Garment Manufacturing and Apparel Production
Production flow
Apparel production runs from design and pattern making through grading, marker making, spreading, cutting, sewing, finishing and packing. Understand the difference between block patterns and production patterns, and why grain line and notch placement matter for fit and shade.
Cutting room economics
Marker efficiency, fabric utilisation and fabric consumption per garment determine cost. Spreading lays must respect shade bands and fabric direction. Cutting methods include straight knife, band knife and die cutting; CAD/CAM improves marker efficiency.
Sewing and quality
Stitch classes (lockstitch 301, chainstitch 401, overlock 504) and seam types (superimposed, lapped, bound) are examinable. Defects such as skipped stitches, puckering and needle damage are traced to tension, needle size and thread balance. Line balancing and work study control productivity.
Traps
- Confusing marker efficiency with fabric utilisation (utilisation includes end loss).
- Mixing stitch class numbers with seam types.
- Forgetting that shade bands must not be split within a garment.
Worked example
A marker of area 8 m² is laid on fabric 1.6 m wide and 6 m long (9.6 m²). Marker efficiency = 8/9.6 = 83.3%. If end loss is 2%, fabric utilisation ≈ 81.7%.