtained by taking a class or by arranging for "fast pass" certification with an instructor.
We have all of the supplies needed to use these machines, including hoops, a wide variety of stabilizers, and a huge selection of embroidery thread. Users are asked to make a small donation to cover the cost of any materials used. Of course, you are welcome to bring your own supplies!
We also have available several commercial and open source digitizing software applications so that you can create your own embroidery patterns or modify existing ones. Examples of software applications that we make available include Embrilliance, Brother PE-DESIGN NEXT, and SewArt. For information, see the Embroidery Digitizing page.
