The garment production process, where clothes are made step-by-step in an organized way. The steps include laying out the fabric, marking the patterns, cutting the fabric, sewing the pieces together, checking for mistakes, finishing the details, ironing, and putting the clothes in packaging. This process changes raw materials into finished products. If the preparation of materials is not done properly, it will be hard to keep the industry running.
Making clothes involves many steps, starting with an idea or design concept (tech pack) and ending with a finished product. The process includes designing the product, choosing and inspecting the fabric, making patterns, grading the sizes, marking the fabric, cutting it, bundling it, sewing the pieces together, pressing or folding it, finishing the details, dyeing and washing it, checking for quality control, and more! Let’s start garment production process in detail step-by-step below…
1. Collecting Fabrics
Clothes factories get big rolls of fabric from other countries that are put on cardboard or plastic tubes or in piles or bags. These rolls of fabric usually come in big metal shipping containers and are taken off with a special lifting machine called a forklift. The factories usually have a place where they store the fabric before making the clothes.
2. Relaxing Fabric
“Relaxing” means letting the fabric rest and shrink before making clothes. This is important because the fabric is pulled tight during the different steps of making the fabric, like weaving and dyeing. The relaxing process helps the fabric shrink so that it won’t shrink as much when people wear the clothes.
Clothesmakers relax the fabric either by hand or by using a machine. Relaxing by hand means rolling the fabric on a special machine and pulling it through a machine to release the tension in the fabric. Relaxing by the machine does the same thing, but it’s done automatically.
Clothesmakers also check the quality of the fabric during the relaxing process to make sure it meets their standards. They check the fabric by shining light through it to see if there are any problems like inconsistent colors or holes. If the fabric doesn’t meet their standards, they send it back to the company that manufactures the fabric.
3. Form Layout, Spreading & Cutting
Once the fabric is relaxed, it’s moved to the area where the clothes will be cut out. First, the fabric is cut into pieces that are the same size, and then it’s spread out either by hand or using a computer. They do this to:
(1) Check for any problems in the fabric
(2) Make sure the fabric is stretched the right amount when they cut it
(3) Line up the pieces of fabric so they’re in the right place when they’re sewn together
The number of pieces of fabric they cut at once depends on the type of fabric, how they spread it out, the cutting tools they’re using, and how many clothes they need to make.
Then they put the pattern for the clothes on top of the fabric. They can do this by hand or using a computer. Finally, they cut the fabric into the shapes of the clothes using cutting tools that are either operated by hand or by a computer.
4. Laying
When making clothes, it’s important to lay out the paper pattern on the fabric before cutting it. Here are some tips for laying out the pattern:
(1) Start by laying out the bigger pieces of the pattern, then add the smaller pieces.
(2) Laying out the pattern carefully can save a lot of money because a small amount of fabric saved on each layer can add up to a lot when they cut many layers at once.
(3) The length of the garment should be in line with the edge of the fabric. The pattern should be placed on the fabric so it follows the grain of the fabric. This will help the clothes fit better and last longer.
(4) Parts that need to be placed on the fold should be lined up exactly with the fold.
(5) Always lay out the pattern on the wrong side of the fabric.
(6) When laying out the pattern, think about the design of the fabric. Make sure the design runs in the same direction throughout the garment.
5. Marking
This is a method of planning the placement of pattern pieces onto a large sheet of paper, which can be done by hand or by computer. The paper used is called marker paper and has symbols on it to show how to position the components of the garment according to the fabric’s grain lines. The markers are then attached to the fabric using pins, staples, or adhesive paper.
The marker planning process provides details of how the fabric should be laid out, including the number of layers and any additional materials needed like lining, trims, or pockets. The supervisors in charge of marker planning allocate the cutting orders to various teams in the cutting room.
6. Cutting
Cutting fabric into garments is the most important job in the cutting room. Once the fabric is cut, it’s difficult to fix errors. The first thing to consider is whether there is enough fabric to keep production running smoothly and deliver on time. Problems in the cutting room can affect how quickly the sewing room can work. Assuming everything is good to go, the next step is to give the sewing room a schedule of what to sew. All the cutting is done with straight knife machines.
7. Screen Printing & Embroidery
Embroidery and screen printing are special processes that only happen if the customer asks for them. So, usually, they are done outside the garment factory.
Embroidery is when a machine puts designs or patterns on clothes, like logos. Many machines can work together to do this quickly. Customers can ask for embroidery to make their clothes look unique.
Screen printing is when designs are painted onto fabric using machines and dryers. It happens by pushing ink through a stencil onto the fabric. Sometimes it’s done by machines, and sometimes people do it by hand. Customers may want screen printing to add designs or graphics to their clothes or to replace tags with information about the brand and size.
8. Sewing
Once the fabric has been cut, it is sorted and bundled according to size, color, and quantity determined by the sewing room. The garments are then sewn together in an assembly line. Each sewing machine operator is responsible for sewing a specific part of the garment, such as the collar or sleeve. The garment is passed down the line until it is complete. Quality control is performed at the end of the line to check for any manufacturing defects. If necessary, the garment will be reworked or mended at designated sewing stations. This is a labor-intensive process that transforms cut fabric into finished designer garments.
9. Checking
Sometimes, even if a factory has good quality control, some garments may still not be good enough. To make sure the garments are good, it’s important to:
(1) Set a quality standard to measure how good the garments should be.
(2) Check the clothes to see if they meet the quality standard.
(3) Fix any problems if they don’t meet the quality standard.
(4) It’s best to detect problems before they happen so that the clothes are made well, and this saves time and money.
10. Laundry & Spot Cleaning
People who check clothes for quality not only look for mistakes made during the making of the clothes, but they also look for any stains or marks on the clothes caused during the process of cutting and sewing. If there are any spots, these are marked and sent to a special area where these are cleaned with steam, hot water, or special chemicals.
Sometimes, customers ask for the clothes to be washed after they are made. The factories that make the clothes often have their own laundry rooms or they use other places to wash the clothes. The washing machines used to clean the clothes are very advanced and can clean clothes that are very dirty. However, this step is only necessary if the clothes are dirty.
11. Fusing and Pressing
When making clothes, there are two important processes called fusing and pressing. Fusing makes the clothes strong and pressing makes them look nice.
Once the clothes are completely made, they are taken to the ironing section to be pressed. Each worker has their own iron and ironing board, which are like the ones people use at home. However, the irons at the factory have steam supplied by a boiler and the steam is controlled with foot pedals. The ironing boards have a special system that sucks up the steam and gets rid of it outside the factory.
12. Shipping After Packaging
When clothes are finished being made, they are folded and put into packaging that the customer wants. The clothes might also be put into plastic bags to keep them clean and nice during shipping. The bags can be put on by hand or by a machine. Finally, the clothes are put into boxes and sent to the stores where they will be sold.
If you want to run the above-mentioned garment production process properly, you can contact Beautiful Connection Group. The Beautiful Connection Group, located in the United States, specializes in the production of women’s clothing. They offer a wide range of dress types, including tops, t-shirts, leggings, skirts, and more. This manufacturer is particularly advantageous for new clothing business owners since they do not impose high minimum purchase amounts; their minimum purchase amount is only 50. The company provides the flexibility to customize any dress design and choose any fabric. However, please check their website for more detail.