MN Textiles

Overview

Welcome to the Textiles Area. We have a pretty good selection of machines.

• Our Consew 206RB-4 walking foot industrial sewing machine is good for sewing heavy materials such as leather and canvas. We swapped out the clutch motor for a servo, so the machine is now much easier to use. Most home machines come with servo motors—just much smaller than the one on the Consew.

• There is a Bablylock Lauren 4-thread serger.

• We have eight Bernette b35 standard sewing machines.

• We have a professional grade Barudan embroidery machine on long-term loan.

• You can use our vinyl cutter to make signs or window decals or designs to press onto T-shirts and tote bags with our heat press.

• Our Brother GT-541 Direct To Fabric printer allows you to put any graphic on a flat piece of material. After 30 seconds in the heat press the image is permanent. Make t-shirts, bandanas, your own material for sewing projects.

• Our dye sublimation printer prints ink onto special paper that can then be transferred to fabric or objects with heat.

Material and Thread

We've provided tub of fabric from Fabmo (Look under the tables in the clean room) and there are variety of thread about in labeled drawers.

Tools

To support your project we have basic sewing notions - measuring/cutting mats, work tables, and a variety of scissors, rotary cutters, etc.

A steam iron and ironing board are available for pressing and finishing your pieces.

There are bobbins available for the sewing machines, please insure you use the right one for the right machine. All MN bobbins stay at MN. If you want to use your own thread, then you'll probably want to invest in a few bobbins. They can be found very inexpensively.

Safety

For any sewing machine:

1. Keep your eye on the needle while sewing.
2. Keep your fingers away from all moving parts. Do not touch handwheel, thread takeup levers, needles etc.
3. Do not let anything obstruct the moving parts: foot pedals, levers, needles, etc.
4. Use care when pushing or pulling fabric when sewing so you do not deflect the needle and cause it to break. Broken needles fly unpredictably and may travel long distances.
5. Remove pins before the machine sews over them. They blunt or dull the needle and can causing timing problems.
6. Make sure the needle isn't moving, is at it's highest point, and the take-up lever is up before you remove fabric to avoid needle deflection.
7. Avoid loose clothing or long sleeves that might get caught in the work.
8. If a needle becomes bent or breaks, report it.
9. Turn off the power switch when:
   1. Operation is complete
   2. Replacing or removing the needle or presser foot
   3. Leaving the machine unattended
10. Turn off the power switch and unplug the cord for these situations:
    1. Power failure during use
    2. Servicing the machine

All general MN Safety policies of course apply to use of this tool, as do safety policies for the containing shop area and safety practices prescribed in our classes and/or in detailed tool documentation, regardless of whether they're repeated here.

Sewing

Bobbins: Important Info

Neither the bobbin case nor the needles from the Consew (walking foot) fit any other machine. Likewise, neither the bobbin case nor the needles from the long arm fit any other machine. The long arm uses 16/100 needles. The easiest way to identify the long arm bobbin case vs. Consew (they both take size M bobbins) is that with the needle port (large opening at the top of the bobbin case) at the very top, the latching lever on the long arm is horizontal. On the Consew, it slopes down to the right about 10-15 degrees.

Industrial Sewing Machine

Consew 206RB-4 Walking Foot Industrial Sewing Machine

Standard Sewing Machines

Bernette b35 Sewing Machines (8)

Sergers

• Baby Lock BL450 Serger Sewing Machine - no training required, but you should know how to use a serger

• Juki MO-2416 5 Thread Safety Stitch Industrial Sewing Machine - Equipment Training class needed to use this serger

Embroidery Machine

Barudan BEVT Elite Pro II 15-Thread Embroidery Machine

Quilter

Long Arm Quilter

Printing onto fabric or other items

Vinyl Printing and Cutting

Good for strong graphic images with just a few colors (or one). Plastic can be applied permanently to many types of surfaces. Certain material can be applied permanently to fabric with the heat press.

Summa DC4 54" Vinyl Printer & Cutter

US Cutter MH871-MK2 30" Vinyl Cutter

Direct To Fabric Printer

Print any image on fabric. Works best with light colored fabric; our printer does not print white.

Brother GT-541 Garment Printer

Dye Sublimation Printer

Prints vivid images onto many different surfaces, including fabric and ceramic.

Sawgrass SG1000 Sublimation Printer

Heat Press

FancierStudio QX-A1 15" x 15" Heat Press

Steam Iron

Sunbeam Steam Master Iron

Leatherworking

There are some basic leather tools, anvils, rivets, snaps, and a great grommet setter.

There a couple of tubs of leather scraps, ask around if you can't find them.