Garment production turns fabric and trims into finished garments: planning, cutting, sewing, finishing and packing. The guides here focus on the calculations and decisions that control cost and quality on the factory floor.
Fabric is usually the largest cost in a garment, so fabric consumption, marker making and fabric spreading come first. For sewing, start with stitch types and sewing machine types, then see how needles, threads and stitch density affect seam quality. Before bulk starts, a good pre-production meeting prevents many problems.
The marker decides how much fabric an order uses. How markers are planned, what limits efficiency (grain, direction, matching, width), how to calculate marker efficiency, and how to improve it without hurting quality.
Spreading lays fabric in plies ready for cutting. The spreading mode, tension, alignment, splicing and shade control decide whether cut panels are accurate and matching. A practical guide for cutting rooms.
The body block method for calculating fabric consumption of a basic T-shirt in kg per dozen, with a worked example, how to handle neck rib, size ratios and wastage, and how to check the estimate against a marker.
How to choose industrial sewing needles: needle systems, metric and Singer sizes, point types for knits and wovens, matching the needle to the thread, and how the wrong needle causes skipped stitches, needle cuts and thread breaks.
How to choose sewing thread for garments: core-spun, spun polyester, filament and textured threads, ticket numbers and sizes, matching thread to fabric, seam and needle, and the thread-related causes of seam failures.
Stitches per inch (SPI) or per centimeter affects seam strength, appearance, puckering and thread use. How to count stitch density correctly, typical ranges by fabric and seam, and what goes wrong when it is too high or too low.
The PP meeting brings merchandising, quality, production, cutting and industrial engineering together before bulk starts. Who attends, what to check, a practical agenda and the records to keep so problems are solved before they reach the line.
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How to calculate fabric consumption for knit garments (by weight, from panel areas and GSM) and woven garments (by length, from the marker), with worked examples, wastage allowances and the mistakes that cause fabric shortages.
Spreading lays fabric in plies ready for cutting. The spreading mode, tension, alignment, splicing and shade control decide whether cut panels are accurate and matching. A practical guide for cutting rooms.
A guide to the industrial sewing machines found on garment lines: lockstitch, overlock, flatlock, chainstitch, bartack, buttonhole, button sew, kansai and automatic units. What each does, where it is used and what to check.
The panel method for knit fabric consumption: list every panel, calculate area and weight by fabric, add allowances, and total by kg per dozen. Worked example for a hoodie with body fabric and rib.
The marker decides how much fabric an order uses. How markers are planned, what limits efficiency (grain, direction, matching, width), how to calculate marker efficiency, and how to improve it without hurting quality.
The PP meeting brings merchandising, quality, production, cutting and industrial engineering together before bulk starts. Who attends, what to check, a practical agenda and the records to keep so problems are solved before they reach the line.
The garment finishing section step by step: a process flow chart from sewing output to shipment, what happens at each stage, a practical layout for the finishing floor, manpower planning with a worked example, quality control points and the mistakes that cause failed final inspections.
How garment production planning works: capacity in minutes, loading orders onto lines, learning curves, material readiness and critical path, with a simple example and the checks that keep a plan realistic.
Fabric is the largest cost in most garments, and the cutting room decides how much of it becomes garments. Where fabric is lost, how to measure it, and practical ways to cut waste through markers, spreading, end loss control and roll planning.
How to choose industrial sewing needles: needle systems, metric and Singer sizes, point types for knits and wovens, matching the needle to the thread, and how the wrong needle causes skipped stitches, needle cuts and thread breaks.
How to choose sewing thread for garments: core-spun, spun polyester, filament and textured threads, ticket numbers and sizes, matching thread to fabric, seam and needle, and the thread-related causes of seam failures.
Stitches per inch (SPI) or per centimeter affects seam strength, appearance, puckering and thread use. How to count stitch density correctly, typical ranges by fabric and seam, and what goes wrong when it is too high or too low.
The stitch classes used in garment making, how each is formed, where it is used and its strengths and weaknesses. Based on the ISO 4915 stitch classification, with the common stitch numbers you will see on spec sheets.
The body block method for calculating fabric consumption of a basic T-shirt in kg per dozen, with a worked example, how to handle neck rib, size ratios and wastage, and how to check the estimate against a marker.
A walk through the cutting room from fabric receipt to bundles issued to sewing: inspection, relaxation, planning, spreading, cutting, numbering, fusing and audit, with the controls and measures that keep it accurate.
How to calculate sewing thread consumption per garment using seam lengths and measured thread-to-seam ratios for each stitch type, then convert it into cones per order by color and ticket.