Art universities today have become increasingly research-oriented. Lecturers and professors in art and design are demanded to conduct academic research and to maintain their profession creative practice, while keeping fulltime contact teaching with students. Although this demand seems to create a struggle to academic staff, it tends to benefit their teaching and students’ learning. The aim of this paper is to shed light on the role of research and professional practice in teaching textile design, demonstrating ways in which the tutor’s own research and creative practice may be used to support the teaching and learning of a design subject. The paper reflects on the author’s own experience as a lecturer in textile design at a university in the UK with the support of literature on contemporary visual arts education. Based on this critical reflection, the author’s research and professional textile practice have proven to be useful for teaching at both BA and MA levels. The tutor’s knowledge gained from research and know-how accumulated from real-world professional practice can help students to understand the issues and the culture of their practice in a creative discipline. The approach of incorporating research and professional practice into teaching is recommended for the teaching of textile design in an art university in Estonia, where tutors’ research and professional practice are still separately operated – the context in which the author is currently working.