Specialty Sewing Lab

PLEASE REPORT BROKEN MACHINES USING THE QR CODE LOCATED ON EVERY MACHINE TABLE. Reports are anonymous and take seconds to complete. Only machines that are reported are repaired.

**Fall 2024 UPDATES**

• Our Tool Checkout/Store has moved! We are now located in room 520 (near the elevators on the 5th floor of the UC!)

• New Steamers and Sleeve Boards have been fastened to every iron station in the UC sewing rooms! You may remove the water tank on the steamers to fill them (bring your own distilled water or utilize the sink in room 509 outside of class times)

**Specialty Sewing Lab Resource UPDATES**

• Machine Consultations are now LIVE! Sign up for a 15-20min individualized Technician Consultation to discuss all of your project-based machine questions. Learn more below and click the link to sign up!

• Group Machine Orientations HAVE BEEN EXTENDED until October 17th for select machines: Skiver, Sonobond, Fur, Walking Foot Leather Suite, Post Machine & Blindstitch! Sign up today!

_______________________________________________________________________________________

***RESOURCE UPDATES:***

• The Sewing Store & Tool Checkout Center have been moved to a new location in room UC520!!!
• Lab tours now available to faculty ONLY via links below!!!
• *UPDATE* The Free Shelf is now located in Open Studio UC506:

The Specialty Sewing Lab has acquired 5 Cylindrical Coverstitch Machines! You may utilize them in rooms: 405, 418, 506, 515, & 518 (for orientations only)

*The Free Shelf  in UC506 is stocked with donated materials & scraps. Please stop by during open building hours to browse our selection. Additionally, we are always accepting donations of materials you no longer need! *Please note: Supplies are never guaranteed and are on a first-come first-serve basis.

• Visit our Tool Checkout Menu for a list of available rental tools. (not currently available)
• TOOL CHECKOUT MENU

• Buy limited sewing supplies online and pick them up from the desk outside of 504 with your order number
• ONLINE SEWING SUPPLY STORE

_______________________________________________________________________

UC Sewing Construction Rooms:

• 3rd Floor: 300
• 4th Floor: 400, 402, 405, 406, 412, 417, 418, 428, 429/430, 431
• 5th Floor: 500, 504, 506, 509, 510, 511, 515, 516
• Open Studios: 429/430 & 506 (Student workspace)
• Labs: 518 – Specialty Sewing Lab, 517 – Shoe Lab *enrolled shoe students only (closed during summer)
• Tool Checkout/Sewing Store Pickup: 520

_______________________________________________________________________

NOTE TO FACULTY:

For information regarding demo materials, reporting broken machines, and general sewing room protocols, please refer to the Parsons BFA “Fall 2024 Making Center Information” email.

• To request rolling garment racks for your class, please fill out this google form below at least 5 days in advance:

ROLLING RACK REQUEST FORM

• To schedule a 20-30 minute sewing lab tour for your class during the first 4 weeks of the semester, please sign up using the calendar below:

FACULTY LAB TOURS Calendar (Will return Spring 2025!)

_______________________________________________________________________

RESOURCE OVERVIEW:

The Specialty Sewing Lab offers a wide variety of machine orientations & resources. Please scroll down the page for more information about the following resources and how to access them:

• Mandatory Canvas Orientations
• Technician Machine Consultations (Live! Sign up today!)
• Juki Plainstitch Canvas Orientation hands-on quiz
• Specialty Sewing Lab Machine Orientations (Group) (Live! Extended until October 17th! Sign up now!)
• Featured Equipment & Threading Diagrams
• Tutorials – Thread Buying Guide, Needle Guide, Ergonomic Cutting Techniques, etc.

Mandatory Canvas orientations must be completed prior to accessing any sewing tools & additional Canvas orientations, such as the Juki Plainstitch Canvas Orientation. Canvas Orientations are available for all users. 

Please complete the following orientations in order:

• 1. Making Center General Orientation – Learn how to access Making Center shops & labs
• 2. UC Sewing General Orientation – Access and protocols for sewing classrooms, labs, and resources

Note: The Making Center General Orientation must be completed to gain access to all Making Center labs or shop specific orientations

In-Person Machine Consultations: Now Live! 

Consultations are offered as 15-20 minute in-person time slots for students to discuss their project needs as they relate to the requested machinery in the sewing lab with a technician. If you have machine specific questions, we recommend making a consultation.

Examples of “machine specific questions” are:

• My samples look wonky, can you help me find the correction tensions settings for my project’s fabric and thread combination?  
• I’ve brought photos of my desired machine technique, could you tell me which machine I can use to achieve this, or the closest thing to it?

Examples of “non-machine specific questions” are:

• Can you teach me how to use the Plainstitch/overlock/etc. machine? 
  • No. Orientations ran for the first several weeks of the semester. Please consult the threading diagrams and your faculty member for machine instruction. Orientations will resume beginning of fall 2023 semester.
• Can you help me with my pattern? or How do I sew a sleeve on?
  • No. Pattern making & construction questions should be directed towards your faculty.

To schedule your consultation with a technician, please follow these steps:

1.  Click on the Libcal Consultation Appointment Calendar button below to view available slots and choose a time.
2. Please register and fill out the corresponding questions about your project.
3. Arrive at the Sewing Lab (UC 518) 5 minutes before appointment time. *Please come prepared with your project and all necessary materials. 

** If you need to reschedule or change your appointment, please cancel the appointment on Libcal. Technicians set aside their time to assist you, so please be respectful of everyone’s schedule.

UC Juki Plainstitch Orientation  is available on Canvas

The Juki Plainstitch Orientation is comprised of a Canvas portion and an OPTIONAL hands-on quiz that is completed in-person. After passing both sections, you’ll receive a sticker on your ID that grants access to checking out industrial machine kits.

Steps:

1. Complete canvas portion before scheduling hands-on quiz

2. Use calendar link at the end of the canvas orientation to schedule in-person hands-on quiz

3. Arrive during your scheduled time at our Tool Checkout/Store location (UC520) to take your quiz 

4. Complete orientation & receive the passing code and a sticker for your ID

_______________________________________________________________________

Specialty Machine Group Orientations:  Now Live!!! EXTENDED TIL OCT 17th for select machines only!

Estimated time: 45 minutes – 1hr

• Group orientations are hosted in-person on a recurring weekly basis for the first 6 weeks of the semester ONLY. Use the calendar link below to sign up for an orientation slot and arrive at the Specialty Sewing Lab (UC518) at least 5 minutes early. *If you are unable to attend, please cancel your slot on Libcal so that another student may sign up*

Available Orientations:

• Plainstitch Hands-On Quiz : (2 students per session) ONLY for students who have already completed the Canvas Orientation.
• Overedge (Serger Purl) : (4 students per session) We’ll review threading and machine use on the Overlock, Serger, Purl (very similar machines), suited for finishing edges and seaming knit materials.
• Coverstitch : (4 students per session) Industrial machine typically used for hemming knit materials, frequently seen on the hem of t-shirts.
• Walking Foot (Leather sewing machine suite) : (6 students per session) We’ll review the industrial Walking Foot Flatbed & Cylinder suited to stitching leather & heavyweight materials.
• Sonobond : (4 students per session) Industrial machine using ultrasonic waves (sounds waves/vibrations) to bond/weld materials with thermoplastic content.
• Leather Skiver : (5 students per session) Industrial machine that uses a rotating knife to skive/thin the edge of a piece of leather (reduces bulk at seams).
• Blind Stitch : (4 students per session) :
• 3-Step : (4 students per session) :
• Double Needle Plainstitch : (4 students per session)
• Zig Zag Machine : (4 students per session)
• Fur Machine – Model A & B : (4 students per session)
• Post Machine : (5 students per session)

Sign up for an orientation slot on our Orientation Calendar using the red button below.

Don’t see the machine you want to learn? Missed the 6 week orientation period? Sign up for the: Waitlist Here

The Specialty Sewing Lab is equipped with 25+ machines for garment finishing and special materials construction. It operates as an experimentation space for industrial machines, as well as a space where you can check-out tools and attend scheduled machine orientations. Please refer to the “Featured Equipment” tab below for a list of our machines and their accompanying resources; including things like threading diagrams & machine guides.

Technicians oversee the labs operations of tool check out, scheduled machine orientations, scheduled 30 minute consultations, the sewing store, machine maintenance, lab tours  and machine reservations for faculty led demonstrations. For all other requests please email sewingtech@newschool.edu

Additionally, the “Guides” tab below will help you work ergonomically, no matter where you are working this semester, and give you some helpful tools to support the best sewing outcomes with the least amount of stress.

Many industrial sewing machines require previous training and orientations to ensure safe usage to users & equipment. To get a better understanding of how the Specialty Sewing Lab operates, please complete the “UC Sewing” Orientation

No consumables (fabric, thread, extra needles) are provided. Please prepare yourself for your project by visiting  the thread buying guide.

Limited free materials such as donated hand tools, notions, and small cuts of fabric are available in the Specialty Sewing lab during open hours.