Print, dye, weave, stitch and digital embroidery

This hub is responsible for the production of textile outcomes across print, weave, and multi-media specialisms.

This Hub is responsible for the production of textile outcomes, incorporating state-of-the-art screen printing, weave, stitch, and embroidery facilities.

It is a School-wide facility with emphasis on striving for textile outcomes that are technically proficient, creative, and imaginative, incorporating both traditional analogue process with emerging digital technologies. Hub 2 is staffed by an award-winning, highly skilled team, who support research activities and collaborations with industry.

Print room and dye lab

This is a highly creative environment which provides printing and dye facilities for a wide range of fabrics and yarns.

These areas are equipped to produce registered repeated lengths for interiors and fashion, plus small to large scale samples and wallpapers. It is a centre of technical excellence in the production of textiles.

Workshops are delivered by experienced staff from whom students can acquire a high level of technical ability using a wide range of textile processes. Teaching covers colour matching, mixing dye recipes for print pastes, dying a range of fabrics and yarn, and the application of surface qualities to fabric including Devore, flock, and foil.

Print tables facilitating a maximum run of 12m of printed fabric
Printing screens for fashion, furnishing, repeat printing, registration, and wallpapers
UV exposure units and baking cabinets
Drying cabinets
Heat press
Wash-off booths with power jets
Spin dryer
Winch-dyeing lengths of fabric
Gas and Bunsen burners for dyeing fabrics and yarns
Comprehensive dye stock for printing, dyeing, and hand painting a wide range of fabrics, yarns, and materials.

Stitch rooms

Our stitch area offers an outstanding selection of equipment in an experimental environment for students and staff to sample and develop progressive textile techniques and processes.

Three rooms facilitate many types of fabric cutting and stitching processes. From embroidery, fabric manipulation, 3D constructed items and knitted fabrics, to hand and machine-generated outputs, hand crochet, machine stitches of various types, and the pressing and cutting of fabrics. The spaces are open to all Creative Art students and can also be used to produce textiles products and prototype garment outcomes. Equipment includes, but is not limited to:

Bernina domestic sewing machines
Industrial lockstitches
Heavy-duty industrial lockstitch
Industrial and domestic overlockers
Industrial roll hemmer
Industrial digital embroidery machines
Wilcom software-licensed PCs for digital embroidery
Embellishing machines
Binding machine
Domestic knitting machines (fine standard and heavy gauge)
Commercial steam irons with vacuum boards
Large cutting tables
Tailors dummies
Various specialist hand-technique equipment.

Weave workshop and jacquard loom

The weave workshop provides Creative Arts students with access to woven textiles facilities. This workshop is one of the largest of its kind in the UK and is home to several different types of hand loom.

The workshop has 2 large winding machines, which enable students to prepare hand dyed yarns for weaving. Hand dyeing takes place in the adjacent workshop.

The School also owns an electronic jacquard loom, which can be used to produce highly complex designs. The Eltex Dataweave rapier loom is an electronic industrial loom, which can be used to rapidly produce intricate designs in the form of large samples or lengths of fabric. The computer software used to create these digital Jacquard designs is ScotWeave.