The language of textiles.
Successful designers must be able to communicate clearly and concisely, utilizing terminology that is familiar to the textile industry, in order to be successful.
This article will assist the designer in understanding what questions he or she should be prepared to ask while visiting textile suppliers, including the following: Was the design created with a specific purpose in mind?
What kind of cloth is it and how is it made? Does the amount of fiber in a product make a difference? What is the recommended fabric weight? When does fabric become necessary?
The majority of designers are unable to successfully explain their fabric requirements in ways that are readily understood by the industry. This section will explain how the textile business works in order to assist designers in describing their fabric requirements in the industry.
Because the new designer is unfamiliar with the textile supply chain, this diagram is meant to explain how cloth is created, displayed, and sold.
1a. Organic fiber
The natural fiber is transported to yarn mills by ranchers, herders, and farmers.
1b. Synthetic fibers
Chemical fiber mills turn manufactured fibers—oil-based or plant-based raw materials—into the fiber. The fiber is subsequently sent to yarn factories, where it is spun into yarn.
Landfills
Textiles and clothes, regardless of fiber composition, are classified by the EPA as ultimately going to landfills.
Textile waste accounts for around 4–5% of total solid garbage. It’s critical to use textiles that can be reused or recycled after manufacture and after the customer has worn the item.
Yarn mills
There are a variety of yarn mills that produce hundreds of various kinds of yarn for texture, flexibility, soft drape, and other design needs. Some yarns are made specifically for knitting into clothing, avoiding the fabric manufacturing process.
Before being knitted into clothing or made into fabric, yarns are often colored.
Textile waste may be recycled.
Garments that have been discarded, manufacturing garbage, and other fabric mill waste should not be disposed of in landfills. Textile goods may now be recycled into new fibers or yarns thanks to innovative technologies. It is the designer’s job to use textiles that can be reused or recycled in order to ensure the long-term viability of the textile supply chain.
Mills that produce textiles
Textile (fabric) mills make knitted or woven fabrics.
The threads are weaved into cloth. This fabric is referred to as “greige fabric” (unfinished fabric) and is unsuitable for apparel.
Mills for polishing
The greige fabric is finished (converted) to make fabric that the designer will recognize. Three key phases are involved in finishing or converting fabric:
4a. Bleaching and scouring (cleaning) (preparing for color). “Prepared for dyeing” (PFD) or “prepared for printing” refers to the scoured and bleached cloth (PFP). The cloth is used to make sewed items that will be colored later (a process known as garment dying).
4b. Color and picture addition (dyeing and printing).
4c. Adding decorative or useful elements.
Fabric is sourced by the designer
6a. Trade fairs for textiles:
The majority of fabric exhibits are held on a global scale. Fabric mills and converters exhibit their textiles in major cities across the world, including Paris, Shanghai, New York, Como, Florence, Prato, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, and Hamburg, for a variety of fashion categories.
6b. Sales organizations:
Multinational trade firms sometimes represent a large number of mills. To market their mills’ textiles, trading businesses engage sales representatives and agents. Converting and vertical milling companies often have their own sales teams. Mills for finishing
The greige fabric is finished (converted) to make fabric that the designer will recognize. Three key phases are involved in finishing or converting fabric:
4a. Bleaching and scouring (cleaning) (preparing for color). This scoured and bleached cloth is known as “prepared for dyeing” (PFD) or “prepared for printing” (PFP), and it’s used to make sewed garments that are then colored (a process known as garment-dyeing).
4b. Color and picture addition (dyeing and printing).
4c. Adding decorative or useful elements.
A new fabric sample is now available.
From fiber creation through final finishing, the process takes around five to six months. Next sample fabrics for the new season can be created more quickly, but bulk garment manufacturing will take one to two months from greige products to final finishing, or three to four months from yarn manufacture to final finishing.
5a. Large converter mills purchase greige fabric from textile mills and finish (convert) it to create the fascinating, innovative textiles that designers are looking for.
5b. Large vertical mills (chemical corporations) manufacture fiber, yarn, greige fabric, and completed fabric (all manufacturing functions are handled by one mill).
5c. Small mills (fabric mills) are typically quite competent at designing textiles, but they demonstrate and sell their fabrics via an independent sales team. These mills are often family-owned and have been producing textiles for many generations.
