Fabric Cutting

Fabric cutting at FUSH˚

At our two clothing factories, we cut samples with simpler machines. For bulk production that includes more plies, we use automatic fabric cutters. Being that we are custom clothing manufacturers, this workflow is perfect for us. That’s because custom manufacturing implies a lot of sample production.

Manual fabric cutting

As we make a lot of samples on a daily basis, we do a lot of manual cutting too. In order to do it better, we use a band-knife machine. And to use it safely, our cutting room staff uses the metallic mesh glove shown in the picture below.

The three reasons samples are made on a band-knife and not on a CNC cutter:

1. No interference with mass production and therefore no interference with deadlines
2. It saves energy (CNC cutters use up more electricity than band-knife cutters)
3. It’s faster (to set up an automatic cutter alone takes as long as to cut the samples manually)

Automatic fabric cutting

Once we make the samples and client approves them, automatic cutters hit the stage. They handle precise cutting in bulk and calculate the best fabric usage ratio. We usually use between 85% and 95% of material per cutting project. We give all the remaining trimmings to a company that makes boxing bags (they use scrap textile as fillings). As a result, we manage to create zero textile waste.

One more fun fact – our CNC cutters are capable of cutting through layers as thick as 8-12 cm.

Why do some companies always cut fabrics manually?

The answer is because they’re severely underpaid by their clients. Sadly, there are many clothing factories around the world that can’t afford to buy cutting machines for this exact reason. That is often why some of your fast fashion t-shirts become impossible to fold properly after a few washes.

Another reason is that they need to cut way too many layers at a time, which is too much even for the most advanced CNC cutters. Whatever the case, cutting materials this way always leads to some margin of error which results in the clothing of lower quality.

Automatic fabric cutters vs manual cutting

Automatic cutters’ main advantages:

They fasten the fabric with a vacuum. This means there’s absolutely no wiggle room for the material and no room for error. This is ideal for mass production. It is also ideal for thicker and heavier materials like brushed fleece that is often used for streetwear manufacturing.
CNC cutters use lasers for maximum precision and work faster than the fastest human counterpart.

Main advantages of manual cutting with a band-knife machine:

• Perfect for low quantities and single-ply work
• Zero preparation time, all you need to do is turn it on to start a cuttin’

Other fabric cutting methods

The following two machines are used in extreme cases – it’s either extreme cost-cutting or extremely high volumes of product. Alternatively, manufacturers can use the straight-knife cutting machine to cut materials for samples (shown in the image below).

Straight-knife cutting machine – cuts fabrics and costs

This type of cutting knife is the most popular in the textile industry still. Since garment making is the slowest one to make it into the 4th industrial revolution, this comes as no surprise.

King of mass production – automatic cutting line for continuous fabric

This machine is perfect for clothing manufacturers that make huge quantities of clothing. It feeds tubes of fabric into a cutting area that’s equipped with something called a cutting die. A cutting die is basically an arrangement of sharp knives in the shape of a garment that presses itself into the material. 

Some of these machines are capable of making almost 5000 pieces in an hour. We still don’t use them because we’re nowhere near the production quota necessary to warrant the investment.

Final thoughts

There you have it, you read about four different machines for four different uses when it comes to fabric cutting. For those of you thinking about working with a clothing manufacturer, now you know more about what comes into the price of manufacturing.

To sum it up once more:

• For manufacturers that handle huge quantities, automatic cutting lines are the answer
• For factories that handle reasonably high quantities, CNC cutting machines are the way to go
• For garment makers that make a lot of samples, band-knife machines are a lifeline
• For manufacturers that must cut costs everywhere, straight-knife cutting machines are pretty much the only option

Thanks for reading this far. Now that you’re more informed, we encourage you to write us an email and let us know how we can work together. The form below is the perfect place to start. If you would like to enquire about our minimums, our usual MOQ is 500 pieces/design or colour in any size. Also, keep in mind that we only work with companies that have VAT and EORI numbers.

Learn more about working with us, visit the what we do page.