Time to keep going with our INSIDE THE FASHION INDUSTRY blog series. It is almost time to start production, so let’s get back into something a little bit more technical, but also necessary to understand and make sure this step is done before moving forward. No, production markers do not involve grading rules, but it does involve calculating exact yields per garment so you can avoid any fabric waste.
I know this is also a lot of information to digest right now, but going step by step and making sure you understand the basics of why production markers are important is the key.
Let’s break down production markers and why they are important.
1. What is a production marker?
They are nothing more than your digital pattern leaning on the fabric in a way that all pattern pieces fit on your fabric width.
The markers will tell you exactly how many pattern pieces can be fitted within one yard of fabric - which means you will know exactly how many yards of fabric is needed per garment.
Here is a picture for better understanding.
2. How are they made?
As I said, the markers are the digital pattern leaning on the fabric in a way that all pattern pieces fit on your fabric width. So what needs to be done is take the fabric width and lean the pattern pieces on that width and do this per pattern size - which means you will know the exact yields of fabric needed per size.
3. Why are they important?
This is going to seem like a very direct answer, just like a school test, but here you go: to calculate perfect yields and save the most fabric in production.
4. The difference between a production marker and a plot-out?
Remember grading and printing plot-outs for size check run? No? Well, I do suggest going back to INSIDE THE FASHION INDUSTRY - Digitizing & Grading blog post before continuing reading here…
So, a plot-out is just the digital pattern printed in any size. The reference picture is below.
The production marker is the digital pattern printed fitting the exact fabric width. Reference the picture below.
5. How are production markers used in production?
So what the factories do with the production markers is, first they will pick which size they will start cutting first, they will lean the fabric in all colors to be cut, then they will put the production marker on top of all fabric and cut all colors in the same size together - which saves time and money.
Some fabrics are very thick and cannot be cut in all colors together, so factories will need an extra print of the production markers, but this is normal and whatever factory you are using should be able to let you know that they will need extra prints of the markers.
Ok ok ok, I know this is a lot of technical information. I know this is another step in the fashion industry that people do not really like to understand, but it is necessary and, like any business, the technical stuff comes along and it needs to be understood. It is not rocket science, but I know that this brings back a lot of digitizing and grading and technical stuff. Now, we will be moving into one of the last steps, production and costing your garments
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