May 2023

Sourcing materials for clothing is the most crucial stage in clothing manufacturing. So, you’re in the perfect moment where you’ve finished designing your clothing piece and are about to send it to the factory for production. This stage is really thrilling, but remember not to rush ahead. Before contacting the factory for the first time, make sure you have all the necessary things ready, like the fabrics, labels, hang tags, and trims. If the factory doesn’t handle product development, you’ll also need to prepare samples and a tech pack before they can start making your garments!  If you’re feeling suddenly stressed and unready, don’t worry! We’ll assist you in getting started. Let’s focus on the important things you need to pay attention in order to succeed in sourcing materials for clothing.  Fabric’s Availability  This is the first step. Of course, you need to figure out if a style is timeless, if it’s about to become trendy, or if it’s no longer popular among fashion enthusiasts. This will help you decide if it’s worth creating and if the materials are worth ordering. But that’s not the only thing to consider, especially when it comes to printed fabrics. Some fabrics are harder to find or more expensive to produce. Printed fabrics with consistent patterns will be cheaper to buy than to have custom-made, but they are also more challenging to find. Take some time to talk to a fabric supplier and see what they have in stock. This will help you make the best decision for yourself, your brand, and your budget.  Quality Checking  The quality of your clothes says a lot about your brand, so it’s important not to take shortcuts. Always use the best materials that are available within your budget and in your local market. Sometimes, cheaper options may seem like a money-saving choice, but if they lead to losing customers or having to spend more to fix your clothes, you won’t actually be saving money in the end!  Know the Options of Your Fabric  There are so many different types of fabrics to choose from. If you have an idea about the difference between knitted and woven fabrics, how they are made, and their weights, you’ll be in a much better position when you start.  Discover Your Unique Edge  To stay ahead in the fashion industry, it’s important to be unique and sell your own style. The more special and different your clothes are, the less competition you’ll have in your market. Figure out what makes you stand out and what you want to accomplish by creating mood boards and vision boards. These boards will help you clarify and bring your ideas to life, and they will also help you establish your identity and voice as a designer and entrepreneur.  Continue Learning  The fashion industry is always changing, so make sure you stay updated on the latest trends and methods. It’s important to invest in your knowledge by regularly reading blog posts from Beautiful Connection Group. This will help you stay informed and up to date.  If you are looking for sourcing materials for clothing, we’ll suggest Beautiful Connection Group from the USA. Beautiful Connection Group, located in the United States, specializes in the production of women’s clothing. They offer a wide range of dress types, including tops, t-shirts, leggings, skirts, and more. This manufacturer is particularly advantageous for new clothing business owners since they do not impose high minimum purchase amounts; their minimum purchase amount is only 50. The company provides the flexibility to customize any dress design and choose any fabric. However, please check their website for more detail. 

The garment production process, where clothes are made step-by-step in an organized way. The steps include laying out the fabric, marking the patterns, cutting the fabric, sewing the pieces together, checking for mistakes, finishing the details, ironing, and putting the clothes in packaging. This process changes raw materials into finished products. If the preparation of materials is not done properly, it will be hard to keep the industry running.   Making clothes involves many steps, starting with an idea or design concept (tech pack) and ending with a finished product. The process includes designing the product, choosing and inspecting the fabric, making patterns, grading the sizes, marking the fabric, cutting it, bundling it, sewing the pieces together, pressing or folding it, finishing the details, dyeing and washing it, checking for quality control, and more! Let’s start garment production process in detail step-by-step below… 1. Collecting Fabrics   Clothes factories get big rolls of fabric from other countries that are put on cardboard or plastic tubes or in piles or bags. These rolls of fabric usually come in big metal shipping containers and are taken off with a special lifting machine called a forklift. The factories usually have a place where they store the fabric before making the clothes.  2. Relaxing Fabric  “Relaxing” means letting the fabric rest and shrink before making clothes. This is important because the fabric is pulled tight during the different steps of making the fabric, like weaving and dyeing. The relaxing process helps the fabric shrink so that it won’t shrink as much when people wear the clothes. Clothesmakers relax the fabric either by hand or by using a machine. Relaxing by hand means rolling the fabric on a special machine and pulling it through a machine to release the tension in the fabric. Relaxing by the machine does the same thing, but it’s done automatically. Clothesmakers also check the quality of the fabric during the relaxing process to make sure it meets their standards. They check the fabric by shining light through it to see if there are any problems like inconsistent colors or holes. If the fabric doesn’t meet their standards, they send it back to the company that manufactures the fabric.  3. Form Layout, Spreading & Cutting  Once the fabric is relaxed, it’s moved to the area where the clothes will be cut out. First, the fabric is cut into pieces that are the same size, and then it’s spread out either by hand or using a computer. They do this to:  (1) Check for any problems in the fabric (2) Make sure the fabric is stretched the right amount when they cut it (3) Line up the pieces of fabric so they’re in the right place when they’re sewn together  The number of pieces of fabric they cut at once depends on the type of fabric, how they spread it out, the cutting tools they’re using, and how many clothes they need to make.  Then they put the pattern for the clothes on top of the fabric. They can do this by hand or using a computer. Finally, they cut the fabric into the shapes of the clothes using cutting tools that are either operated by hand or by a computer.  4. Laying  When making clothes, it’s important to lay out the paper pattern on the fabric before cutting it. Here are some tips for laying out the pattern:  (1) Start by laying out the bigger pieces of the pattern, then add the smaller pieces. (2) Laying out the pattern carefully can save a lot of money because a small amount of fabric saved on each layer can add up to a lot when they cut many layers at once. (3) The length of the garment should be in line with the edge of the fabric. The pattern should be placed on the fabric so it follows the grain of the fabric. This will help the clothes fit better and last longer. (4) Parts that need to be placed on the fold should be lined up exactly with the fold. (5) Always lay out the pattern on the wrong side of the fabric. (6) When laying out the pattern, think about the design of the fabric. Make sure the design runs in the same direction throughout the garment.  5. Marking  This is a method of planning the placement of pattern pieces onto a large sheet of paper, which can be done by hand or by computer. The paper used is called marker paper and has symbols on it to show how to position the components of the garment according to the fabric’s grain lines. The markers are then attached to the fabric using pins, staples, or adhesive paper. The marker planning process provides details of how the fabric should be laid out, including the number of layers and any additional materials needed like lining, trims, or pockets. The supervisors in charge of marker planning allocate the cutting orders to various teams in the cutting room.  6. Cutting  Cutting fabric into garments is the most important job in the cutting room. Once the fabric is cut, it’s difficult to fix errors. The first thing to consider is whether there is enough fabric to keep production running smoothly and deliver on time. Problems in the cutting room can affect how quickly the sewing room can work. Assuming everything is good to go, the next step is to give the sewing room a schedule of what to sew. All the cutting is done with straight knife machines.  7. Screen Printing & Embroidery  Embroidery and screen printing are special processes that only happen if the customer asks for them. So, usually, they are done outside the garment factory.  Embroidery is when a machine puts designs or patterns on clothes, like logos. Many machines can work together to do this quickly. Customers can ask for embroidery to make their clothes look unique.  Screen printing is when designs are painted onto fabric using machines and dryers. It happens by