Facilities & Resources

With a footprint of over 15,000 square feet, the department's facilities are the largest in the country. Within the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Fiber and Material Studies department's equipment and facilities include: 

• Three TC-2 Digital Jacquard Looms
• Thirty-seven floor looms [4 to 16 harness]
• Computerized AVL dobby loom
• Tapestry, backstrap, and table looms
• Tufting room and tufting gun
• 2D and sculptural paper making facilities with a Hollander beater, Japanese vat, hydraulic press, and large format dryer
• Fully equipped print studio with print tables, darkroom, and large format exposure unit
• Large format heat press
• Dye sublimation printer
• Fully equipped dye studio for natural and chemical dyes
• Eight single burner commercial gas stoves for natural dyes and protein fibers (acid) dyes
• Batik wax station
• Large format Graphtec plotter cutter
• Brother ten needle-embroidery Machine
• Computerized embroidery machines
• A1 and Tin Lizzie 18 long arm quilters
• Tin Lizzie free motion sewing machines
• Portable sewing machines
• Industrial sewing machines, sergers, and walking foot machines
• Knitting machines
• Spinning wheels, drop spindles
• Computer lab
• Feltmaking equipment
• Mixed-media studio spaces
• Smart lecture/critique spaces
• Advanced undergraduate studio spaces
• Individual graduate studios
• Subject librarian at the Flaxman Library
• Textile Resource Center