Guide to Basic Garment Assembly for the Fashion Industry

Garment assembly is fundamental to the creation of designs.  

This guide provides fashion students and designers with the knowledge of the techniques and components essential to the assembly of sewn products. 

Guide to Basic Garment Assembly for the Fashion Industry develops your understanding of which stitch and seam types to select for particular fabrics and garments.  As well as the knowledge to construct a range of basic techniques to assemble entire garments using the correct components. 

It can be difficult to master the skills of garment assembly by reading alone: a visual demonstration of online videos, showing the steps of garment assembly for the following: 

Sewing darts  Sewing front edge fastenings Inserting zip fastenings                  Attaching waistbands Assembling and attaching simple and complex pockets Sleeve opening construction Assembling and attaching cuffs Assembling and attaching collars                                                         Guide to Basic Garment Assembly for the Fashion Industry explains the essentials so you can turn your design ideas into reality

Preface vii

Acknowledgements ix

1 Introduction 1
Getting Started 2 / Getting to Know the Parts of the Sewing Machine 3

2 Stitch & Seam Types 5
Stitch Types 8 / Seam Types 17

3 Attachments for the Sewing Machine 25
Edge Guide 25 / Presser Foot 27 / Hemming Foot 28 / Zipper Foot 29 / Folders 30

4 Needles & Thread 31
Parts of the Needle 31 / Thread 34 / Thread Consumption 36 / Thread Sizing 37

5 Interlining 41
Fusing Equipment 42 / Applying Interlining 43

6 Sewing Darts 47

7 Front Edge Fastenings 51

8 Inserting Zip Fastenings 59
Invisible Zip Insertion 60 / Concealed or Standard Zip with Guard Insertion 64

9 Attaching Waistbands 71
Standard Run On and Close Down Waistband Application 71 / Elasticated Waistband 76

10 Assembling & Attaching Pockets 79
Patch Pocket 80 / Shaped Pockets 84 / Jetted Pocket 88 / Welt Pocket 94

11 Sleeve Opening Construction 101

12 Assembling & Attaching Cuff s 109
Two Piece Cuff 110 / One Piece Cuff 113 / Attaching the Cuff to the Sleeve 115

13 Assembling & Attaching Collars 117
Collar Parts 117 / Stand Collar (Frequently Known as the Mandarin Collar) 118 / Attaching the Stand Collar 121 / Flat Collar (Also Known as the Peter Pan Collar) 123 / Attaching the Flat Collar 125 / One–Piece Shirt Collar 127 / Attaching the Shirt Collar 130

14 Sewing Problems 133
Stitch Formation Problems 133 / Fabric Distortion Pucker 135 / Damage to the Fabric 137

Garment Assembly Terms Glossary 141

Author 143

Index 145

Jayne Smith has worked in the fashion industry for over 30 years. Her passion for fashion assembly led her to deliver this discipline at the Scottish College of Textiles and the School of Textiles and Design at Heriot Watt University. Jayne held the position of Director of Learning & Teaching at Herriot Watt University for many years and was responsible for developing and implementing the overall strategy.

Jayne is also a talented Product Developer, specialising in assembly and creative pattern cutting for fashion. Her expertise has led her to deliver the discipline in many universities and colleges across the globe.