SOUTHEAST UNIVERSITY

Department of Textile Engineering

Name of the assignment: Production of T-shirt with knit fabric from yarn Submitted To Md. Motiar Rahman

Submitted By Mehnaz Tabassum ID:2007100400055 Batch:5th

Introduction:
Knit fabrics are easy to sew and fit, require less pressing and care, and are comfortable to wear. Knit fabrics range from casual sweatshirt fleece to elegant stretch velvets and are available in a wide variety of fibers both natural and synthetic and a combination of the two. The degree of stretch varies from 20 to 35%. Select patterns which are designed for stretch knits only. These patterns require fabric that stretches a specific amount and the pattern envelope gives the degree of stretch. Coco Chanel's 1916 use of jersey in her hugely influential suits was a turning point for knitwear, which became associated with the liberated woman. Shortly afterwards, Jean Patou's cubistinspired, color-blocked knits were the sportswear of choice. In the 1940s came the iconic wearing of body-skimming sweaters by sex symbols like Lana Turner and Jane Russell, though the 1950s were dominated by conservative popcorn knits. The swinging 1960s were famously manifested in Missoni's colorful zigzag knitwear. This era also saw the rise both of Sonia Rykiel, dubbed the "Queen of Knitwear" for her vibrant striped sweaters and her clingy dresses, and of Kennedy-inspired preppy sweaters In the 1980s, knitwear emerged from the realm of sportswear to dominate high fashion; notable designs included Romeo Gigli's "haute-bohemian cocoon coats" and Ralph Lauren's floor-length cashmere turtlenecks. Contemporary knitwear designers include Diane von Furstenberg and James Perse.

Sewing with Knit Fabric

Process flow chart of yarn manufacturing system for carded and combed yarn:

For carded yarn:

For Combed yarn:

Knit Fabric Types

Double knit is a firm, medium to heavy weight fabric which has fine ribs and usually looks the same on both sides. Because the fabric has minimal stretch, patterns designed for woven fabric can also be used. Suitable for skirts, pants, jackets and dresses. Sweatshirt fleece has minimal stretch, flat vertical ribs on right side and a brushed soft surface on the wrong side. Suitable for sweatshirts, pants, jackets, and other sporty garments. Single knit fabrics and jersey knits are light to medium weight fabrics with flat vertical ribs on the right side and dominant horizontal lines on the wrong side. Fabric stretches from 20 to 25% across the grain. Suitable for T-shirts, tops, dresses, pull-on pants, shorts, skirts, and sleepwear. Interlock is a light to medium weight fabric with a fine rib on both sides. Fabric stretches 25 to 35% across the grain. Suitable for tops, dresses, pull-on pants, shorts, skirts, and sleepwear. Velour and stretch velvet are available in various weights. Velour and stretch velvet have a soft brushed nap on the right side, velvet has a shinner appearance than velour. Fabric stretches 25 to 35% or more across the grain. Suitable for tops, shirts, dresses, skirts, pull-on pants, and shorts and easy jackets. Sweater and textured novelty knits are available in a variety of weights and textures. The degree of stretch varies. These knit fabrics are suitable for pull-over sweaters, cardigans, simple dresses and pull-on skirts. Two way stretch fabrics are fabrics with Spandex/spandex and have approximately 75% stretch. Swimwear fabrics of Nylon/spandex usually have the most stretch on lengthwise grain, Cotton/spandex has most stretch on crosswise grain and is suitable for swimwear, active wear, dancewear, leotards and leggings. Ribbing has approximately 100% crosswise stretch and has prominent vertical ribs on both sides. This stretch makes it suitable for neckbands, waistbands and cuffs. TIP: Do not pre-wash ribbing as it will be more difficult to sew.

Needles and Thread

Use a ball-point needle size 10/70 or 11/75 for lightweight fabrics, 12/80 for medium weight fabrics and 12/80 or 14/90 for heavyweight fabrics. Use an all purpose thread, polyester or cotton wrapped polyester.

Interfacing

Interfacing is used to reinforce closures, add shaping to collars, cuffs and plackets and stabilize areas such as shoulder seams and some necklines. The best interfacing is a 100% polyester fusible lightweight knit interfacing.

Preparing Fabric
Purchase a little extra fabric, because most knits shrink to some degree. Wash the fabric in the same manner you intend to use for the finished garment. This will preshrink the fabric and remove the surface finish which will make it easier to sew.

Cutting
Knits have shading and pattern pieces should be cut in one direction and be placed with the greatest degree of stretch around the body. Use weights to hold pattern pieces in place. A rotary cutter works very well with knits, just be sure to use a matt to protect your cutting table.

Sewing Procedures
Seam allowances vary on patterns, the 1/4" (6 mm) seam allowance is the easiest to use. Sew the seam using an overlock stitch. This stitch sews and overcast in one step. It is not necessary to stretch the fabric while sewing as stretch is built in.

The seam can also be done with a narrow zig-zag width and a medium stitch length. This seam will stretch with the fabric (Fig. 2). Overcast the seam allowances together with a larger zig-zag stitch or you can use a three step zig-zag stitch placing the stitches one right next to the other. On a straight stitch machine, sew the seam using a medium stitch length; stretch the fabric in the front and in the back of the presser foot as you sew. Sew another seam on the seam allowance close to the raw edges to keep seam allowances together. If pattern allows for a 5/8" (1.5 cm) seam allowance, sew the seam, trim the seam allowances, and overcast the raw edges together. On the Serger (overlock) machineuse three or four threads, guide fabric, being sure that the

correct

seam

allowance

is

used.

Hemming
Hems can be topstitched or blind hemmed. Sew the hem with a catchstitch by hand or use the blind hem on your machine. To topstitch hems, loosen the pressure on the presser foot to prevent the hem from stretching. Topstitch with a narrow zigzag and a medium stitch length, a double or a triple needle, or use the cover hem on the serger machine.

Stretch Chart and Gauge

To use the stretch chart or gauge, fold over the crosswise edge of the knit fabric 3" (8 cm). Hold 4" (10 cm) of the folded fabric against the chart and gently stretch to the outer line. If the fabric stretches easily without excessive rolling to the outer line or slightly farther, the fabric has the correct amount of stretch for the pattern. this is an elastic seam.

Process Flow-Chart of Garments Manufacturing

Design / Sketch Pattern Design

Sample Making

Production Pattern Grading

Marker Making

Spreading

Cutting

Sorting/Bundling

Sewing/Assembl ing Inspection

Pressing/ Finishing Final Inspection

Packing

Despatch

Garment Manufacturing
On industrial basis there are certain areas or sequence through which garments are manufactured. Design / Sketch: In the garment manufacturing the first step is designing the sketch for the dresses that have to be prepared. For this purpose the designer first draw several rough sketches in the sketch book. The designer does not go for details at this moment but he rather let his creativity flow on the paper and he draws many sketches. Later these sketches are analyzed by a panel of designers. They finally select few out of them. These few sketches are rendered in detail separately or in the form of a single collection. The designer also draws working drawings along with the sketch. Working drawings are flat drawing of the sketch and it help pattern maker in understanding the patterns involved in the construction.

Step-by-step of Garment Construction

Garment Sketch

Pattern Design: The pattern maker now develop first pattern for the designsin any one standard size. This is made by pattern drafting method and the purpose of making this pattern is to create the sample garment for test fit.

Pattern Design

Sample Making: The first patterns are sent to the sewing unit for assembling them into garment. This is usually stitched on calico or muslin which is an inferior quality of fabric and it reduces cost. This sample is constructed to analyze the pattern fit and design too. After the sample garment is stitched it is reviewed by a panel of designers, pattern makers and sewing specialists. If any changes have to be made they are made at this time. Production Pattern: The pattern design is now taken for creating the production patterns. The production pattern is one which will be used for huge production of garments. The pattern maker makes the patterns on standard pattern making paper. These papers are made-up of various grades. The most important component, the tissue paper pattern, is made from the lightest and thinnest paper commercially available (it is not made at the pattern companies). It is called 7.5 lb (3.4 kg) basis paper, meaning that a ream of it (500 sheets) only weighs 7.5 lb (3.4 kg). Garment patterns can be constructed by two means: manual method, CAD/CAM method. Today many companies have developed CAD/CAM because of the ease of designing patterns, fluency and precision involved which cannot be guaranteed with the manual method. Investing once into the CAD/CAM unit is worth in itself. Many buyers around the world prefer manufacturers who are using CAD/CAM methods. The production patterns created in CAD/CAM can be stored easily and they can be modified at any point of time. A garment sewing pattern or garment fabric & patterns draft is developed by calculating, taking account of the following measurements: -

1. Direct Sample. 2. Specification Sheet/ Measurement Chart. 3. Actual body size measurements. 4. Ease Allowances. 5. Sewing Allowance. These allowances are different for different type of fabrics and patterns. Grading The purpose of grading is to create patterns in different standard sizes. Grading a pattern is really scaling a pattern up or down in order to adjust it for multiple sizes. Pattern sizes can be large, medium and small or else there are standard patterns of size 10, 12, 14, 16 and so on for different figure and statures sizes. This is generally how we get S M L XL XXL sizing. Pattern grading by manual method is a cumbersome task because the grader has to alter the pattern on each and every point from armhole, to neckline, sleeve cap and wrist etc. by using CAD it is much easier and faster. Marker Making: The measuring department determines the fabric yardage needed for each style and size of garment. Computer software helps the technicians create the optimum fabric layout to suggest so fabric can be used efficiently. Markers, made in accordance to the patterns are attached to the fabric with the help of adhesive stripping or staples. Markers are laid in such a way so that minimum possible fabric gets wasted during cutting operation. After marking the garment manufacturer will get the idea of how much fabric he has to order in advance for the construction of garments. Therefore careful execution is important in this step. Computer marking is done on speciallized softwares. In computerized marking there is no need of large paper sheets for calculating the yardage, in fact, mathematical calculations are made instead to know how much fabric is required.

Pattern Grading

Spreading:

With the help of spreading machines, fabric is stacked on one another in reaches or lays that may go over 100 ft (30.5 m) long and hundreds of plies (fabric pieces) thick. Cutting: The fabric is then cut with the help of cloth cutting machines suitable for the type of the cloth. These can be band cutters having similar work method like that of band saws; cutters having rotary blades; machines having reciprocal blades which saw up and down; die clickers similar to die or punch press; or computerized machines that use either blades or laser beams to cut the fabric in desired shapes. Sorting/Bundling: The sorter sorts the patterns according to size and design and makes bundles of them. This step requires much precision because making bundles of mismatched patterns can create severe problems. On each bundle there are specifications of the style size and the marker too is attached with it. Sewing/Assembling: The sorted bundles of fabrics are now ready to be stitched. Large garment manufacturers have their own sewing units other use to give the fabrics on contract to other contractors. Stitching inhouse is preferable because one can maintain quality control during the processing. On the other hand if contractors are hired keeping eye on quality is difficult unless the contactor is one who precisely controls the process. There are what is called sewing stations for sewing different parts of the cut pieces. In this workplace, there are many operators who perform a single operation. One operator may make only straight seams, while another may make sleeve insets. Yet another two operators can sew the waist seams, and make buttonholes. Various industrial sewing machines too have different types of stitches that they can make. These machines also have different configuration of the frame. Some machines work sequentially and feed their finished step directly into the next machine, while the gang machines have multiple machines performing the same operation supervised by a single operator. All these factors decide what parts of a garment can be sewn at that station. Finally, the sewn parts of the garment, such as sleeves or pant legs, are assembled together to give the final form to the clothing. Inspection: Open seams, wrong stitching techniques, non- matching threads, and missing stitches, improper creasing of the garment, erroneous thread tension and raw edges are some of the sewing defects which can affect the garment quality adversely. During processing the quality control section needs to check each prepared article against these defects. Pressing/ Finishing:

The next operations are those of finishing and/or decorating. Molding may be done to change the finished surface of the garment by applying pressure, heat, moisture, or certain other combination. Pressing, pleating and creasing are the basic molding processes. Creasing is mostly done before other finishing processes like that of stitching a cuff. Creasing is also done before decorating the garment with something like a pocket, appliqus, embroidered emblems etc. Vertical and form presses is automated machines. Perform simple pressing operations, such as touching up wrinkles in knit shirts, around embroidery and snaps, and at difficult-to-reach places on garments. Final Inspection: For the textile and apparel industry, product quality is calculated in terms of quality and standard of fibers, yarns, fabric construction, color fastness, designs and the final finished garments. Quality control in terms of garment manufacturing, pre-sales and posts sales service, delivery, pricing, etc are essential for any garment manufacturer, trader or exporter. Certain quality related problems, often seen in garment manufacturing like sewing, color, sizing, or garment defects should never be over looked. Sewing defects Open seams, wrong stitching techniques, non- matching threads, missing stitches, improper creasing of the garment, erroneous thread tension and raw edges are some of the sewing defects which can affect the garment quality adversely. Color defects Variation of color between the sample and the final garment, wrong color combinations and mismatching dyes should always be avoided. Sizing defects Wrong gradation of sizes, difference in measurement of various parts of a garment like sleeves of XL size for body of L size garment can deteriorate the garments beyond repair. Garment defects Broken or defective buttons, snaps, stitches, different shades within the same garment, dropped stitches, exposed notches and raw edges, fabric defects, holes, faulty zippers, loose or hanging sewing threads, misaligned buttons and holes, missing buttons, needle cuts or chews, pulled or loose yarn, stains, unfinished buttonhole, short zippers, inappropriate trimmings etc. all can lead to the end of a brand name even before its establishment. Packing:

The finished garments are finally sorted on the basis of design and size and packed to send for distribution to the retail outlets. Recent Developments in Garment Manufacturing CAD/CAM: CAD and CAM are two technologies that have made prominent changes in the way garment manufacturing was done in previous eras. Today all large garment manufacturing companies have developed CAD/CAM system to do the process of garment manufacturing. CAD is an abbreviation for computer-aided design and CAM for computer-aided machine. CAD/CAM is computer software that controls the production of garments. In CAD the designer designs the garments by using any suitable software like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw etc and in CAM the cutters, sewers, graders and markers control the process of development. The designer creates 2-D or 3-D model of design in CAD and CAM as a software numerically controls the machines that generates the production. There are several advantages of CAD/CAM over manual method of designing and production of garments:

The expense and time is reduced in a considerable manner when compared to the laborious manual work of designing. Designing can be done from anywhere as the designers are able to control the process from remote locations as well. The data can be easily stored, transmitted, and transported through computer files. Digital swatches can be saved on floppy disks, zip disks, CD-ROM or hard drive thus saving space. Moreover they can be easily organized for fast and easy retrieval. The designs can be easily customized and personalized as corrections and editing can be done at any time without significant delays or cost increases. The designers don't need to produce swatches all the time as they can now see how a particular fabric or garment looks in different colors and shapes on computer screen itself.

The principal feature of garments made from knitted fabrics is that the nature of the final garment and processing it goes through are affected in a major way by the primary knitting process. Al knitted garments can be classified into four categories according to general production method: a) Fully cut; b) Stitch shaped cut;

c) Fully fashioned; d) Integral

Fully cut:
The term fully cut describes the process most akin to making garments from woven fabrics. Garments are cut from piece good fabric, laid up (spread)on to cutting tables. All parts of the garments other than the trims are cut from the lay. Each garment piece has all edges cut, hence the term fully cut. The garments are assembled by seaming machines, often of a specialist nature , and trims are added where appropriate. The fabric for this process is invariably knitted on circular machines. Such machines come in a wide range of types but are mostly classified under two heading: Single jersey or plain web machine; Double jersey or rib machine.

The attraction of fully cut process are: The relative low costs of the fabric production at high speeds with low labor input; The opportunity for scale of production which particularly shows benefits at the cutting stage.

The disadvantages are:

The relatively high waste factors that occur even with small garment pieces. Such wastage ranges from 17% to 50% and is a significant cost burden on the garments produced. The high labor cost of assembly of the garment.

FULLY CUT GARMENTS,PRODUCTION SEQUENCE.

Fig: Production sequence of fully cut garments

CUT STITCH SHAPED:

Fig: : Production sequence of cut stitch stitch-shaped garments

The majority of knitwear is produced by this method, together with a very small production of ladies vests. The general method involves knitting rectangles of fabrics relating to the size of the portion of the garment to be made. The pieces , known as blanks , have the lower edge of the fabric scaled with a structure known as a welt that prevents laddering and waistbands and cuffs. The term stitch shaped derives from different stitch structure within the length of the blank that distort it from the rectangle into a shape associated with the human body.

These blanks require minimal preparation for seaming . Cutting involves trimming or length and width , followed by cutting neck holes and armholes, lower arms and shoulder shaping. Cutting is still largely carried out by hand, using shears on individual or doubled preces . template press cutters capable of dealing with up to eight blanks at a time are also employed . Such labor intensive operations are offset by the low wastage figures achieved -10-20%.

Fully fashioned :

Figure; Production sequence of fully fashioned garments. Fully fashioning is the process whereby portion of a garment are shaped at the selvedges by progressively increasing or decreasing the number of loops in the width of the fabric . Such narrowing and widening produces the shape of a garment that would otherwise be generated by cutting .Fashion has two obvious advantage over the two previously described categories of garment making:

there is little or no cutting waste; the edges of the garment pieces are sealed and not liable to fraying, so can be joind by simple non-bulky seams

Making up traditional classical fully fashioned garments takes place in two stages:

rough making up finished making.

INTEGRAL GARMENTS:

Figure: Production sequence of integral garment(half hoes) Integrally knitted garments are those that essentially knitted in one piece with little or no seam. The archetypal example is the beret , which is knitted sequentially in a series of triangles, leaving the beginning and the end to be joined into a three dimensional shape.

Finishing:
Definition: In general, before marketing, all the process which are applied on the fabric after knitting or weaving is called finishing,

In practical sense, finishing is the process by which the fibers, yarns, fabrics are made as presentable to the customer (or for special properties demanded). The making of a marketable and consumer-usable textile is not completed after fabric production, dyeing or printing operation. Fabric usually still need to undergo an additional processing known as finishing, which is the final processing before the fabric is cut into apparel or made into any articles of textiles. Finishing is what improves attractiveness and make fabrics suitable for their intended end use. There are many types of finishing, some makes fabric softer, some stiffer, some water repellent, and water proof etc.

Classification or types of finishing

Physical finishing: The finishing process which is performed by m/c but not using of chemicals is called physical finishing. Objectives: _ Used to control dimension. _ To improve appearance and handle. Example _ Calendaring, raising, sanforising etc. Chemical finishing: The finishing process involves application or deposition of chemicals or carrying out a chemical reaction on the fabric is term as chemical finishing. Objectives: _ Used to make glossy protection. _ To improve performance. Example _ mercerizing, resin finishing etc. Temporary finishing: The finishing process by deposition of different materials on the fabric by easy washing or cleaning is called temporary finishing. This finishing is only achieved on the surface of the fabric/ materials. Permanent/durable finishing: In this finishing process, the finishing material effect stables up to the last position of using the material and do not remove/damage in any clearing process.

Machine flow chart for Open width Knit fabric Dyed & wet fabric Hydro-extractor De-watering + Slitter

Dryer Stenter Open compactor

Machine flow for Tubular Knit fabric:

Dyed & wet fabric Hydro-extractor De-watering Dryer Tubular compactor

Machine flow chart for collar & cuff:

Hydro-extractor Softening machine Dryer

Effect of finishing on fabric properties/ Objectives of finishing: a) To improve attractiveness. b) To improve serviceability. The techniques of finishing depends on: 1. Nature of fabric i.e. chemical composition, wet state etc. This determines the appearance i.e. transparent, lustre, fullness, weight, whiteness etc. 2. The physical properties of the fabric i.e. Feel, softness, stiffness, tensile strength, elongation, shrinkage properties etc. 3. The end use of the material i.e. Non-shining, anti-creasing, draping, non-soiling, resistance to abrasion. 4. Receptivity of the fabric to various finishing operations i.e. Water proofing, flame proofing, rot-proofing etc. 5. Susceptibility to chemical modification. Finishing operation differ according to the properties to be imparted to the material: 1. Improving the appearance- lustre, whiteness etc. 2. Improving the feel, which depends on the handle of the material and its softness, suppleness, fullness etc.

3. Weaving qualities, non-soiling, anti-creasing, anti-shrink, comfort etc. 4. Special properties required for particular uses- water proofing, flame-proofing etc. 5. Covering the faults in the original cloth. 6. Increasing the weight of cloth.