13 things to ensure while cutting

Cutting Room Procedures ( Image Source)

 1. Knife guard should be adjusted according to the height of the lay.

2. The correct position of the blade, its sharpness and the reciprocating speed of the machine should be ensued.

3. Cut the lay of fabric by propelling the cutting machine on the marking line with accuracy.

4. Projections for each pattern section should be provided to facilitate the sorter in numbering the cut sections.

5. Provide notches at appropriate places with required depth.

6. Mark the position of pockets, embroidery, logo etc. by drilling small hole through the lay with correct drill bit .

7. Frayed, serrated, fused or scorched edges, ripped or pulled yarns, overcut and undercut should be avoided while cutting.

8. On Bend knife machine, use ready patterns aided by appropriate fixtures for carrying out precision cutting.

9. Sections which need to be cut individually (e.g. checks to be aligned in the front panel) are to be respread and folded by aligning the checks/stripes.

10. Use appropriate fixtures to ensure the matching of the folded sections.

11. Discard the cut scrap into the caster bins positioned near the table.

12. Tie the cut lay along the cut sections of the master marker in a bundle.

13. Erase the splicing and the end marks after the spread is cut and bundled.

Safety Instructions in Handling Cutting

a. Areas near cutting tables should be clearly marked, and their access restricted should be restricted by barriers.

b. On motorised and automatic cutting tables the warning signals should be fitted to indicate when blade is in motion.

c. The machine ideally should be fitted with automatic adjustable guards to fully cover the exposed part of the cutting blade.

f. The five finger chain blades should be available to all the operator working on knife and should be worn on all times during cutting work.

g. There should be a regular check on the condition of the light, guard, and table fittings.

h. Only fully trained operatives should be allowed to work on knives.

i. The operators' standards should be checked against the published operating practice on a regular basis and should be corrected wherever a deviation is found.

j. There should be an effective cleaning system in operation that prevents build up of fluff, fly and off cuts, thus reducing fire, health & trip hazards?

A complete of list of safety measures can be found here


For those who want to go in for technical details they can click here for round knife and here for straight knife .

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8 Things to Remember While Spreading Fabric

Things to remember While Spreading

1.      Mark the Splice Zone on the Spreading Table

Spreading is an operation in which bolts of fabrics are unrolled on a table in such a way in order to produce a multi-layer stack, so as to facilitate cutting.

Fabrics usually contain many defects. The defects in pieces which are cut into patterns are highly undesirable. To avoid this, the spreading operator must identify and cut out defects as the material is being spread on the table. However, if the material is cut in the mid of the pattern, it will lead to more material wastage.

To avoid this, zones are defined called splice zones, where cuts can be made by the spreading operator. Also it is also required to decide about the overlap of the next section of cloth. Thus there are two lines in a splice zone: One line shows how far the previous piece of cloth must extend, and one line shows where the next piece of the cloth must begin, ie how much overlap is needed.

Thus when a flaw is encountered, the spreader is stopped, the operator moves back to the nearest splice point, cuts the flaw out and moves the spreader back to overlap the cut line with the required overlap.

Apart from cutting out defects, splices are also used to achieve proper shade matching when starting a new roll of cloth.

Thus the splicing points are marked by means of a chalk or paint.

2.      Use Paper for the first ply in case the table surface is rough or when fine fabrics are being spread

3.      Identify the defects noticed in the fabric by means of stickers

4.      Use lubricated paper for separating layers

a.       To prevent scorching in the natural fibers ( coarse fabrics)

b.      To prevent fusing in the synthetic fabrics

5.      Ensure that decided number of ply count and height of the spread is achieved.

6.      How to spread

a.       Mount the bolt on the machine

b.      Pull the fabric to far end position

c.       Position the fabric at the far end ( with our without weight or pins)

d.      Align the ply ( width on one side)

e.       Cut the ply after each lay

f.       Repeat this process from b-e until the entire bolt is spread.

g.      Check ply count

h.      Repeat a and then b to g till the decided number of ply are spread

i.        Mark the remnants of the bolts with length in meters and bolt number and stack separately at the given place.

7.      How to Splice

a.       When the ends of the patterns in a marker are joined on both sides by straight line then use the single line splicing. Make sure that overlapping at this point should be about 2”

b.      When the ends of the patterns in a marker interlock at a common vertical line across the width then use two line marking with a diagonal indicating common area that must be overlapped when patterns in a marker interlock at a common vertical line across the width.

8.      When the required height of lay is achieved, place the marker on the spread and secure it by means of brass pins on each pattern section.

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Additional Reading: Indian Textile Journal

Cutting in Garment Manufacturing: Objective, Need and Basic Process

Cutting is one of the most important operations in garment manufacturing. Once the fabric has been checked, relaxed if required, and spread properly, it has to be cut into the required garment components. These components may include the front, back, sleeves, collar, cuff, pocket, waistband, facing, lining and other small parts depending on the garment style.

The cutting room acts as a bridge between the fabric store and the sewing room. If cutting is inaccurate, the sewing department cannot correct the problem easily. A small mistake in cutting may lead to poor garment shape, mismatched parts, size variation, fabric wastage, or rejection of the finished garment. Therefore, cutting is not just a mechanical operation; it is a technical and economic activity.

Visual 1: Cutting room workflow showing fabric inspection, spreading, marker placement, cutting, numbering and bundling.

Objective of the Cutting Room

The main objective of the cutting room is to cut garment parts accurately and economically. Accuracy means that every cut part should match the required pattern shape, size and grain direction. Economy means that the fabric should be used in such a way that wastage is kept as low as possible.

Another important objective is to cut garments in sufficient quantity so that the sewing room receives a continuous supply of work. If the cutting room is slow, sewing operators may remain idle. If the cutting room cuts incorrectly, the sewing room may face fitting problems, mismatched parts, or shortage of components. Thus, the efficiency of the sewing room depends heavily on the planning and performance of the cutting room.

Why Cutting is Necessary

A garment is made from many different pattern shapes, but fabric is supplied in a continuous length and fixed width. Cutting is necessary because a flat fabric has to be converted into shaped garment parts. These parts are later joined together by sewing to create the required three-dimensional garment shape.

Fabric width is also a limitation. A garment pattern cannot always be made from one full piece of cloth without joints. For example, shirts, trousers, dresses and jackets require several separate components because the human body has curves, movement points and fitting requirements. Cutting helps in arranging these parts within the available fabric width.

Cutting is also necessary because a fabric wrapped around the body must be joined somewhere. The position of this joint has to be planned carefully. In garments, seams are placed at suitable locations such as the side seam, shoulder seam, armhole, inseam, waistband or center back. These seam positions are decided by design, comfort, fit and production convenience.

Practical Understanding: Cutting converts fabric from a continuous two-dimensional sheet into shaped garment components. Sewing then joins these components to create the final three-dimensional garment.

Basic Steps in Cutting a Single Garment

When a single garment is to be cut, the paper pattern is placed directly on one or two layers of fabric. The pattern pieces are arranged carefully, keeping in mind fabric grain, design direction, checks, stripes, motifs, nap, shade variation and fabric defects.

After the pattern pieces are positioned, they may be pinned, weighted, traced or marked depending on the fabric and production method. The garment parts are then cut using hand shears, electric cutters or other suitable cutting tools. In small tailoring setups, hand shears are commonly used. In industrial garment manufacturing, electric straight knives, round knives, band knives and automated cutting systems are more common.

Special care is required when the fabric has checks, stripes, borders or large motifs. In such fabrics, careless cutting can disturb the appearance of the garment. For example, if the stripes on the left and right panels do not match, the garment may look defective even if the stitching is technically correct.

Cutting Large Quantities of Garments

In mass production, garments are not cut one by one. Instead, a lay is created. A lay is a stack of fabric plies spread one over another on a cutting table. Each ply represents one garment layer or one part of the production quantity. The number of plies in the lay depends on the order quantity, fabric type, cutting equipment and handling capacity.

On top of the lay, a marker is placed. A marker is a planned arrangement of all pattern pieces required for one or more garment sizes. It is usually prepared on paper or digitally in modern CAD systems. The purpose of the marker is to arrange the pattern pieces in such a way that maximum fabric is utilized and minimum wastage occurs.

Marker planning is a very important activity because fabric is usually the largest cost component in a garment. Even a small improvement in marker efficiency can lead to significant savings in large-volume production. Pattern pieces are interlocked closely wherever possible, but this must be done without disturbing grain direction, design matching, size accuracy or cutting feasibility.

Visual 2: Marker planning showing how pattern pieces are arranged within fabric width to improve fabric utilisation.

What is a Lay?

A lay consists of many layers of fabric spread evenly on the cutting table. All the layers are usually of the same length as the marker. After spreading, the marker is placed on top and cutting is done through all the layers together. In this way, many identical garment parts can be cut at the same time.

However, increasing the number of plies is not always better. If the lay is too high, cutting accuracy may reduce. The lower plies may shift, edges may become uneven, and small pattern parts may become distorted. Therefore, the height of the lay must be decided carefully based on fabric thickness, fabric slipperiness, cutting machine capacity and the accuracy required.

Simple Cutting Quantity Relationship

\( \text{Number of garment sets cut} = \text{Number of plies} \times \text{Number of complete marker sets} \)

For example, if one marker contains all parts for one complete garment and 50 plies are spread, then 50 garments can be cut from that lay. If the marker contains two complete garment sets and 50 plies are spread, then 100 garments can be cut.

Factors Affecting the Number of Plies in a Lay

The first factor is the order quantity. If the order is large, more plies may be spread so that a higher number of garments can be cut in one operation. This increases productivity and reduces handling time.

The second factor is material availability. Sometimes the fabric available may not be sufficient to create a very large lay. In such cases, the cutting plan has to be adjusted according to the available fabric length, shade lots and production priority.

The third factor is the physical capacity of the cutting equipment. Every cutting tool has a limit. Hand shears can cut only a few layers. A straight knife can cut more layers, but only up to a certain lay height. Automatic cutters also have technical limits depending on blade movement, vacuum control and fabric compression.

Fabric characteristics also influence lay height. Thin and stable fabrics can often be cut in higher lays. Thick, slippery, stretchable, loosely woven, napped or delicate fabrics may require lower lay heights to maintain accuracy. For example, cutting a stable cotton poplin is very different from cutting chiffon, velvet, lycra fabric or heavy denim.

Importance of Design Matching

Design matching is a critical aspect of cutting. In plain fabrics, the main concern is grain direction and size accuracy. But in checks, stripes, plaids, borders, engineered prints and directional designs, the cutter must also consider visual continuity.

If checks or stripes are not aligned properly at seams, the finished garment looks poor. In high-quality garments, matching is expected at important points such as front placket, side seams, pockets, collar, cuffs and yokes. This may reduce marker efficiency because pattern pieces cannot be placed freely, but it improves garment appearance and customer acceptance.

In traditional Indian garments and saree-based products, border placement and motif positioning become even more important. A border may have to appear at a sleeve hem, kurta hem, dupatta edge or pallu-inspired panel. Therefore, cutting is closely linked with design understanding.

Common Cutting Room Problems

One common problem is inaccurate cutting. This may happen due to fabric shifting, blunt blades, incorrect marker placement, excessive lay height or careless handling. Even a few millimeters of variation can create problems during sewing, especially in collars, cuffs, armholes and waistbands.

Another problem is shade mixing. Fabric rolls may look similar but may belong to different shade lots. If different shades are mixed in one garment, the defect may become visible after stitching. Hence, shade sorting and roll planning are important before spreading and cutting.

Fabric defects are also a major concern. Defects such as holes, stains, slubs, weaving faults, printing defects and oil marks should be identified before cutting. If defective portions are not removed or avoided, defective garment parts may reach the sewing line.

A further issue is poor bundling and numbering. Once garment parts are cut, they must be bundled size-wise, color-wise and order-wise. If parts are mixed, the sewing room may attach the wrong sleeve, wrong collar, wrong shade panel or wrong size component. Good cutting is therefore not complete until the cut parts are properly identified and controlled.

Cutting Tools Used in Garment Manufacturing

Hand shears are used for single pieces, sampling, tailoring and small-scale production. They are simple and flexible but not suitable for large quantities.

Straight knife cutting machines are widely used in factories. They can cut many layers at a time and are useful for general garment production. Round knife machines are useful for straight lines and gentle curves but are less suitable for sharp curves and intricate shapes.

Band knife machines are used for more accurate cutting of small parts after rough cutting. Die cutting is used when identical small parts have to be cut repeatedly, such as collars, cuffs, labels, leather parts or small components. Modern factories may also use computer-controlled automatic cutting machines, which improve speed, consistency and marker utilization.

Why Cutting Accuracy Matters

Cutting accuracy directly affects garment fit. If two panels are not cut to the same shape, sewing becomes difficult and the garment may twist, pucker or hang badly. Inaccurate cutting can also disturb balance, especially in trousers, jackets, fitted garments and structured products.

Cutting also affects production efficiency. If parts do not match during sewing, operators have to adjust them manually. This slows down the line and increases defects. In severe cases, entire bundles may need re-cutting, leading to fabric loss and delivery delays.

From a cost point of view, cutting has a major impact because fabric is expensive. A good cutting plan saves fabric, reduces waste, improves sewing efficiency and helps maintain garment quality. This is why cutting room control is considered one of the key areas in garment manufacturing.

Merchandiser’s Note: If a buyer asks for stripe matching, check matching, border placement or engineered print placement, the fabric consumption may increase. This must be considered while costing, planning and approving the final garment.

Practical Note for Students and Merchandisers

For a textile or fashion student, cutting may appear simple because it looks like the act of cutting fabric with a blade. In reality, it involves pattern knowledge, fabric behavior, production planning, quality control and cost control. A merchandiser should understand cutting because many production delays, consumption variations and quality complaints originate at this stage.

For example, if the buyer approves a garment with stripe matching, the merchandiser must understand that fabric consumption may increase. If the fabric has shrinkage, relaxation or shade variation, these issues must be controlled before cutting. If the order quantity is large, cutting capacity and lay planning become important for meeting delivery dates.

Conclusion

Cutting is the process by which flat fabric is converted into shaped garment components. Its purpose is not only to separate fabric pieces but to do so accurately, economically and in the right quantity for production. A well-managed cutting room supports smooth sewing, reduces fabric wastage, improves garment quality and helps the factory meet delivery commitments.

In garment manufacturing, mistakes made in cutting are difficult to correct later. Therefore, cutting must be treated as a technical operation requiring planning, skill and control. Good cutting is the foundation of good garment making.

General Disclaimer

This article is intended for educational and general understanding purposes. Actual cutting room practices may vary depending on garment type, fabric behavior, machinery, buyer requirements, factory systems and quality standards. Readers should use this information as a practical learning guide and adapt it to the specific requirements of their production environment.

Back ground to the clothing industry: Why Garment Manufacturing Is Labour Intensive

Background to the Clothing Industry

The clothing industry is one of the most interesting industries because it combines fashion, fabric, labour, machines, speed, skill and market demand. A garment factory may employ only a few people, or it may employ thousands. This wide variation is mainly because of the special nature of fashion and clothing manufacture.

Unlike many other industries, garment manufacturing is not only a machine-based activity. It is strongly dependent on human handling, judgement and coordination. The fabric has to be spread, cut, bundled, stitched, finished, checked, packed and delivered according to market requirements.

Simple understanding:

The clothing industry is shaped by two major realities: fashion changes quickly, and sewing still needs a large amount of human skill.

1. Fashion Requires Quick Response

The first important feature of the clothing industry is the need for quick response. Fashion changes fast. Colours, styles, silhouettes, prints, trims and garment details may change from season to season, and sometimes even faster.

Because of this, clothing companies must be able to produce and deliver garments quickly. A delay in production may mean that the style becomes less attractive in the market.

Two Broad Types of Clothing

Clothing may be broadly divided into two categories:

Type of Clothing	Meaning	Production Nature
Fashion or couture garments	Garments strongly influenced by style, design and current fashion trends.	Usually produced in smaller quantities and often at higher cost.
Staple garments	Regular garments such as underwear, shirts, school uniforms and basic clothing.	Produced in larger quantities because demand is more stable.

The level of technology used in garment manufacture is closely related to the quantity produced and the length of the production run. If a style is produced in very large quantities for a long period, more mechanisation can be justified. But if a style is produced only in small quantities, too much investment in special machines may not be economical.

Practical point:
A basic school shirt may run in thousands of pieces, so production can be standardised. A fashion blouse or designer kurta may run in small quantities, so flexibility becomes more important than heavy mechanisation.

2. The Fashion Industry Is Labour Intensive

The clothing industry is also labour intensive. Entry into garment manufacturing is relatively easy compared with many other industries because the central operation is sewing. A small factory can begin with sewing machines, cutting tables, pressing equipment and trained operators.

However, this simplicity is also the reason why garment production depends heavily on people. Sewing may appear to be a simple operation, but it needs continuous fabric handling, alignment, judgement and control.

Why Sewing Dominates Garment Production

Sewing is the central process in garment manufacture. A garment is formed by joining different fabric components such as fronts, backs, sleeves, collars, cuffs, waistbands, pockets and linings.

In many sewing operations, the actual needle stitching time is only a part of the total operation time. A large part of the time is spent in handling activities such as:

• Picking up the fabric parts
• Matching and aligning edges
• Folding or creasing fabric
• Positioning under the presser foot
• Trimming threads
• Marking or checking seam positions
• Disposing the sewn piece after stitching
• Bundling parts for the next operation

This is why the productivity of a sewing line depends not only on machine speed, but also on operator skill, workplace layout, bundle movement, handling method and production planning.

Important learning:
In sewing, the machine may be fast, but the fabric must still be controlled by the operator. Therefore, garment manufacturing remains highly labour dependent.

Why Is Garment Manufacturing Difficult to Automate?

Garment manufacturing is difficult to automate mainly because fabric is not rigid. It behaves differently from metal, plastic or wood. A fabric piece bends, stretches, slips, folds and changes shape during handling.

1. Fabrics Are Limp

Fabrics bend in many directions. They do not remain fixed like a sheet of metal. This makes it difficult to design jigs, fixtures and automatic equipment for many sewing operations.

For example, while joining a sleeve to an armhole, the operator has to control curves, ease, seam allowance and fabric movement at the same time. This type of operation is difficult to fully mechanise.

2. Fabrics Vary in Extensibility

Different fabrics stretch differently. Some fabrics have very little extensibility, while knitted fabrics or stretch fabrics may extend considerably.

A minimum amount of yarn and fabric extensibility helps the sewing needle penetrate the fabric properly. If the extensibility is too low, sewing may become difficult. If the extensibility is too high, the fabric may distort during stitching.

3. Fabrics Vary in Thickness

Fabric thickness also affects garment manufacturing. A fine voile fabric, a denim fabric, a wool coating fabric and a quilted fabric cannot be handled in the same way. Seam formation, needle selection, thread selection, feed mechanism and pressing conditions all depend on fabric thickness.

4. Sewing Must Match the Fabric Behaviour

The method of joining must be compatible with the flexibility, drape and handle of the fabric. A garment seam should not only hold two fabric pieces together; it should also move with the fabric.

This is why sewing has remained the most widely used method of joining garments. Mechanically, a stitch is one of the few joining methods whose flexibility comes close to the flexibility of fabric itself.

Textile concept:
A good garment seam should be strong, but it should not make the fabric unnecessarily stiff. The seam must support the garment without spoiling its drape and handle.

Cutting Room Mechanisation

While sewing is difficult to fully automate, cutting room mechanisation is more practical and is widely used in many garment factories. This is because cutting deals with fabric in layers before garment components are separated for stitching.

In the cutting room, activities may include:

• Fabric spreading
• Marker planning
• Manual or automatic cutting
• Numbering and bundling
• Sorting garment components

Modern garment factories may use computerised marker making, automatic spreading machines and automatic cutting machines. These technologies help reduce fabric wastage and improve cutting accuracy.

Why Cutting Is Economically Important

Cutting is very important because fabric is usually the largest cost component in a garment. In many garments, material cost forms a major part of the total cost.

Therefore, even a small saving in fabric consumption can have a large impact on profitability. This is why marker efficiency, lay planning and cutting accuracy are very important in garment manufacturing.

Area	Main Concern	Why It Matters
Cutting room	Material utilisation	Fabric is a major cost, so wastage must be controlled.
Sewing room	Labour productivity	Sewing depends heavily on operator skill and handling time.
Finishing section	Appearance and quality	Pressing, checking and packing influence final garment presentation.

Difference Between Cutting and Sewing Activities

Cutting and sewing are both essential, but they are very different in nature.

Cutting	Sewing
Can be mechanised more easily.	More difficult to automate fully.
Main concern is fabric saving and accuracy.	Main concern is operator skill, quality and productivity.
Fabric is handled in layers.	Fabric components are handled individually or in small assemblies.
Marker planning can improve material utilisation.	Workplace design can improve handling efficiency.

Conclusion

The clothing industry is a unique industry because it must respond quickly to fashion changes while still depending heavily on human skill. The central process of garment manufacture is sewing, and sewing remains labour intensive because fabric is limp, flexible, extensible and variable in thickness.

At the same time, some areas such as cutting can be mechanised more easily because fabric can be handled in layers and material saving can be calculated systematically.

For a textile or fashion student, the most important understanding is this: garment manufacturing is not only about stitching. It is about managing fabric behaviour, labour skill, production flow, material cost and market speed together.

Key takeaway:
The garment industry remains labour intensive not because machines are unavailable, but because fabric is a difficult material to control automatically.