Garment manufacturing is a complex industry that transforms a diverse range of raw materials into finished clothing. The quality, appearance, and durability of garments highly depend on the quality of the raw materials used. This article explores the essential raw materials used in garment production, their properties, applications, and emerging trends in sustainability.
Raw materials are the basic materials needed to make garments. They can be divided into two main types: Main Materials (Primary Materials): Fibers, fabrics and yarns and Auxiliary Materials (Secondary Materials): Sewing threads, interlinings, buttons, zippers, labels and fasteners etc.
Main Raw Materials (Primary Materials)
Fiber Selection in Garment Manufacturing
Fabric requirements can be classified into four categories: aesthetic (handle, drape, luster, etc.); performance in use (easy-care, stretch, comfort, pilling tendency, abrasion resistance, etc.); image and cost, which can be subdivided into the fiber or yarn cost and the finished fabric processing cost. All of these factors have an influence based on the type of garment and its market position or price point. For example, a fabric to be used in a formal ladies’ suit for a highly regarded brand house will have a high value placed on aesthetics and image, be less sensitive to performance in use, and will be largely insensitive to cost. On the other hand, a department store’s own-brand jeans will be worth highly with respect to its durability and a low cost more than its aesthetics value and brand image.
Fabrics are the center of the analysis rather than fibers, yarns or garments because fabrics act as the crossroads in the apparel market. Yarns and fibers have a comparatively low range of variety but are difficult to interpret until they are transformed into fabric. Garments are an intricate mix of design and shape, which disguises the role played by the component materials. By contrast, fabrics are finite in number, visible from both ends of the supply chain and recognizable by all. The fiber performance in the clothing market is basically decided by three factors:
- Inherent characteristics of the fibers itself matches with the aesthetic, cost and other needs of each fabric.
- How easily and economically the fiber’s properties could be improved by processing in yarn or fabric form.
- How well the fiber blends with other fibers to enhance the overall fabric properties.
Yarns
Yarns are the immediate strand elements used to make woven and knitted fabrics. A yarn is a strand made from spun or twisted fibers or twisted filaments. Fibers are short lengths varying from 1/2 to 20″. The length and diameter of a fiber depends on its natural type and source.
Yarn Specifications
Yarns that are spun (staple) or twisted (filament) are specified with respect to twist and size. There are two major types of twist, S and Z, as shown in Figure 2.
Yarns sizes are designated with terms referring to yards of yarn per pound. Cotton, spun rayon and spun silk yarn sizes are numbered with the same system. A 1s yarn has 840 yards to a pound; a 2s yarn has 1680 yards, a 3s has 2520 yards, etc. If a yarn weight is 16,800 yards to a pound, the yarn is a 20s yarn. Wool yarns are numbered by three different systems. Worsted yarn measures 560 yards for a 1s. Woollen-cut yarn is 300 yards per pound for a 1s; woollenrun yarn is 1600 yards for a 1s. Woollen yarns differ from worsted yarns in structure. The fibers in woollen yarns are intermixed, whereas the fibers in a worsted yarn are long fibers that are parallel.
Filament yarns (rayon, silk, etc.) are numbered with a denier count. The denier number is the number of 0.05 g units per 450 lengths. If a 450 length of filament yarn weighs 3 g, the yarn is a 60 denier yarn. A multifilament yarn is a strand composed of a group of filaments twisted into one strand, whereas a monofilament yarn consists of only one filament.
Plied yarns, in fabric construction, are fabric strands consisting of two or more yarns. Cabled yarns are fabric strands composed of two or more plied yarns as shown in Figure 3.
In the early 1960s, the Tex System for stipulating yarn sizes was introduced (sponsored by the ASTM Committee D-13 on Textiles). The various yarn sizes defined previously in this section assigned each a yarn size number for a given length and weight relationship in the yarn. The Tex System seeks to use the same length and weight relationship as the size system for all yarns. In the Tex System, the yarn size is equal to the gram weight of 1000 m of yarn; that is, a No. 1 yarn is 1000 m whose weight equals 1 g. Under the International Metric Count, the decitex size of a yarn is equal to the gram weight of 10,000 m of the yarn.
Fabric
Specifications for fabrics, and other raw materials used in apparel manufacturing, can be categorized into two groups: properties of fabrics and fabric characteristics. A fabric property is something you can measure directly, like how long it is (in yards) or how heavy it is (in pounds). On the other hand, a fabric characteristic is how the fabric reacts when you apply an outside force, like stretching, shrinking, or how strong the seams are. These are changes that happen to the fabric when it’s put under different conditions. Another name for these is stress and strain properties.
When deciding what kind of fabric is needed, there are three different points of view to consider:
a) The Consumer’s View:
Consumers care about how the fabric looks, feels, and how comfortable and durable it is. They also care about style and how long it lasts.
b) The Garment Manufacturer’s View:
Garment makers care about how easy the fabric is to work with during production and how much it costs to make clothes from it.
- If the garment maker sells clothes to consumers, they also care about the same things consumers care about.
- If the garment maker is just a contractor (making clothes for other brands), they mainly care about production cost and how suitable the fabric is for making garments.
c) The Fabric Manufacturer’s View:
The fabric maker focuses on how well the fabric performs during garment production — like how it handles cutting, sewing, and other processes.
Woven Fabrics
Woven fabrics are constructed by intertwining two groups of yarns perpendicular to one another. Weave constructions are classified in relation to the manner in which the warp and weft yarns intertwine. The primary weave classes are shown in Figure 4.
- Plain weave: Every filling (or warp) yarn passes alternately over and under consecutive warp (or filling) yarns.
- Twill weave: Every weft yarn passes over (or under) two or more warp yarns, after passing under (or over) one or more warp yarns in staggered fashion, so as to produce a diagonal line on one or both sides of the fabric.
- Satin weave: Filling yarns pass over (or under) enough warp yarns after passing under (or over) a warp yarn so as to give the fabric a smooth glass-like surface when the float process is staggered. The satin float is the yarn (filling or warp), which passes over many of its complimentary yarns before going under a complimentary yarn.
- Basket weave: This is similar to the plain weave but with a multiple yarn grouping. Two or more yarns travel as a set.
- Jacquard weave: Any combination of plain, twill, satin and basket weave counts used to give a complex configuration with a bias-relief effect.
- Lappet weave: A weave that has two superimposed warp layers in sections of the fabric.
- Leno weave: A weave with an open-space effect. Each filling yarn passes through the ellipse formed when two adjacent warp yarns cross over each other in reciprocal fashion from filling to filling. These warp yarn amplitudes pass over or under each other before and after encompassing the filling yarn.
- Pile weave: A weave that has the end of looped or cut yarns protruding out of one fabric surface. A double pile weave has yarn stubs protruding out of both surfaces.
Knitted Fabrics
Knitting is the process of constructing fabric with one or more groups of yarns by a system of interlooping loops of the yarns. The yarns are formed into rows of loops into which other yarn loop rows are interloped or interlaced. There are two basic types of knitting: weft and warp. Weft knit fabrics are manufactured by building the loops of yarn in horizontal position through the fabric width. Warp knitting constructs the fabric by making yarn loops parallel to the fabric length. Weft knit fabrics are produced in tubular- or flat-form circular knitting, whereas warp knit fabrics are made only in flat form.
Weft Knitted Fabric:
Weft knitted fabrics, circular and flat form and the varieties of weft knitted fabrics are jersey, purl, rib, run-resist, tuck and interlock. In jersey fabric, the interlooping tie is on the same side of the fabric in all courses and wales. Purl stitching consists of changing the placement of the interloop tie from course to course. In purl stitched fabric, the interlooping ties in adjacent courses are on the other face of the fabric; alternate courses have the ties on the same face. In rib stitching, the ties in adjacent wales are on the other face of the fabric; alternate wales have like ties. Run-resist fabrics contain an alternating and staggering of course ties. A tuck stitch is an arrangement of tying two consecutive course loops in one wale structure. The interlock structure is essentially a double thickness rib knit. It consists of an interlooping of two adjacent layers of a rib knit.
Warp Knitted Fabrics:
In warp knit fabrics, the yarn forms successive wale loops instead of successive course loops as in weft knitting. The successive course loops in warp knitting are in different courses, whereas in weft knitting the successive course loops are in different wales. The varieties of weft knitted fabrics are single warp tricot (one bar tricot), double warp tricot (two bar tricot), Milanese, Raschel and simplex.
Single warp tricot (one bar tricot) is made with one set of yarns and double warp tricot (two bar tricot) is made with two sets of yarn which form loops in opposite directions. Milanese is made with two or more sets of warp yarns which form loops across the fabric width in the same direction. Milanese is characterized by small diamond-shaped parallelograms which form fine rib lines diagonally through the width of the fabric on one side of the fabric. The basis of Raschel knitting is an interloop structure similar to that of a chain of slip-knots in which the single and double strands of the knot change sides in adjacent stitches.
Fabric Grain:
All yarn-constructed fabrics have three basic grain lines: straight, cross and bias. The straight grain in woven fabrics is the grain parallel to the warp yarns; in knitted fabrics it is parallel to the wales. Warp grain or length grain are other trade terms used for this grain. The cross grain is parallel to the weft in the case of woven and the course in the case of knitted fabric. The bias grain is parallel to the bisector of the right angle formed by the intersecting straight and cross grains. All other grain lines passing through the right angle are off-bias grains.
Matted Fabrics (Felted and Nonwoven)
Felts are produced directly from fibers by matting of fibers in a sheet form. This is accomplished with heat, moisture and pressure. Many felts are isoelastic; the elongation is alike in all directions on the fabric. Such felts have no grain from this standpoint. A felt has a grain from the design viewpoint when its surface has a definite repetitive surface contour or line design or if it is not isoelastic.
Leather and Furs
Leather and furs have restricted sizes because they come from hides and skins. The outer surface of the hide or skin is the grain side of leather. The inner surface, the area inside the animal, is the flesh side. Flesh finished leather is leather whose flesh side has been treated in order to use the flesh side as the face side. The grain side of leather is usually used on the face side. The grain side is treated with various processes to give it the desired color and surface values. Natural surface structures may be enhanced or eliminated and substituted with surface markings such as the popular pebbly surface used for shoes which is known as scotch grain.
Auxiliary Materials (Secondary Materials)
These are the supporting materials used alongside the main materials for garment construction, appearance, functionality, and packaging.
Sewing Threads:
Threads are used for stitching garment parts together. They can be made from cotton, polyester, nylon, or blended materials.
Interlinings:
Used between two fabric layers to give firmness, shape, and support to specific parts like collars, cuffs, and waistbands.
Linings:
Thin fabrics sewn inside garments to improve comfort, appearance, and durability.
Accessories and Trims:
These include:
- Buttons
- Zippers
- Hooks
- Velcro
- Snaps
- Drawstrings
- Elastic bands
- Labels (brand, care, and size labels)
Decorative Items:
Materials used for adding design and style to garments, like lace, embroidery threads, beads, sequins, and appliqués.
Packaging Materials:
Materials used for packing, storing, and transporting finished garments:
- Polybags
- Hangers
- Tags
- Cartons
- Tissue papers
Conclusion
Raw materials are the foundation of garment manufacturing. From fibers, fabrics to threads, buttons to packaging, each component plays a vital role in the final garment’s appearance, functionality, and market value. Selecting appropriate and high-quality raw materials ensures smooth production processes, reduces wastage, and results in garments that meet both manufacturer and customer expectations. Understanding the properties and applications of different fibers, fabrics, and accessories allows manufacturers to create clothing that meets the evolving needs of consumers and the fashion industry
References
[1] Karthik, T., Ganesan, P., & Gopalakrishnan, D. (2016). Apparel Manufacturing Technology. In CRC Press eBooks. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781315367507
[2] Garment Manufacturing Technology. (2015). In Elsevier eBooks. https://doi.org/10.1016/c2013-0-16494-x
[3] Sinclair, R. (2015). Textiles and fashion : materials, design and technology. In Woodhead Publishing eBooks. http://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BB18427651
[4] Brahams, S. B. (2016). The fundamentals of quality assurance in the textile industry. In Productivity Press eBooks. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781315402505
