Due to the nature of higher education (HE) in the United Kingdom (UK) educators often operate under pressure. This can be connected to requirements to undertake research and produce outputs, linked to funding awarded to HE institutions (HEIs). Approaches to research that utilise professional and or creative practice are adopted and formulated, prompting use of terms such as ‘practice-led’ and ‘practice-based’. Variation in opinion exists regarding research and creative practice by academic staff and within HEIs. The positive impact that educator research and or creative practice bring to the educational environment, learning and teaching has been recognised. Textile design exists on the periphery of academic discourse regarding design research and education. This paper contributes to literature relating to these disciplines. The focus is on examination of textile designer educator engagement with research and creative practice. Investigation is carried out to ascertain if and how research informs textile design education. The positive impact that operating in the educational environment can have upon undertaking research is described. The paper concludes with discussion surrounding the key findings and proposes considerations for enhancement of the textile design research-teaching nexus and visibility of textile design research to the wider community.