CLYDEBANK Museum has been chosen to receive thousands of pounds in funding for an exhibition on the sewing industry following a successful bid to Museum Galleries Scotland.

The West Dunbartonshire Council-run museum holds the largest collection of its kind in Europe with sewing machines from 130 different manufacturers and it also tells the story of the Singer factory at Clydebank.

The collection is regarded as “nationally significant” by the Scottish Government, which allowed the museum to apply for the grant, which split the total £335,000 sum of the Recognition fund between the five chosen finalists.

Plans to use the funds to raise the profile of the venue are already under way as the council is planning a major exhibition that will tell the story of the sewing machine and the funding from will also allow the appointment of a specialist curator who will help them to deliver the project.

The exhibition will also describe the global social and economic impact of the Singer sewing machine.

The US-owned plant, topped by the iconic Singer clock tower, employed 15,866 people at its peak.

Collection highlights include machines that date from the 1850s and the very last sewing machine to be manufactured at Singer’s Clydebank factory before it closed in 1980.

Joanne Orr, CEO of Museums Galleries Scotland, said: “The Recognition Fund increases opportunities for collections which have been identified as being the most important in Scotland to develop how people experience the objects they care for.

“Many of the projects involve new appointments and the fund is bringing much-needed capacity to help deliver projects that will bring far reaching and long-lasting benefits for the museums, their visitors and their communities.”

Councillor Michelle McGinty, the council’s convener for Educational Services, said: “This award is fantastic and will enable us to deliver a comprehensive programme of activities, workshops and research as part of our A Stitch in Time project. At its centre-piece the project will see us showcase our amazing collection of sewing machines, a collection that has been recognised as being of national significance, in a major new exhibition at Clydebank Museum and Art Gallery. Expertly restored textiles will also form a key part of the project, many of which have not been on public display before. We are immensely proud of our rich heritage in West Dunbartonshire, in which the Singer sewing machine factory played a key part for more than 80 years.

“It will be wonderful to be able to build upon our existing work to tell the story of the sewing machine, highlighting not just the local significance but also its global role in transforming manufacturing and enabling the ready-made clothing boom of the early 20th century.”

Other awards are going to Glasgow Museums, Perth and Kinross Council, Royal Scottish Academy and Glasgow Women’s Library.