From fabric roll to packed garment
A garment factory receives finished fabric on rolls and turns it into clothing in four broad steps: spreading and cutting, sewing, pressing and finishing touches, and packing. The upstream mills that make and dye the fabric are covered elsewhere on this site; this article stays on the cut-and-sew end.
Garment production machines are mostly smaller and more varied than the large continuous lines in a fabric mill. A factory may have hundreds of individual stations, and what it can make is decided more by the mix of machines and the skill of the operators than by any single big machine.
The cutting room
Before cutting, fabric is usually inspected and sometimes relaxed (left to rest so it does not shrink or distort later). Planners then arrange the pattern pieces on a long paper layout called a marker, aiming to waste as little fabric as possible.
Typical cutting room equipment includes:
- Spreading tables and spreading machines. Fabric is laid in many layers, one over another, with even tension and aligned edges. Spreading machines travel along the table, unrolling fabric as they go. Smaller shops may spread by hand.
- Cutting tools. Straight knives and band knives are common for cutting stacks by hand-guided methods. Computer-controlled cutters follow a digital marker and can cut stacks or single layers. Some operations use laser or die cutting for particular products.
- Support equipment. Vacuum tables hold layers in place during automated cutting, and labeling or numbering tools keep the cut pieces grouped so shades do not get mixed within a garment.
The quality of cutting matters for everything that follows. Misaligned layers or pieces from different dye lots cause problems that are hard to fix later.
The sewing floor
Sewing is where most of the labor and most of the machine count sit. A single garment can involve many separate operations, and different operations use different machines. Common types include:
- Lockstitch machines for general seams and topstitching.
- Overlock (serger) machines that trim and finish raw edges, widely used on knitted garments.
- Chainstitch and coverstitch machines for stretchy seams and hems.
- Special-purpose machines such as buttonhole, button-sewing, bar-tack and zigzag machines.
Many of these machines are built for fast, repeated work, and the kind of machine used for each task is discussed in more detail in our piece on industrial sewing machines. Attachments such as folders, guides and automatic thread trimmers reduce handling time and are often more valuable than raw machine speed.
Pressing
Pressing is done between sewing steps and at the end. Pressing tables with steam irons shape seams and collars, while larger presses and forming equipment handle whole garments or sections. Steam and vacuum come from the plant utilities, so a boiler and supply piping are part of the garment factory as well. Pressing is about shape and appearance, and it needs trained operators because heat and steam can damage some fabrics.
How a sewing line is arranged
Layout determines how work flows and where bottlenecks form. The usual arrangements are:
- Bundle system. Cut pieces are grouped into bundles that travel between operators who each do one task. It is flexible and common, but work waiting in bundles can lengthen the time a garment spends in the factory.
- Progressive or straight line. Machines are placed in the order of operations, often with a conveyor or hanger system moving work along. This suits long runs of a single style.
- Cell or modular system. A small team handles a whole garment or a large section, with operators who can run more than one machine. It copes better with small orders and style changes, though it needs multi-skilled workers.
Which one works best depends on order sizes, product complexity and workforce skills. A factory making long runs of a basic item may lean toward a straight line, while one with frequent style changes may prefer cells. Ideas from lean manufacturing principles, such as limiting work in progress and shortening changeovers, are often applied on sewing floors.
Quality checks and maintenance
Garments are checked at several points, including end of line, where seams, measurements and stains are examined. Needle control is taken seriously in most plants because a broken needle fragment can be a safety problem for the consumer, so many factories keep records of needles issued and returned. Machines need regular cleaning of lint, oiling according to the manual and routine replacement of worn parts, in line with a sensible preventive maintenance plan.
Safety
Sewing and cutting machines have moving needles, blades and hot pressing surfaces. Guards should stay in place, operators should be trained, and servicing should follow the manufacturer’s instructions and lockout and tagout style procedures. Local workplace regulations apply. This is general information rather than engineering advice.