Production Sewing Techniques

As you gain sewing experience, analyzing a production job, can save you many hours. Here are a few tips to get you started.

Lay Out And Cutting

Every factory or production facility I have been in, layers the fabric to cut many layers at a time. Although home sewers do not have the required saws to go through 20 layers of fabric at a time, there are still some time saving tricks you can use.

• Your Pattern
  If you are going to be making many of the same item, contemplate copying your pattern to oak tag or poster board. This will stay flat and easier to follow then tissue paper used over and over.
  If the pattern needs to be on a fold, trace the full pattern piece with out the necessary fold line. For example,a center back seam may need to be placed on the fold. Make the center of your new pattern piece the fold line.
  For pattern pieces that have a left and a right because they are cut double, Make a left pattern piece and a right pattern piece.
• Lay out, cutting and marking
  Instead of the normal home sewing method of laying out with the fabric folded, lay the fabric out flat, with no fold. A sheet of Ply wood makes an excellent cutting table. If you must, use the floor to save time.
  Lay out as many layers of fabric as you will be able to cut through, with the equipment that you have.
  In factories the use a small drill to make dots. Here you will improvise with chalk to carefully mark one layer at a time, with out shifting the pile.
  As you cut, keep all like pieces stacked together. If you are making the same item with different fabrics, break the like piles into like thread color piles. Try to stay with fabrics that you can stay with basic thread colors.

Assembly

Now you have many piles ready to assemble. If you are working from a home machine there are still ways to save time in production.

• By making your piles in like colors, you save time with machine thread change overs. Wind a couple of bobbins at the beginning, to prevent having to stop production to wind later.
• Place a small table or chair on each side of you. One side for the pieces as you join them, the other side for the joined pieces.
• Prevent accidents and confusion by repeating one step at a time. For example you have a one piece back, a right front and a left front pieces vest to assemble. (Note: For this example we will assemble a felt vest with no lining. It should give you an idea of breaking down a project.)
  • Place center backs and right front pieces on one side of you.
  • Secure the shoulder seam on all right front to back pieces. As you complete the seam, place the pieces on the other side of you.
  • Once you have finished all the right shoulder seams. place the left front pieces on the side with the finished pieces.
  • Now join all the left shoulder seams, moving the pieces to the other side as you finish the seam.
  • Now you have all the shoulder seams done. Begin joining the side seams. Completing both sides of the vest before you put it on the completed side.
• Do all your pressing at once where ever possible. On the vest we have used for example purposes, all the seams are separate. Wait until the are all done to press the seams. This cuts down on you getting up and down as well as the amount of handling of the garment.

Production Sewing With Groups, Kids And Beginners

If your lucky enough to be working with a group, there are many time saving tips.

• If at all possible, set up at a long table to keep the pieces going to the next assembly step with minimum handling.
• If pinning is absolutely necessary, place a workstation for one person, between machine workstations, to have the pieces pinned and ready for the machines.
• Have the machine operators pull the pins from the garment as they get to them. With one hand motion this removes the pins and saves handling, as well as limiting the chances of a finished garment leaving with a pin in it.
• If you are working with a group of children, allow them to trade operations every half hour or so to prevent boredom. You will be giving the children an opportunity to see how a factory works but you children's attention span requires a change over, more frequently then adults. Although children amy miss making one garment them selves, they can be proud of their team effort to bring a finished product to sale for the group.

Although it takes time to break up a project, you save much time in the production. Analyze each step necessary for your project and have fun.