Cutting

 The first stage in the manufacture of garments is the

cutting of the materials into the necessary pattern
shapes. These are then joined together by means of
seams to create three-dimensional garments.
 When large quantities of a garment style must be cut,
a lay is created which consists of many plies of fabric
spread one above the other.
 Depending on the method of cutting that is used, a
marker plan must be made in which the pattern pieces
are closely interlocked to achieve minimum fabric
usage.
Steps involved in Cutting
 A) Planning, Drawing and Reproduction of the Marker

 B) Spreading of the fabric to form a lay

 C) Cutting of the Fabric

Planning, Drawing and
Reproduction of the Marker
 Requirements of marker planning
 Efficiency of the marker
 Methods of marker planning and marker use
 Requirements of marker planning
 The industry has always paid great
attention to marker planning, because
when the cutting room cuts cloth it
spends around half the company’s
turnover. Any reduction in the amount
of cloth used per garment leads to
increased profit.

 The planner proceeds by first

positioning the larger pattern pieces and
then fitting the smaller pieces into the
gaps.

 The planner will then try a number of

pattern placements, selecting the one
which gives the shortest marker
The work of the marker planner is
subject to a number of constraints,
such as:-
1. Nature of the fabric and the desired result in the
finished garment
a) Pattern alignment in relation to the grain of the
fabric
b) Symmetry and asymmetry
c) Design characteristic of the finished garment
2. Requirements of quality in cutting
3. Requirements of production planning
Efficiency of the marker :-
The marker planner measures his success by the efficiency
of the marker plan created.
FORMULA:
Area of patterns in the marker plan X 100%
Total area of the marker plan
Marker efficiency can be increased by
suggesting alterations to patterns and
cloth such as:-
 Pattern engineering-examination of seam location to
ensure best possible placement of patterns in the marker

 Piece a pattern-dividing a large, awkwardly shaped

pattern into two pieces to accommodate it in the marker

 Selection of fabric widths where a choice is available. The

‘best’ width depends among other factors on the costs of
various widths per square meter, the typical number of
sizes in a marker, the potential pattern engineering
changes t0 various widths and the marker efficiency of a
series of test markers.
Methods of marker planning and marker use :-
1. Manual Marker planning with full
size patterns in a full size marker-

 The planner works by moving around

the full size patterns until a satisfactory
plan is obtained.

 Patterns are usually made from card and

it is important that the edges do not
become worn and that the patterns held
firmly while drawing takes place.

 This method takes considerable skill and

time, but it is economical for single
garments and checked fabric as it can be
easily manipulated
 Multiple copies of the paper marker
are normally needed. These copies
can either be made when the marker
plan is first drawn, or the master
marker can be reproduced as needed
by a variety of methods, such as:-

a) Carbon duplicating
b) Spirit duplicating or hectograph
carbon system
c) Diazo photographic method
 2. Computerized marker planning-
Computer system for
pattern development,
grading, marker planning
and marker plotting

•It is part of an integrated system which includes digitising or scanning of full-size

patterns into the computer, facilities for pattern adaptation, and , by inputting
appropriate grade rules , the means to generate all the sizes required.

• The planner uses a visual display unit with keyboard, tablet and data pen, puck
or mouse.
 After selecting the most economical marker plan devised in the
time available, the computer will provide an accurate piece count,
calculate a marker plan efficiency percentage and total the length
of the pattern peripheries.
 After planning the marker on the computer, the marker planner
instructs the computer to plot the marker automatically onto
paper. Granted a well-maintained plotter, this provides the most
accurate marker.
Spreading of the fabric to form a lay
The objective of spreading is to place the number of
plies of fabric that the production planning process
has dictated, to the length of the marker plan, in the
colours required, correctly aligned as to length and
width, and without tension.
An understanding of spreading must
include the following considerations:-

a)Requirements of the spreading process

b)Methods of spreading

c)Nature of fabric packages

 a)Requirements of the spreading
process :-
1. Shade sorting of cloth pieces
2. Correct ply direction and adequate lay stability
3. Alignment of plies
4. Correct ply tension
5. Elimination of fabric faults
6. Elimination of static electricity
7. Avoidance of distortion in the spread
8. Avoidance of fusion of plies during cutting
 b) Methods of spreading :-
1. Spreading by hand-
• Time consuming method requiring an
operator at each side of the table
• Typical fabrics which must be spread by
hand are checks, crosswise stripes and
other regularly repeating patterns

2. Spreading using a travelling

machine-
• It carries the piece of fabric from end to
end of the spread, dispensing on ply at
a time onto the spread
• Basic elements consist of a frame or
carriage, wheels travelling in guide rails
at the edge of the table, a fabric
support, and guide collars to aid the
correct unrolling of the fabric
 c) Nature of fabric packages :-
 Fabric packages vary in length, width, and make-up.
 The choice of package to be delivered to a cutting
room relates to the characteristics of the fabric and the
method of spreading employed such as :-

 Open fabric- rolled

 Tubular knitted fabric- rolled
 Folded fabric- rolled
 Folded fabric- cuttled
 Velvet- hanging
Open fabric- rolled Tubular knitted fabric- rolled

Folded fabric- rolled Folded fabric- cuttled

Cutting of the Fabric
 The term is used in the sense of ‘cutting room’, an area
which normally includes the activities of marker
planning, spreading and preparation for sewing, as
well as being used to refer to the actual cutting out of
garment parts from the lay
 Objective of cutting :-
 The objective of cutting is to separate fabric parts as
replicas of the pattern pieces in the marker plan. In
achieving this objective , certain requirements must be
fulfilled :-

 Precision of cut
 Clean edges
 Unscorched, unfused edges
 Support of the lay
 Consistent cutting
 Methods of cutting :-
1. Hand Shears
2. Straight Knife
3. Round Knife
4. Band Knife
5. Notchers
6. Drills and Thread Markers
7. Computer controlled Cutting Knives
8. Die Cutting
9. Laser Cutting
10. Plasma Cutting
11. Water Jet Cutting
12. Ultrasonic Cutting
1. Hand Shears-

 Used when cutting only single or

double plies.

 Flexible enough to accommodate

any pattern construction and
pattern shape

 Time consuming leading to high

labour cost per garment
2. Straight Knife-

 Versatile , portable, cheaper than band

knife, more accurate on curves than a
round knife, relatively reliable and easy to
maintain

 Elements consist of a base plate, usually

on rollers for easy movement, an upright
or standard carrying a straight, vertical
blade with varying edge characteristics
and an electric motor above it, a handle
for the cutter to direct the blade, and a
sharpening device
3. Round knife-

 Elements of a round knife are a

baseplate, above which is mounted an
electric motor, a handle for the cutter to
direct the blade, and a circular blade
rotating so that the leading edge cuts
downwards into the fabric

 Used only straight lines or lower lays of

relatively few piles

 Not suitable for cutting curved lines

4. Band knife-

 Comprises a series of three or more

pulleys, powered by an electric
motor, with a continuously rotating
steel blade mounted on them. One
edge of the blade is sharpened

 Used when higher standard of

cutting accuracy is required than can
be obtained with a straight knife
5. Notchers-

 Specialised notching equipment

provides greater accuracy because a
guide lines up the notcher with the cut
edge to give consistent depth of notch
at a consistent right angle to the edge

 The hot notcher incorporates a heating

element in order that the blade my
slightly scorch the fibres adjacent to the
notch in order to prevent it fraying
and disappearing
6. Drills and Thread
Markers-
 Used to mark position of pockets,
darts and similar features

 Drill mounting includes a motor, a

base plate with hole to allow the drill
to pass through, and a spirit level to
ensure that the base is horizontal and
hence the drill vertical.

 If it is important that no mark

remains on the fabric, a long thread
may be passed through the lay which is
then cut with scissors between each
ply, leaving a few centimeters visible
on each garment
7. Computer controlled Cutting Knives-

 Provides most accurate possible cutting, at high speed

 Made up of a table with a cutting surface consisting of

nylon bristles

 The carriage supporting the cutting head has two

synchronised servo-motors. A third servo motor positions
the cutting head on a beam across the width of this
carriage.

 The cutting head contains knife, automatic sharpner and

a further servo-motor which rotates the knife to position
it at a tangent to the line of cut on curves
8. Die Cutting-

 Process involves pressing a rigid

blade through the lay of the
fabric

 The die is a knife in the shape of

a pattern periphery, including
notches

 Provides a high standard of

accuracy of cutting but,
because of the cost of dies, they
are appropriate in situations
where large quantities of the
same pattern shape will be cut
9. Laser Cutting-
 A laser produces a beam of light
which can be focused into a very
small spot (0.25mm), producing a
very high energy density

 Cutting takes place by vaporisation.

Charring is prevented by the use of a
jet of inert gas which also removes
debris and smoke from the cutting
area

 If several plies are cut, the accuracy

is not perfect as it is a V cut rather
than a straight line.

 There is also risk that the edges may

fuse together
10. Plasma Cutting-

 Originally developed to satisfy a

demand for high quality cutting
on stainless steels and
aluminium but it can also be
used to cut textile materials

 Cutting is achieved by means of

a high velocity jet of high
temperature ionised gas (argon)
11. Water Jet Cutting-

 A very high velocity, small

diameter stream of water is
created by applying high
pressure water to a nozzle

 The high pressure jet acts as

a solid tool when it
encounters the material to
be cut, tearing the fibres on
impact

 Here the jet of water is

normally caught and
drained away
12. Ultrasonic Cutting-

 Uses an ultrasonically driven knife

blade

 Disposable knife blades save

sharpening time and for 10-14 days

 Upto 10 plies can be cut and low

vacuum only is needed
 Bibliography:-
 The Technology of Clothing Manufacture, Harold Carr and
Barbara Latham

 http://ellis-sanchez.com/manufacturing-process-training-
material.html

 www.garmento.org/cuttingroom/spreadingmethods

 http://img.directindustry.com

 www.iigm.in/images/eastman

 www.hitechmarkers.com