We are super excited about the addition of textiles to the Make Salt Lake arsenal. It’s been a long time coming, but early in 2019 we were able to get together the funds and equipment to make it happen. We now have dedicated space for all of your cosplay, costuming, t-shirt making, sewing, vinyl and leather working needs!
The textiles lab has one of our most diverse collections of tools. You may not think of yourself as a seamstress or cobbler, but there is still something for you here. Whether its t-shirt making, bumper stickers, belts, upholstery, or costumes that excites you, the Textiles Lab is always ready for a new project and has something for everyone.
The main area of the Textiles lab is set aside for sewing and costuming projects. In addition to our four awesome sewing machines made by Singer. We also have two machines that are meant for heavy duty work. They are perfect for working with thin leathers, canvas, denim, or any hearty material. For those with a little more experience, we also have a serger and a fully decked out embroidery machine, not to mention several irons and 4 t-shirt heat presses for applying heat-press vinyl.
Make belts, purses, wallets, sandals, sheaths and more!
One of the things that sets MSL apart from other maker’s spaces is the diversity of its tool collection. The leather bench is an excellent example of this. With tons of hand tools, cutters, stamps, snap and button setters, and punches, the leather bench is well set up for anyone looking to get started with leather work.
Our Embroidery Machine is a Husquvarna Viking. It’s a high quality machine but has a learning curve to it. We are happy to announce that we recently purchased Hatch Embroidery Software for this particular tool, making it much easier for people to get started on it. We offer a regular class to teach the basics and get certified, but once you’re squared away, you can start making a thousand awesome projects!
Make T-shirts, bumper stickers, logos, posters, decals, labels and more!
The Textiles Lab also has a fine selection of CNC driven vinyl cutters. A vinyl cutter is a small machine that can cut material using a thin bladed knife, following a pattern from a vector file. Essentially, you can design an image using a program like Illustrator and Inkscape, and then have the vinyl cutter cut that image or text out of different materials including heat-press vinyl, sticker vinyl, cloth, paper, and many other thin materials. Most of our machines were donated generously by Cricut, a local Utah company. In the Textiles Lab alone we have 2 of the Cricut Maker and an Air 2, both high quality tools. The Maker is the most industrial and highest quality of Cricut’s vinyl cutters. We also have 1 large format vinyl cutter that can do up to 24” wide, perfect for larger logos or car decals.
There is no certification for the textiles lab. A tutorial on the Embroidery Machine can be found through our YouTube Channel. We also have several resources for people interested in diving into the world of textiles and sewing. In some cases we have members willing to come show you the ropes, but we also rely heavily on YouTube and other online resources to learn and teach ourselves. Once you are a member you will be able to use the Textiles Lab right away and get started making!