Spreading And Cutting Of Apparel Products

A presentation by: Vishakha Chopra & Abhishek Kumar

The order of processes in a garment manufacturing company:

CUT ORDER PLANNING SPREADING OF FABRIC AMD MARKING
CUTTING
TICKETING
BUNDLING
INSPECTION
REPLACEMENT OF CUT PARTS (IF DEFECTIVE)
CUT PARTS SEND TO STITCHING LINE

Cut Order Planning

The planning department or the marker making dept. issues a cutting order plan t
o the cutting department for commencing cutting for any particular order. The cu
t order plan states the size wise quantity to be cut in that style and the fabri
c required for the total quantity mentioned. The cutting In-charge makes a daily
cutting plan for the work order quantity and does the resource allocation. The
cut order plan also gives an estimate of the fabric that should be taken from th
e fabric store.

Spreading And marking

While spreading th fabric many aspects have to be kept in mind like lay i.e. sty
le, fabric width, no. of plies, marker way, consumption for that lay etc. After
the spreading is done, the lay should be checked by the QC and a format called C
utting Room Inspection Report is generated. After the lay is cleared by the QC,
it goes for next operation i.e. marking. The marking could be done manually by p
atterns or paper markercould be fixed on top ply to make it ready for manual cut
ting.

 Cutting is the process of separating the garment parts from the body of the fabr
ic lay. When cutting multiple layers of fabric, several issues of accuracy and q
uality must be addressed. During the cutting process, the accuracy of the cut pa
rts in relation to the original pattern is subject to the stability of the fabri
c, the movement of the fabric during cutting, the vertical accuracy of the cutti
ng edge as it cuts through the cloth, the quality of the cut edge (clean cut wit
hout fraying, flagging or singing), and the accurate inclusion of sewing marks s
uch as notches in the cut edge, and drill
CUTTING.

Ticketing And Bundling

Once the lay is cut the cut parts are numbered, all parts that makes one complet
e garments are given same number so as to avoid any mismatching of shade. After
numbering the pieces are bundled into a group of certain pieces. The size of the
bundle is decided by the cutting-room in charge, in discussion with the sewing
floor in charge.

Inspection
Inspection on the bundled garments is done by the cuttingroom quality control ma
nager who checks the bundles for bundle ticket descriptions, correct sequence of
ply numbers, presence of all parts etc. as mentioned in the format. The inspect
ion also checks for the pieces w.r.t. the shade matching, notch positioning, etc
. The cut bundles are then issued to the sewing line with details of the bundles
issued like bundle no, size, no of pieces etc.

Symmetry and Asymmetry of garments

Garments can either be Symmetric, or Asymmetric. This determination is based on
the shapes of the patterns for the garment. As defined, a Garment is Symmetric i
f, when dividing the garment by visualizing an imaginary vertical line drawn fro
m the center of the neck, through the navel (belly button),down to the bottom ed
ge of the garment, (the Vertical Centerline of the body) all the patterns on the
left side of the body are exactly the same but mirror image to all the patterns
on the right side of the body.

Efficiency increases for symmetric garments

Symmetric garments cost half as much to cut since only a half set of patterns ne
ed to be cut out of the fabric as long as the fabric is spread on the cutting ta
ble where alternating layers of fabric are face up and face down. Then every pai
r of plies laying face-to-face become the left and right pattern for each part o
f the garment. The marker for a half set of patterns is called a Closed Marker or
a closed on open marker

Asymmetric Garments
Asymmetric garments are defined as having left and right patterns that are diffe
rent shapes or different parts. Asymmetric garments require all the patterns, bo
th left and right be cut together as they differ. This means that all the patter
ns must be placed in the marker, and all the patterns must be cut individually,
This is known as a Open Marker for flat, Open and rolled fabric.

Symmetry and Asymmetry of fabric

Fabric Nap Direction is defined as it relates to the direction that the nap (sur
face) is viewed, or the direction that the fibres in the surface naturally lay.
For printed fabrics, if the pattern in the fabric all appears to point in one di
rection, the fabric has a directional nap direction Most solid color plain weave
fabrics have no visible Nap Direction and are therefore Symmetric. A Symmetric
fabric can turned 180 degrees in the same plane (looking at the face of the fabr
ic) and there is NO visible difference in appearance.

4 types of fabrics
Double Symmetrical fabric

4 types of fabrics
Double asymmetrical fabric

4 types of fabrics
lenghtwise symmetrical fabric

4 types of fabrics
widthwise symmetrical fabric

Fabric Put up:

Fabrics are prepared at the mill in a variety of ways for production. The way in
which it is rolled or folded when dyeing and finishing is completed is referred
to as put-up. Some methods of put-up are used to protect the fabric, others are s
trictly for the convenience of spreading and handling.

Fabric is flat open with the face to the inside of the roll
Flat, open and rolled
a. Flat, open and rolled is the most common preparation. It is utilized for most
woven fabrics prepared for factory production. The fabric is rolled on a hard c
ardboard tube (or plastic tube) where the selvedges are at opposite ends of the
tube. The fabric is usually rolled with the technical face to the inside of the
roll. Roll lengths on each tube can reach 1,200 yards on a single roll, but are
more often in the 150 yard range, depending on the weight of the roll.

Folded and Rolled

b. Folded and Rolled is a put-up that allows the utilization of a single center
fold in the length of the goods. In this preparation, the fabric selvedges are s
uperimposed one over the other. This preparation is utilized with very wide fabr
ics that cannot be processed by a manufacturer who does not have wide enough cut
ting tables. Folded and rolled fabric orients the technical face of the fabric i
nside the folded surfaces, so they are not visible on the surface of the spread.

Tubular Folded & Book Fold

c. Tubular Folded goods are prepared by rolling fabrics manufacturers on weft kn
itting machines. These machines knit in a circular motion, creating a tube of fa
bric. This put-up results in fabric on a roll with two folds, one at each end of
the tube. This preparation results in the technical face of the fabric oriented
together. For every other layer, the face is not visible from the surface of th
e spread.
d. Book Fold is the most relaxed put up. Fabric is laid back and forth in a cart
on. Book Fold is used for delicate fabrics to minimize the stress on the fabric.

MARKER TYPES:

1. Mixed marker
A marker in which all the pattern pieces of a style are utilized. There is no re
striction on where they can be placed, as long as they are placed on-grain.

2. Open marker
A marker in which all the pattern pieces of a style are utilized as pairs.(all t
he left and right pattern pieces). The Open marker patterns are placed in pairs
(left and right of the same size) to ensure that if there are shade differences
in the length of the goods, parts of the garment that are seen side by side will
appear with the same shade. Open marker is used on fabric that is spread open a
nd face up on the table. For most woven fabrics, and flat open knits, open marke
rs offer the second best utilization of fabric.

3. Closed marker
Closed marker is used under special circumstances. As only one half of the patte
rn set is used, the fabric spread on the table is folded in its length and is ori
ented face to face. After cutting, any one pattern piece would yield the left an
d right piece of the garment when choosing a pair of consecutive plies. Can prod
uce on fold patterns

4. Closed-on-open
A marker with half of a set of patterns for each garment, placed on open fabric.
Every part of the garment must have corresponding left and right patterns, or b
locking and relaying is required. This mode is intended for fabric spread face t
o face. Styles with one-piece parts like a one-piece back panel can not be made
using a closed-on-open marker without blocking and re-laying. For any one part i
n the marker, a pair of consecutive plies of fabric (spread face to face) produc
e the left and right pieces of the garment. Fabric dyeing must be consistent to
use this method, as garments will be constructed of two consecutive plies of fab
ric.

5. Blocking and re-laying

Blocking and re-laying in the spreading process may be used in conjunction with
a closed-on-open marker. To take advantage of a symmetric garment, and placing a
half set of patterns in the marker, when one pattern in the garment is full bod
y width (rather than left and right patterns), for two consecutive sizes in the
marker, only the larger pattern of the two is placed in the marker. After the pa
rt is cut, the cut block for the pattern is divided in half, and the smaller siz
e pattern of that part is placed on the second half. This is then recut to the s
maller size.

6.Section Marker
Single Section Marker. When the patterns of all the different sizes are scattere
d throughout the full length of the marker (placed wherever they fit the best),
the marker is known as non-sectional or single section marker. Markers with more
than one section, known as section markers are utilized when the order ratios a
re unknown in advance. The section marker facilitates producing different order
ratios using the same marker through step spreading. Although at the lowest effi
ciency, single-section markers permit total flexibility

MARKER MODES

Marker: Nap One Way (N/O/W);

Medium Quality, Low Efficiency, Slower Spreading
This mode is necessary for fabrics that are asymmetric.The Nap/One/ Way marker i
s the highest quality but least efficient of the three nap directions for a mark
er.

 Marker: Nap Up and Down (N/U/D);

The patterns may be oriented either down or up, placed wherever they fit best, only
making sure that the patterns are on-grain. The Nap/ Either/ Way marker is usual
ly the most efficient mode yielding the highest fabric utilization. This Mode as
sumes consistent (dye) color in the length and width of the goods. Nap/ Either/
Way also requires the fabric be symmetric.

Marker: Nap Either Way (N/E/W)

This method is yields moderately good fabric utilization, and good quality.

Fabric is flat open with the face to the inside of the roll
SPREADING MODES (OPEN FABRIC)

Spreading starts at one end of the table on each ply

Spreading starts .Fabric is cut at the far end, rotated 180 degrees, then spread
to the beginning. process is repeated.
Spreading starts .Fabric is cut at the far end, the roll is brought to the begin
ning of the table, rotated 180 degrees, then spread to the far end againprocess
is repeated.
Zigzag spread

Fabric is flat open with the face to the inside of the roll
SPREADING MODES (CLOSED/FOLDED FABRIC)
These processes are also used on tubular rolled fabric
Folded fabric spreading starts at one end of the table. Fabric is cut at the far
end, then returned to the beginning. Then the process is repeated
Zigzag in closed roll

Types of Cutting machines

Hand Shears
Hand Shears are used when cutting samples and limited quantities of garments. Th
e cutter must control the shears keeping the cut edge layer adds to the difficul
ty of accurate cutting, the patterns are often traced in tailors chalk on the top
layer of fabric. Hand shears are limited to the cutters physical strength, but
usually no more than two layers of fabric due to the loss of accuracy as the she
ars lifts the fabric off the cutting table. This method is slow and unproductive
.

Short Knife
The Short Knife is an alternate method to hand shears. The short knife slices th
rough the fabric, scoring the table in the process much the same way as slicing
vegetables on a cutting board. Fabrics cut this way must be heavily weighted, as
the short knife pushes as it cuts through the fabric, distorting multiple layer
s of fabric. Ten to twelve layers of fabric may be accurately cut this way. The
short knife is also used for sloping on dress shirts and other customized apparel
where only a few layers of fabric are being cut at one time.

Straight Knife Cutting Machine

The Straight Knife (Vertical Knife) is a machine with a straight vertical blade.
Straight knives are available from 3 to 14 tall, capable of cutting lays from 2 to
13 in height. Depending on the density of the fabric, this may represent a wide
range of plies. When encountering notches, the straight knife may be used to cut
notches by pushing the blade into the notch mark on the patterns above each bun
dle.

Round Knife Cutting Machine The Round Knife utilizes a circular

blade that cuts cleanly through fabric much the same way that a circular wood sa
w cuts through wood. Additional advantage of the round knife are that it can cut
without pushing the lay as it cuts, facilitating cutting on slippery fabrics. C
ontinuously slicing downward, it also makes cutting very dense fabrics easier. T
he disadvantage of the round knife is that at the cutting edge, the blade is not
vertical. Therefore, cutting accuracy is sacrificed as the lay get higher.

Die cutting machine

Die Cutting is an off-table cutting method that provides cutting quality close t
o perfection. A die is made of steel is required for every part in every size th
at must be cut. In this process, Fabric blocks are included in the marker for th
e parts to be cut by die. The blocks are shifted off the cutting table. At the c
utting machine (known as a clicker), the dies are placed (by size, etc as needed.)
down on the cloth, and the machine head presses the dies down through the fabri
c lay. Every part comes out the same exact shape and size when die cut correctly
. A limitation, is the height of the cutting dieis 2 inches in height.

Band Knife Cutting Machine

Band Knife Cutting is another off-table cutting method. The block of fabric is m
oved to the band knife cutting machine. The Band knife is similar to the butcher
or wood working band saw. A continuous blade passes down through a table top cu
tting surface. The operator guides the block of fabric to the blade. Cutting acc
uracy is achieved by using thin wooden forms the shape of each pattern to be cut
. The band knife is particularly useful for high pile fabrics like terry, or vel
vet, as well as soft knits.

Auxiliary Devices
Notchers: are either manual or electric machines used to make notches in the edg
e of a cut bundle. Unless cutting notches while cutting with the up and down kni
fe, notchers are necessary for creating notches. Drillers: Cloth Drills are used
when a mark is needed inside the body of a part to indicate the point of a dart
, location of a

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