Two members of the design team at Robert Mackie of Scotland, have completed specialist training on Stoll Create software, supported by UKFT Young Textile Technician Fund.

Samantha Davidson (32), Design and Product Co-Ordinator, and Cara Anderson (26), Designer, took part in the course at Stoll Knit-Design Centre in Leicester.

Established in 1845, Robert Mackie is a renowned manufacturer of luxury knitted accessories, based in Stewarton, Scotland. The mill supplies both the UK and international markets with high-quality soft accessories and custom designs.

The training focused on Stoll Create, a design software that allows users to produce visually realistic CADs (Computer Aided Designs) for customer presentations and internal product development.

Used alongside the mill’s existing M1programme system, the software enables quicker technical modifications, reduced sample production and shorter lead times.

‘‘Stoll Create allows us to create visually realistic CADs to present to customers, which helps reduce the number of samples we need,’’ said Samantha.

‘‘It can also be used alongside our current M1 Programme, which would allow us to make technical changes based on customer feedback. That saves time for our technicians and reduces overall sample lead times.’’ 

  She continued:

‘‘I think it would be useful when creating Jacquards, especially fair isle, as it would mean we wouldn’t have to CAD the pattern out on Illustrator, for the technicians to recreate it on the M1 software. I also think it would be beneficial if a customer has requested a new yarn, as we would be able to CAD their choice of yarn in the correct texture, count and colour of yarn.’’

The Managing Director from Robert Mackie explained that the new skill will support the design team and benefit the wider business:

‘‘As a whole, the Create programme would help reduce the amount of sampling, especially when only a single colour change is required, which would reduce our sample lead time and free up more space for production.’’

‘‘Learning to use Create has given the Design team another creative way to work, which will only enhance our current and future collections. It has also given us skills that we can use to help

Cara, who works across the Mackie Collection and customer client projects, found the training valuable from both a creative and technical perspective:

‘‘Stoll Create means we can design realistic technical CADs that we can share with customers. It also means that we can more easily apply technical tweaks, which will reduce our technician’s development time,’’ she said.

She noted that the tool is particularly helpful for designing textured patterns and jacquards, which can now be easily created and visualised as swatches.

‘‘We think it would be useful for creating jacquards to show customer colour layouts and to reduce creating a jacquard twice by us on Adobe, and then for the technicians to recreate it on the M1 software. We also think it would be useful for designing Mackie developments, and textured patterns, as you can quickly CAD this and convert it into a swatch.  This was also beneficial as it gave me a better understanding from a technical point.’’

The Young Textile Technician Fund will cover 50% of the costs of in-depth training for young textile technicians, thanks to the generous support of The Worshipful Company of Weavers, The Worshipful Company of Clothworkers and The Worshipful Company of Drapers.

The Young Textile Technician Fund is now open to businesses applying to train textile technicians under the age of 35. To find out more, email katie.robinson@ukft.org

Want to learn more about the Young Textile Technician Fund? Click on the link below:

Young Textile Technician Fund