TAX4438 Production Planning

and Organization
Introduction
• Aim: To provide thorough theoretical knowledge of production
planning and organising the production in order to achieve the
targets.
• Five day schools: Eight units (Unit I to VIII)
• Three assignments (TMA- Tutor Mark Assignments) and two
continuous assessment tests (CAT)
• Units for the Two (02) Continuous Assessment Tests
• CAT I - Unit I to Unit III
• CAT II - Unit IV to Unit VI
 Unit I
ORDER PLACEMENT AND
SAMPLE MAKING
Product Development & Order Placement
• The Process of Product Development
1. The origin of styles
2. The development of samples
3. The refinement of business objectives
4. The attainment of commercial products
The origin of styles
1. Market research: Find out the information required to develop new styles from
world wide series of fashion shows, from fashion journals, from style & colour
forecasting services, from garments competitors, from the final consumers in
the retail stores etc
2. Design concept: Developed with the help of the information collected from the
market research, by sketching new styles. Then a series of trials are carried out
to refine the ideas of shape, colour and surface decoration
3. Market screening: Checks the existence of a target population and what
segment of the market the concept aims at.
The development of samples
1. Creation of prototype pattern: Use the technology of block patterns,
modelling, figure types in the market segment, material technology etc.
2. Sample making: First sample is constructed by a skilled sample
machinist.
3. Conducting range meeting:
• Key decision-making point in the whole process
• Include representatives of marketing, production management, and design team.
• Critical examination of the design concept and the sample garment for the first time
against initial estimates of material & labour cost and possible contribution to
overhead & profit.
• Select the garments, which are to progress to further development.
The refinement of business objectives
1. Pattern adaptation:
• To correct any fitting problems, to examine opportunities for cost reduction
and to resample with alternative fabrics.
• Another range meeting should be held to review new sample.
• Plan the sequence of construction to be used in the mass production of the
new style
• Make proposals to purchase new machines, which are required to perform
the mass production. The investment has to be recovered from the predicted
sales revenue generated by the style.
• At this point, production planning should also be done.
2. Testing: Comfort, resistance to attack by fluids & sunlight,
resistance to wear & behaviour in washing and dry cleaning etc.
The attainment of commercial products
1. Production pattern making: The production patterns must be prepared including the
necessary pattern specifications.
2. Grading: The information from the sizing surveys can be used to grade the patterns, until all
the sizes in the range are covered. The size range varies with the target market.
3. Marker making: All the pattern pieces are placed on a rectangular paper in a such way to
maximise the utilisation of the fabric with out breaking marker making rules. Here further
adaptation to the patterns may take place in order to make a more efficient marker, thus
minimising the wastage.
4. Production of templates: The required templates such as button- hole marking, pocket
positioning, collar-marking etc. must also be produced to achieve rapid accuracy during the
production of the style.
5. Finalising the specifications: The designer must finalise the specifications of the requirements
of the design
6. Feedback from manufacturing: Based initially on a test batch. Complex styles: Continuously
throughout the life of the style
7. Feed back from market place: Based on test marketing and is continuous throughout the life of
the style. Product development does not cease until the last garment is made and sold
Contracting (order placement)
• Contracting is finding and handing over the responsibilities to a
suitable manufacturer/s to produce garments of a particular order/s.

• Garment manufacturing:
• Labour intensive industry: Cheaper sources of labour in other countries

• Selecting an overseas contractor

• Direct buying
• Buying through an agent
Buying through an agent
• Agents or contractors at buying offices co-ordinate with the manufacturer in the
country where production of garments is done to meet the demands of the final
buyer.
• Buyers must send patterns, specifications, and samples as guidelines and fabric
and other necessary accessories to produce sample garments.
• Agent monitors the every processing step including raw materials, production
planning, finishing, quality controlling, labelling, packaging and shipping etc.,
prevent late deliveries and handle difficulties in communication caused by
language differences.
• Greater flexibility in production: Hiring specialized manufacturers when needed
• Buyer: Not concerned with hiring, training, or wage demands, no capital
investment in machinery, land, building etc.
• Manufacturers: Not concerned on marketing of the produced garments
Direct buying
• Buyers may buy fabric from one country and send it to contracted
manufacturer to cut and sew.
• Buyers have less control over the quality of garments.
• Difficulties in communicating with the contracted manufacturer or /
and agents, and possibility of late deliveries.
Production Scheduling
• Normally the production schedule is a reverse timetable, covering
approximately six months from shipping to designing.
• The base date is the shipping date and that will meet the retail stores
order requirements.
• The schedule progress backwards from base date to determine timing
of finishing operations, sewing, cutting, marker making, pattern
marking, sample making, fabric and accessories ordering etc.
Production Scheduling
• The production planning will depend on the garment manufacturing
system.
• Cut to order
• Garments are cut and produced only against orders. Manufacturer waits until orders are
obtained and then works quickly to finish the order. Proper production planning is
important to achieve delivery dates.
• Cut to stock
• Garments are cut and produced against the estimates of projected sales. This system is
used specially in large companies that produce moderate and popularly priced garments.
In this system garment styles are not very often changed. (Example - shirts)
Quick response
• Providing the garment to the customer wants in the right place, at the right
time and at the right price
• Rapid transfer of information among all parts of the manufacturing process
including fibre producers, fabric manufactures, cloth manufacturers, and
retail stores.
• Uses modern computerised technology to achieve the required speed of
transfer of information.
• Minimize the lead times of various processes of the garment industry.
• Quick response has a significant impact on three areas such as Electronic
Data Interchange, Computer Aided Design and the sewing room.
Components of fashion
• Style
• Style is any particular characteristic or look in a garments or accessories.
Designers create new styles and offer them to the public seeking their
acceptance.
• Acceptance
• New styles created by the designers may be or may not be accepted by the
public. To be a fashion, new styles should be accepted by a large number of
people. These accepted styles are then produced by the manufactures.
• Timeliness
• It indicates the changes of styles. What is in fashion one year may not be in
fashion next year. Therefore new styles should be offered to the public.
 Fashion Cycle
1. Introduction
• New styles with high price
2. Rise in popularity
• As new style is purchased, worn, and seen by more people, it will gain popularity. The
popularity of the style may further increase through copying and adaptation.
3. Peak of popularity
• Many manufactures copy it or produce adaptations
of it at many price levels.
4. Decline in popularity
• Mass production, Low popularity, reduced prices
with discounts to clear space for new styles
5. Rejection
• Fashion conscious consumers have already turned
to new looks or styles, thus beginning a new cycle
for another style.
Sample making & getting approval
• Designer's sample garments:
• Make a sketch of a garment to be produced,
prepare the patterns in relation to the sketch
and the specifications.
• Test the sample for fit and total effect and do
the necessary modifications to achieve the
required quality.
• Finalized sample garments with original
patterns, specifications, fabric & accessories
etc are sent to the respective manufacturers
to produce their own sample garments, to
match the original.
• Sample department of the manufacturer
make the required samples for the approval
of the buyer.
Pattern making and Sample making by the
Manufacturer
• Check the original patterns sent
by buyer with given
specifications.
• Grading size series using the
buyer sent medium size
patterns.
• If the buyer does not send
original patterns, the medium
size patterns must be prepared
by pattern makers, attached to
the sample department or to
the pattern department.
Pattern making and Sample making by the
Manufacturer
• Cut fabrics and sew samples using the patterns.
• Sample garments: Actual fabrics and accessories, or substitutes
• Sample machine operator assembles cut fabric panels to produce the sample
garment and do all the sewing operations required to sew the sample garment.
• The identified difficulties and problems are recorded and minimized prior to mass
production.
• Samples are checked for fit and size, and do the necessary alterations until
required quality is achieved.
• Pack the samples according to the buyer’s specifications and send the required
number of samples to the buyers and/or to the agents to get the approval for the
mass production.
• These sample garments must be of high quality, otherwise it is difficult to get the
approval for the mass production.
Different Types of Samples
• Approval samples
• Reference sample
• Offer samples
• Salesman samples
• Photo samples
• Shipment samples
• Approval samples
• Produced prior to commencement of the mass scale production of a
particular style and send to the buyer and/or to the agents to get the
approval for mass production.
• The original patterns, original sample, and the specifications are required
to produce these samples.

• Two main categories:

1. Fit approval samples: When an order is placed and confirmed, the manufacturer
has to produce samples for the given size or the middle size of the order.
2. Size series samples: Once fit approval samples are approved by the buyer some
buyers, request for samples in all the sizes of the order before the mass
production starts. Even if there is no such request from the buyer, it is better to
produce size series samples for use within the factory to identify the problems that
might occur, when they produce different sizes in the mass production.
• Reference sample/ keep sample
• Extra sample produced for reference purposes in the factory.
• More than one sample: if the mass production is planned at factories at
different locations.
• Should be kept in the sample department until getting the approval from the
buyers and / or agents, after inspecting the approval samples.

• Offer samples
• To attract the new buyers by showing the samples of garments, that the
manufacturer can offer.
• Manufacturers produce on their own, samples of new designs.
• Salesman samples
• Produced for sales agents on buyer’s request, to promote their sales, but not
sold to the customers.
• Samples made using actual fabrics and accessories in a size given by the buyer
or middle size of the order.

• Photo samples
• Buyers’ catalogues including photos of new styles as a sales promotion
medium to attract new customers or sales agents
• Catalogues are produced two or three months prior to actual production
starts.
• The photo samples must be produced, by using actual fabrics and accessories.
• Shipment samples
• These samples are not produced in the sample department, but taken from
the garments made during the actual production.
• After completing the production of an order, few samples are taken from the
production stock randomly.
• Used to evaluate the finish and quality of the shipped garments.
• If requested by the buyer these samples can be sent to them.
Getting Approval from the Buyers
• Sample garments sent to the agents and/or to the buyers are checked for fit, size,
quality, given specifications and recommendations are given after examining.
• If the samples are up to the required quality:
• Approval given for the mass production with minor corrections.
• Not necessary to do the correction and submit new samples for approval and can start the
mass production, straight away.
• If the samples are not up to the required quality:
• Reject the sample garments and ask to produce new sample garments.
• New samples must be produced by incorporating the comments or reasons for rejecting.
• If the sample is approved with a request of new samples with the corrections:
• Mass production should be done according to the comments of the new samples.
• After getting the approval from the buyer, the reference sample can be released
for mass production, attached with all the comments made by the agents and
/or by the buyer. When mass production is done, these comments must be
incorporated.
UNIT II: MATERIAL
UTILIZATION
Pre-production operations
• Primary pre-production operations:
• Marker making,
• Spreading,
• Cutting,
• Preparation of cut parts for sewing

• The planning of each of the above pre-production operations: Cut order

plan.
• Minimize total production costs through planning and management of pre-
production operations
• Planning cuts based on orders by developing the most economically feasible cutting
orders with respect to materials, equipment, labour, and space, etc.
Marker Making
• Marker:
• Diagram of a precise arrangement of pattern pieces for the sizes of a specific
style that are to be cut from a single spread.
Marker Making
• Marker making:
• Process of determining the most efficient layout of pattern pieces for a
specified style, fabric and distribution of sizes. (Manual/Computerized)

• Elements of the marker making process

• marker planning
• making the outlines of the patterns onto the marker
• duplicating an original marker
Marker Planning
• Determine the most efficient combination of sizes and shades for each
order and to produce the best fabric yield and equipment utilisation.
• The process of arranging pattern pieces in the most efficient manner
requires time, skill, and concentration.
Marker Planning
• Constraints of marker planning
• the nature of the fabric and the desired result in the finished garment;
• the requirements of quality in cutting;
• the requirements of production planning.
 The nature of the fabric and the
desired result in the finished garment
• Pattern alignment in relation to
the grain of the fabric
• When pattern pieces are laid down on
the piece of cloth, the grain line should
lie parallel to the line of the warp in a
woven fabric or the wales in a knitted
fabric.
• Where pattern pieces are laid across the
piece of cloth, the grain line should lie
parallel to the weft or course direction.
• Bias cutting: The grain lines will
(normally) be at 45° to the warp.
• Small tolerance is given to swing the grain
line from parallel line. If not followed
correctly, draping of the finished garment
will be incorrect.
The nature of the fabric and the desired
result in the finished garment
• The orientation of the pattern templates
• Construction of the textile material and its pattern design features.
• The orientation of pattern pieces within a marker is called marker
mode.
The nature of the fabric and the desired
result in the finished garment
• Basic types of orientation:
• Neither the orientation nor the direction is important
• Example - random laid non-woven fabrics.
The nature of the fabric and the desired
result in the finished garment
• Basic types of orientation:
• Orientation is important but the templates may be laid in either direction
• Example - linings and laminated fabrics.
The nature of the fabric and the desired
result in the finished garment
• Basic types of orientation:
• Orientation and direction are both important
• Example - pile fabrics, fabrics with a directional pattern of pile, knitted fabrics,
velvet
The nature of the fabric and the desired
result in the finished garment
• Symmetry and Asymmetry
• Symmetrical:
• Retain the same appearance when turned round (through 180°).
• Require no special action on the part of the marker planner.
The nature of the fabric and the desired
result in the finished garment
• Symmetry and Asymmetry
• Asymmetrical:
• If a fabric ply is turned round it does not retain the same
appearance, especially when the two opposite ways are sewn
together.
• Design which includes a recognizable object which can only
be used one way up or velvet, which should be cut with the
pile pointing downwards.
• Must ensure that the top ends of the pattern pieces face the
same way, as they will be worn in the garment.
• Less economical than other markers.
• Care must be taken to spread the fabric in the lay, in such a
way that these effects built into the marker are retained.
The nature of the fabric and the desired
result in the finished garment
• The Design Characteristic of the Finished
Garment
• The colouring, the repeat size, and the
prominence of the pattern (checks and
stripes), the degree of matching required
between individual garment pieces
• High consumption of fabric, time and
difficulty in maker making, spreading and
cutting.
The nature of the fabric and the desired
result in the finished garment
• The Design Characteristic of the Finished
Garment
• The features of accurate pattern matching:
• Symmetry: The pattern must be symmetrical about the
central axis.
• Lengthwise continuity: The pattern must not be
interrupted or displaced at horizontal seams.
• Horizontal continuity: The pattern must not be
interrupted or displaced at vertical seams or across
adjacent parts.
• Overall continuity: The form and the repeat of the
pattern must be maintained across all seams, facing,
trimmings, patches etc.
Requirements of Quality in Cutting
• Freedom of Knife Movement
• A blade cannot turn a perfect right angle in the middle of pattern pieces and space
must always be allowed for a knife to turn such corners.
• The amount of space left, depend on the actual cutting method employed (Eg: Laser/
die cutting)
• Pattern Count
• A pattern count, or the number of pieces necessary for each pattern to make a
garment must always be made at the completion of the planning of a marker, to
check that the complete menu of patterns has been included.
• Correct Labelling of Cut Garment Parts
• Sort and bundle a multi-size lay after cutting, for the operators to identify the parts,
which make up whole garment sizes. Code every pattern piece with its size as the
marker is made.
Requirements of Quality in Cutting
• Splice marks: Points
in a marker where
fabrics can be cut
and the next piece
overlapped to
maintain a
continuous spread.
Splice mark
Requirements of Quality in Cutting
• Scrambling: The mixing of sizes in a marker.
• Higher fabric savings
• Restrictions on the cutting table length
• Shade variations
Requirements of Quality in Cutting
• Stepped lay: Use of single size markers on a step
• Minimize shade variations
• Cutting difficulties
• Less fabric saving
Types of markers
• Half garment marker/ Closed
marker
• Includes only half of the garment
pieces (for example the right
side).
• Used for folded or tubular knit
fabrics, which are closed on both
edges and therefore requires
pattern pieces that utilise the
folds, and for fabrics which are
spread face to face.
• Markers made with half-pattern
pieces and garment parts must
be symmetrical if half-pattern
pieces are used.
Types of markers
• Full garment marker/ Open
marker
• The spread of full-pattern pieces,
left and right sides, for each part to
be cut are included the lay
• Used for open width fabrics
• Rolled fabrics are open and flat
when spread.
Types of markers
• Single size marker
• The lay includes all of the pieces for a single size.
• Easy order planning and laying up the fabric,
sorting and bundling.
• Higher material consumption, compared to
multi-size markers.
Types of markers
• Multi-size markers
1. Sectional marker
• Made in at least two distinct
rectangular sections.
• Each section contains all of the
parts for a single size.
• Adjacent sections may be the
same or a different size.
Types of markers
• Multi-size markers
2. Interlocking marker
• Two or more sections, one after the other, usually different sizes, but the
sections are not confined to strict rectangular areas
• The pieces for the different sections may merge at the borders.
Types of markers
• Multi-size markers
3. Mixed multi-size
marker
• No distinct sections;
the pieces for the two
or more different
garment sizes are
intermingled.
• Best material
utilization.
Methods of Marker Making
1. Manual marker making by using a full size pattern
2. Manual marker making in miniature.
3. Computerised marker making.
Marker Utilisation
• Marker Efficiency
• Marker efficiency is determined by fabric utilisation, the percentage of the
total area of the pattern pieces on the marker to the total area of the marker.
Marker Utilisation
• Marker Efficiency
• Commonly affected by
• Fabric characteristics
• Shapes of pattern pieces
• Pattern engineering
• Fabric utilisation standards
• Marker quality
Marker efficiency
• Fabric Characteristics:
• Differences in face and back, lengthwise
symmetry, crosswise symmetry, need
for matching the design, length of
design repeat, and fabric width.
• Matching fabric designs requires special
marker preparation and extra piece
goods.
• Stripe or plaid lines must be indicated
on pattern pieces and markers for
accurate alignment and matching to
corresponding pieces.
• The greater the length of the repeat,
the more matching that is specified and
the greater the potential for fabric
waste.
Marker efficiency
• Shapes of Pattern Pieces
• Product categories
I. Relative simple products: Towels, seat
cover for furniture and cars, and any other
items with rectangular parts. Easy to
approach 100% utilisation.
II. Products with relatively large panels, that
fit in multiples across the width: The large
panels effectively control the fabric
requirements and the smaller pieces are
cut from the waste generated by placing
the large pieces.
III. Products with large number of small parts:
Easy to interlock pattern pieces and have
higher number of possible markers
Marker efficiency
• Pattern Engineering
• Revising patterns to achieve better material utilisation without adversely
affecting the style, fit or appearance of the product, additional sewing costs
or compromise of quality standards.
• Commonly done by:
• Splitting pattern pieces and adding seam allowances
• Rounding corners
• Reducing seams allowances and/or hem width.
• Adjusting pattern dimensions without noticeable change to fit and style
• Adjusting grain lines for hidden garment parts, and modifying grain lines specified by the
designer.
Marker efficiency
• Fabric Utilisation
• Fabric utilisation standards or the standards indicating how much
area of a fabric is effectively goes into the production of garments.
• Basic garments:
• Higher utilization: More time may be invested in pattern engineering, cut order planning,
and marker making to reduce waste of materials.
• Fashion garments:
• Markers used only once or for a limited number of spreads and a few ply.
• Low utilization: Constant changes in styling and materials and tight deadlines, do not
allow re-engineering of patterns or markers to improve utilisation
Marker efficiency
• Marker Quality
• Information needed for each pattern piece includes size, style number, and
the piece name or number.
• Pattern shapes, notches, and internal markings need to be accurate if finished
garments are to meet specific dimensions for size and fit.
• Lines must be accurate, consistent, fine smooth, and a precise image of the
production pattern.
• Space for a cutting knife to move is needed for some types of cutting systems
and configurations if accuracy is to be maintained.
• Aligning to the grain line within the acceptable tolerance level: skewed 1 to 2
percent
• Avoid re-cutting by accurately placing all the pattern pieces required to finish
the garment.
Guidelines to optimize material utilisation
during marker planning
• Increased numbers of garments marked
• Wider width fabrics reduce the constraints on the marker planner and may
improve utilisation.
• Ratio markers reduce the number of markers to plan and simplify
production control procedures.
• Short markers:
• For small orders, to retain levels of labour productivity, lays should get shorter rather
than shallower.
• Ability to reuse the marker for orders with few sizes: Save the marker making time.
• Smaller markers allow smaller batch sizes to be produced, which may be more
appropriate for low inventory, quick response environments.
• Smaller markers are less demanding on the skills of the marker maker
• Session 4: Drawing and Duplicating of Markers
Unit III: SPREADING
Lay planning
• Lay: Consists of many pieces of fabrics spread one above the other.
• Number of plies of fabrics in the lay:
• The number of garments to be produced
• Constraints of physical equipment
• Fabric characteristics, etc

• Spreading and cutting schedules are

affected by table length, type of
equipment, spread length, spreading
time, and cutting time.
Types of Lay
• Single ply, multiple plies and stepped lay.
Form of Fabric Presentation
• The form in which the material has been delivered or how the fabric
is packaged.
• Depends on the type of material (velvet), the application (sample
length, sale in the retail trade) and the internal handling equipment
(unrolling stands, platform trolley, forklift truck with pallets).
• Have to consider when making the lay plan and choosing the type of
spreading.
Spreading Methods
• Spread on fold
• Piece goods are folded along the warp grain at the centre.
• Usually folded at the mill, but they can also be folded in the cutting room.
• Generally, plaid, wide stripes and small cutting lots are cut on the fold.
• Can be used for half sized markers

• Spread on open
• Fabric is laid on the table on open width.
Forms of Spreading
• RS - Right side of the fabric, WS - Wrong side of the fabric
Forms of Spreading
1. RS to WS – unidirectional
2. RS to WS – bi-directional
3. RS to RS – unidirectional
4. RS to RS – bi-directional
 RS to WS – unidirectional/ One way
• Fabrics which run in one direction only.
• Each layer of fabric is laid on top of another, with the grain or pattern running in the same
direction and the fabric will be cut at the end of each ply. The carriage must return, inactively
to the beginning of the lay.
• Face down: For knitted fabrics where the cut edges tends to roll.
• Cannot be used for fabrics with a short-cut pile (velvet, corduroy, plush, artificial fur) as the
plies are likely to slip over each other.
• The rejection of fabric faults can be carried out during the spreading process.
• Styles with asymmetrical components
RS to WS – bi-directional
• For two-way fabrics whose friction coefficient does not allow for a RS to RS
spread.
• After a ply is laid, it is cut from the fabric roll across its width. To ensure the
face side is upwards in all plies, the fabric roll has to be turned through 180°
at the end of every ply.
• Cannot be used: If the fabric has a pattern in one direction only and its
location in a style is strictly determined.
RS to RS - unidirectional/ Face-to-Face
• For nap fabrics, such as corduroy, whose
friction coefficient calls for a RS to RS
spread.
• For materials with a short-cut pile (velvet,
corduroy, plush, artificial fur) to prevent the
plies from slipping during the spreading and
cutting processes.
• The grain of pattern runs in the same
direction and after each ply the fabric will
be cut off. Then the fabric roll is turned
through 180° and the next ply is spread in
the same direction with its face side down
• This spreading mode cannot be used when:
• The style has asymmetrical components and the
pattern pieces in a marker are placed with their
face side up;
• The rejection of fabric faults has to be carried
out during the spreading process
RS to RS - bi-directional/ Two-way
• For fabrics that do not have any directional
restriction.
• Plies are laid continuously from beginning
to end and end to beginning, without
cutting.
• Most efficient spreading method
• Fabric faults of only one face side is visible
• Cannot be used when:
• The rejection of fabric faults has to be carried
out during spreading;
• The style has asymmetrical components;
• The fabric has an asymmetrical pattern and its
location in the style is strictly determined.
Requirements of Spreading
1. Shade sorting of cloth pieces
2. Maintaining correct ply direction
3. Maintaining correct alignment of plies
4. Maintaining correct ply tension
5. Elimination of fabric faults
6. Avoidance of fusion of plies during cutting
7. Easy separation of the cut lay into bundles
8. Elimination of static electricity
Requirements of Spreading
• Shade sorting of cloth pieces
• Within the roll and roll-to-roll shade variations in the fabrics of the
same colour due to difficulties in dyeing.
• Before spreading, all the fabric rolls of the same colour should be
sorted into batches such that shade differences will not occur.
• Introduce papers to separate the fabric rolls with different shades in
the spread to avoid mixing up of pattern pieces with different shades.
• Bundle the shades accurately after cutting.
Requirements of Spreading
• Correct ply direction
• For fabrics designated both one way only and one way-either way, the
spread should contain plies whose surface direction is compatible
with the pattern facing of the marker.
Requirements of Spreading
• Alignment of plies
• Each and every ply in a lay should be larger than that of the length
and width of the marker.
• Minimum possible extra areas outside the marker should be
maintained.
• To avoid problems related to width variations, the marker should fit to
the narrowest width.
• Align straight edge of the plies at operator’s side.
• The end edges of the plies should be also cut accurately to minimise
wastage.
Requirements of Spreading
• Correct ply tension
• Specially for knitted fabrics:
• Low or high tension during spreading: Large or small pattern pieces after
cutting.
• Tensions inherent in the fabric rolls: Twist, texturing, elasticity of the yarn and
the relationship of loops in the knitted structure.
• These types of fabrics are unrolled and allowed to relax over night before
spreading, to minimise tension
Requirements of Spreading
• Elimination of fabric faults
• Fabric faults such as holes, stains etc. should be detected during
examination of the fabrics by the garment manufacturer before
spreading.
• During the spreading process, remove these defects from fabrics by
creating a splice.
• Splicing refers to the overlapping of two ends in a ply consisting of
two or more pieces.
Requirements of Spreading
• Avoidance of fusion of plies during cutting
• Friction of the blade with fabric plies: Increase in temperature of the
blade
• Heat generated during cutting process: Synthetic materials tend to
fuse together.
• To avoid this, anti-fusion paper may be used in between the plies on
the lay. These papers contain a lubricant, which lubricates the knife
blade as it passes through the spread.
Requirements of Spreading
• Easy separating of the cut lay into bundles
• The size of bundles of garments supplied to the sewing room depends
on the number of plies of fabric in the spread lay.
• Depending on the combination of colours and shades spread
together, it is necessary to use interleaving paper at intervals through
the lay.
• These papers are made from roughened tissue in bright colours,
which are easily seen at the edge of a cut section.
• These papers also assist in holding the spread firm where fabric
surface may slip against each other.
Requirements of Spreading
• Elimination of static electricity
• In spreading plies of fabric containing man-made fibres, friction may
increase the static electricity charge in the fabric.
• The spreader will experience difficulty in laying a ply neatly, on top of
the other.
Methods of spreading
• Three methods to spread the material
1. Manual spreading
2. Spreading by using a carriage
3. Automatic spreading machines