August 2021

Every newcomer in the fashion industry must have to know about the clothing manufacturing process. Most importantly, if you are starting your own clothing line, you should learn details regarding the clothing manufacturing process. Often individuals get perplexed by the garment production process. So, before you start learning about product creation and garment manufacturing, it’s a good idea to get a broad overview of all the phases involved in the clothing manufacturing process.  Now, let’s have a look-  1. Inspiration Shopping The Vintage Show is a great place to start if you’re seeking for design ideas. The Vintage Show has an incredible Instagram feed and hosts vintage apparel trade shows all over the world. Find a vintage garment that hasn’t been sold in stores for at least 20 years and make no adjustments. 2. Garment Design If the garments find that inspires you, we’d recommend purchasing them if they’re not too expensive. Instead, look for something similar but less expensive on eBay, Postmark or other  apparel outlets. Hiring a graphic artist to draw out the Franken outfits  would be a good option. 3. Print + Color Design           After that, there is print and color design to consider. Is your collection going to be all sold colors, or will you use a variety of prints? Will you combine the two and do a little of each? Simply googling is one of the simplest and cheapest ways to predict color and print trends. 4. Source and order fabric + trim  Fabrics should be chosen to complement the garment’s design. A Fabric Data Sheet contains all of the necessary fabric information for a factory to produce your garment. Make sure you acquire an FDS once you’ve chosen your fabric. You can start looking for fabrics and trim after you know how your garment will look. Some important factors to consider –  CONTENT OF FIBER The percentage of different fiber types in the cloth TYPE OF FABRIC WEAVE OR KNIT Plain weave or 3×1 twill for woven fabrics, and jersey for knit fabrics are examples. SIZE OF THE YARN The yarns’ diameters DENSITY OF FABRIC Yarns per inch (YPI) or stitches per inch (SPI) for wovens and knits, respectively. MINIMUM ORDER QUANTITY SAMPLE (MOQ) In a sample order, what is the smallest amount of cloth you can order? VALIDITY DATE AND SAMPLING PRICE What is the cost, and for how long is it valid? As the market changes, so do prices.     AN EXAMPLE OF LEAD TIME How long does it take to acquire a fabric sample? BULK ORDER MINIMUM QUANTITY (MOQ) For the bulk price, how much fabric do you need to order? VALIDITY DATE AND BULK PRICE When you place a bulk purchase, how long will it take to produce and transport your fabric? SPECIAL TREATMENTS OR FINISHES Washing, waterproofing, softening, and other services are available. 5. Tech Pack A tech pack is essentially your garment’s blueprint. It instructs the factory on everything from the sort of cloth to use and the color to use, all the way down to the sewing machine thread. It details where to obtain labels and hang tags, as well as how to pack and ship the item.         6. Preliminary Costing Don’t be afraid to be open and honest with your supplier about pricing. Many new brands believe they will just develop and then begin negotiations when it comes to the time to produce.  7. Pattern Development The first step is to create a pattern that will be used to cut the fabric. Some firms choose to collaborate with a local sample maker who can create designs and samples close to their location. Beautiful Connection Group is a clothing manufacturing company who can make any kind of customised clothing item.  8. Development Sampling It’s now time to make the sample. The sampling procedure is divided into five steps. Lab dips and strike offs are used to approve the colors and prints before sample fabric is made. Always make sure to get a swatch, and approve it. If you don’t like the way your color or print looks, this is your moment to speak up.  A fit sample is an opportunity to check the pattern, and how a garment is going to ultimately look and fit. You can even take the sample and throw it on a fit model to see how it looks on a person.    A proto sample is also known as a production-quality sample. It is a sample that is made with your fabric, printed or dyed with your approved print or colors, and it is made using your approved fit sample. You will need it to make sure that it matches your production samples and production can run. An SMS is a SalesMan Sample. Some brands need from 10-20 sets of SMS samples. If you do not have a sales team there is no reason to make SMS. You can use your 1 set of proto samples for everything. It’s free and easy to give away. If a factory comes back to you with a much higher cost after sampling, run the other way. If a supplier increases the prices, it’s time to break up – but if they don’t increase their prices, that’s ok. 9. Pre-Production Process It’s time to go on to the production once you have your prototype sample and final costing ready. A lot of brands use this before manufacturing to take orders from retailers and specially if they are doing wholesale business. Alternatively, if they are selling directly to consumers, they may offer pre-sale opportunities.  10. Grade Patterns Your samples have only been made in the sample size up till now. The majority of brands provide a small or medium sample size. If you’re targeting plus-size customers, then, you might have to make your sample size the one that is the most selling.  You’ll need to grade your pattern once you go through into the production process. That is to say, the design will rise and decrease in size

Stencils these days are very fashionable! Before knowing how to make stencils for clothing, you must have a clear idea what stencils are!  Stenciling is the process of creating patterns and designs on surfaces of basically in fabric, wood, etc. by using a thin cutout with holes through which paint is applied. First of all, let’s try to know a bit more regarding stencil… What is a Stencil? The term “stencil” refers to the thin cut-outs that are typically made of paper, plastic, or metal. The paint is placed via the holes (sprayed, brushed, or sponged) and the design is imprinted on the fabric’s surface. The design that is printed on the fabric is created by the holes in the stencil. When to use a stencil? You could have a design in mind that you’d like to paint on the fabric. But you’re not sure if you’ll be able to paint them in the same way over and over again without bleeding on the edges. This is where a stencil comes in handy.  In craft stores, you may buy ready-made stencils in a variety of patterns, designs, forms, and sizes, which you place on the fabric’s surface and paint with. However, you may easily make the stencils yourself once you learn how to make stencils.  You can discover your designs online or in books, customize them with your own adjustments, and then use them to create stencils. Nobody else would have the same style as you. Isn’t that fantastic? However, in order to get the designs printed precisely, you’ll need to make these stencils with extreme precision and perfection.  How to Find Designs for Stencils?   When it comes to stencil designs, the most important thing to remember is that they should have broad outlines.  Another key consideration is to select a design that does not have any separate details. It will be tough to create such details without having a joint to the outline, which may result in an appearance.  Designing a Stencil To avoid all of the problems listed above, make a preliminary sketch of the pattern you want in the form of a stencil. Further make sure that you cut away the inner side a bit and none of the inside’s sections come out separately. And if this is done, your design is ready to be turned into a stencil.  Ties are the internal connecting lines of the stencils. Your stencil will not be able to create a detailed design without the ties; they should not be too thin or too broad. However, wider ties are favored over narrower ties since thin ties will break or be covered in paint and will not show up in the finished product. You can make simple symmetrical stencil designs by folding your stencil material and then cutting it. Fold your fabric into a triangle shape in the middle first. To construct an easy stencil, cut out the inside portions of your folded material.  To make a reverse stencil, cut out from the exterior.  How to Make Stencils for Clothing  Masking tapes are the simplest stencils to make. Firstly you choose a design area. Then use masking tape to cover portions where you don’t want to paint, and then paint the outside. Stencils can be made from thin acetate sheets/see-through plastic sheets (transparent sheets used with overhead projectors) and are very durable. You can use them again and again. Alternatives include file covers (extremely thin ones), old x-ray sheets, and so on.  It’s ideal to acquire plastic sheets with a matt side and a glossy side since the matt side allows you to sketch with pencils and cut without slipping. And the matt side helps to keep the stencil motionless and steady when used on cloth.  Take a printout of the design you want to cut stencils from the plastic sheets and place it under the acetate sheet. Binder clips or tape can be used to keep them in place so they don’t move. Using a sharp exacto knife or blade to cut the sheet.  To make stencils, you can use any thick paper. Stencils can be made out of thick bond paper, old greeting cards, and other materials. For a symmetrical stencil design, simply fold it in half; mark the pattern on one side, and cut it out.  Another simple solution is to use freezer paper, which you can find in shops. These are sheets with one side of paper and the other side of plastic. You trace the design onto the freezer paper’s paper side and cut it out. The freezer paper stencil is then temporarily set in place as a stencil on the cloth, plastic side down. You can reuse this freezer paper stencil numerous times. If you don’t have any freezer paper on hand, you can make your own by gluing thin plastic sheets to regular printer paper.  Make a stencil out of lace. When used as a stencil, the complex designs of the lace are stunning. When working with lace, you’ll need to apply a temporary adhesive to adhere the lace to your cloth. To properly fill the stencil design, use an up and down motion with your stenciling brush. To construct a reverse stenciling design, you can utilize various found things that can be held flat on a surface, such as wonderfully formed leaves. Tips for Efficient Stenciling  When employing a stencil, make sure you’re using paint that doesn’t contain too much water. You don’t want paint to seep through the stencil’s outlines. The most effective method is to use a moderately wet sponge dipped in paint. You can use this sponge component to dab paint on the inside of the pattern. Unlike when painting manually, you don’t have to worry about outlines while using stencils. Instead of applying a thick coat of paint to the initial layer and leaving it alone, it is preferable to apply thin yet repeated layers of colors. Therefore you can apply the following layer after the first gets dried.

Knowing about apparel production is the most necessary step before starting a clothing business. We are going to go through 10 fashion manufacturing terms that you should be familiar with if you’re going to start apparel production. Many people have trouble understanding terminology, especially if they’re new to the fashion industry. And it’s critical to know what your manufacturer is talking about and what you’re agreeing to. Don’t worry if you’ve ever been perplexed by apparel production terminologies.   Today we are going to go through 10 terms that are randomly used in apparel production. Let’s start … 1. Bulk Bulk, also known as “go to bulk” or “approved to bulk” refers to the completion of your sampling, satisfaction with the results, and readiness to move on to your main order. The ultimate order of your products is referred to as bulk. The phrase “go to bulk” or “approved to bulk” refers to you providing your approval to the factory. You’re indicating that you’re pleased with the results of the samples and are ready to commit to the final order. 2. CMT CMT stands for cut, make, and trim. And it’s the second term we are going to introduce to you. This means that the factory may cut out the fabric, stitch it together, and add any necessary embellishments, such as buttons, labels, zips, and so on. So if your estimated state is CMT only, it means the factory isn’t going to provide any of those fabrics, and you’ll have to source them yourself.  3. CNY  The next term is CNY, which stands for Chinese New Year. And you’ll hear it a lot if you work with Chinese suppliers or manufacturers. During the Chinese New Year celebrations, many industries remain closed for up to six weeks, and there are often delivery delays. Because they’re hurrying to finish everything before Chinese New Year, and because there are absolutely no boats or goods leaving China during CNY. After CNY, when everyone is heading back to work, many factories have concerns with employees not returning to work, resulting in a big problem that lasts for months. Despite the fact that the New Year’s Eve party is substantially shorter. This is something to keep in mind during the months of January, February, and March. The dates of the celebrations vary from year to year, though they usually fall around those dates.  4. Ex-Factory  The ex-factory date is the day when the majority of the product will depart the manufacturer. However, when it comes to delivery dates or interactions with your manufacturer regarding dates, you must be extremely clear about what you intend. In most situations, the ex-factory date will differ from the shipment day. Because you must account for the distance between the factory and the port, as well as the time it will take to travel by road. So make sure you understand exactly what’s going on with any delivery dates. Thus you don’t miss any shipping, freight, or other slots that you’ve scheduled.  5. FOB The number five is FOB, which stands for free on board, and this may show up when you get estimates from vendors. It usually indicates that both the cost of shipping the items to the nearest port and the cost of making the clothing are included. Fabrics are usually included in this. Do double-check, and we say this because that’s what it’s supposed to mean, but manufacturers have a habit of twisting quotes in their favor. As a result, you’ll have to double-check that the quote has everything itemized and comprehensive. It usually excludes the real delivery charge as well as any additional fees like taxes, import duties, insurance, and so on.  6. Grade Rules Grading, often known as grade roles, is number six. Grading is the difference in measurements between each size, and grade rules inform the factory how much of a difference there should be between each point of measurement and each size you’re making your range in. Now, your tech pack or spec sheet contains the grade guidelines. Further they’ll tell the factory what measures to use. It will be for each point of measurement, and they will differ between different styles and positions within that style. Make sure these are made specifically for each style, rather than being a hasty copy/paste job. Some of them will be the same, but they must be double-checked at each measurement point. This must be done manually to ensure that you account for all of the varied sizes you’re producing.  7. Lead-time The seventh factor is lead time, which is the time between when you confirm your order with the factory and when you receive the completed goods at the distribution center. This can be tricky once more. This can be tricky once again. As we previously stated regarding dates, the factory may list their lead time as when the order leaves them. In this instance, you must also speak with your courier or whoever is delivering your goods to obtain the true lead time from start to finish. And in many circumstances, you may need to contact a few different people in order to get that date.  8. MOQ The MOQ is the eighth item on the list, and it is the most important. If you own a small business or a startup, you’ll hear this all the time. It refers to the minimum order quantity, which will be applicable for a variety of items. So it may be the bare minimum of clothes that the factory is willing to produce, or the bare minimum of fabric that you can purchase, or the bare minimum of trims, labels, barcodes, bags, or whatever it is. By paying a premium, you can sometimes get around the MOQ. Obviously, this has a significant impact on your costs. Minimums will apply to almost every business you work with on a retail business to wholesale business. And while the minimums are sometimes manageable, such as 50 units or 50 meters of