Clothing passes through cutting, stitching and pressing machines before reaching your closet.
Those trousers and shirts hanging in your closet traveled a long journey from the extruders and spinning spindles inside a textile factory. Machines used for garment manufacturing evolved to modern processes throughout the industry as a way of producing clothing at high speeds, low costs and consistent quality. But even with modern technology, some pieces of heavy equipment share the limelight with old-fashioned needles and threads used by hand-sewers.
Fibers
Cotton represents a fundamental component in the apparel industry. Your starched khakis have humble beginnings in cotton bales that are cleaned, separated and spun into yarns loaded onto power looms. Automated weaving achieves specific thread counts that strengthen textiles and reduce mistakes, according to the online article "Textile Technology: The Scientific Side of Garment Manufacturing," published at AMillionLives.net. While cotton reigns, apparel makers rely on many other materials like silks, wools and blends. Fabrics undergo mechanized processes that protect consumers, such as flammability and endurance testing.
Patterns
Discussions of clothing patterns conjure up thoughts of fashionistas and runway models. For garment workers, pattern processing means computerized templates that reproduce blueprints of the same garment in various sizes. A cutting machine operator loads the different cutouts --- known as markers -- onto layers of fabric using a spreader so they look like jigsaw puzzle pieces, according to American Society For Testing And Materials (ASTM). Automated cutters snip through the layered cloth and produce sleeves, collars and other parts that are later sewn into finished products.
Stitching
Commercial sewing machine operators assemble garments with automated machinery. A beginner typically operates a single-needle machine, and gradually learns more sophisticated stitching equipment like double-needle or automatic button sewers, according to OccupationalInfo.org. She also manages the machine's peripherals including foot pedals and tension or guide settings. A newer generation of machines trims excess threads while stitching, which saves on threads and manpower, Fibre 2 Fashion website reports. In the midst of noisy apparel factories, hand sewers perform specialty work like appliques, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Pressers
Pressing rooms represent one of the final manufacturing stages before mass-produced garments hit the marketplace, according to O*NetOnline.org. A professional presser operates pressing machines that typically use hydraulics or steam to smooth wrinkles in finished articles of clothing. Workers position pressing heads over the fabric, demonstrating special care to use equipment and settings based on features like heat tolerance. Textile press operators move heavy irons back and forth over garments to reduce wrinkles and add shape. Some clothing requires special attention, such as pleating.
Tags: pressing machines, your closet
