Garment Cutting (Part 2 - Spreading the Lay)

The objective of spreading is to place a number of plies of fabric that the production planning process has dictated, to the length of the marker planned, colours required, correctly aligned as to the lengths & width & without tension. Most of the industry is able to cut garments in bulk and by doing so achieves the savings in fabric that are available through the use of multi-garment marker plans and the savings in cutting time per garment that result from cutting many plies at the same time.

The spreading  of multi- size lays of many plies demands strongly constructed tables, usually with steel legs and braced frames, a heavy laminated, smooth wood top, and sometimes centre legs. Spreading by itself is a time-consuming operation. With the highest lays it can consume more time in total than cutting, especially if the cutting is by computer- controlled knife.

Nap Direction While Spreading

The requirements of the spreading process:-

1.   Shade sorting of fabric pieces- lays commonly require more than one roll of cloth and lays which include several colours normally require more than one roll of each colour to achieve enough plies in total. It is likely that cloth pieces that are normally the same colour will have been dyed separately and are not an exact shade match. Thus when deliveries of a number of rolls of cloth of the same colour are received, they should be sorted into batches such that shade differences between them are undetectable. Batching together of rolls of the same shade gives a greater number of plies that in turn give larger bundles. Where rolls of cloth of the same colour but different shades do have to be spread adjacent to each other in the lay, they are separated by a layer of roughened tissue in a bright colour which can be seen easily at the edge of each cut stack, and which assists in easy separation of the plies for bundling.

2.  Correct ply direction and adequate lay stability- these 2 factors must be considered together as the opportunities for achieving them are related. They depend on fabric type, pattern shape and the spreading equipment that is available.

i)    Face to face – Nap Up & Down- For symmetrical pattern pieces

Face to Face - Nap Up & Down Lay

ii)  Face One Way – Nap Up & Down- for asymmetrical as well as symmetrical pattern pieces and fabric which is stable spread all the same way up, the fabric can be spread along & immediately back again but the roll must be turned before re-returning. 

Face One Way - Nap Up & Down Lay

iii) Face One Way – Nap One Way- For asymmetrical as well as symmetrical pattern pieces and fabric which is stable all the same way up, the spreader spreads in one direction only and heads back to spread the next ply in the same direction.

Face One Way - Nap One Way Lay

iv) Face to Face – Nap One Way- For symmetrical pattern pieces and for fabric which is stable face-to-face the spreader spreads in one direction only, but while heading back rotates the roll before the next ply is spread in the same direction.

Face to Face - Nap One Way Lay

3.   Alignment of plies- Every ply should comprise at least the length and width of the marker plan, but should have the minimum possible extra outside those measurements. The nature of textile materials means that rolls of fabric, as delivered from suppliers, vary in width, both from roll to roll and to lesser extent within a single roll. The marker plan is made to fit the narrowest width. The surplus width is usually distributed outside the edge of the marker plan farthest from the spreading operator by aligning the straight edges of the plies nearest the operator.

4.  Correct ply tension- if the plies are spread with too slack a tension they will lie in ridges with irregular fullness. If plies are spread in a stretched state they will maintain their tension while held in the lay, but will contract after cutting or during sewing, thus shrinking the garment parts to a smaller size than the pattern pieces. In a non-stretch fabric practically all elongation of the fabric occurs in such a manner that rapid relaxation and recovery results.

5.  Elimination of fabric faults- Fabric faults (flaws, holes, stains etc) may be identified by the fabric supplier, and additional faults may be detected during examination of the fabric by the garment manufacturer prior to spreading. In either situation a ‘string’ or plastic tag is attached to the fabric edge level with the fault. It is possible that the spreading operator may also discover faults missed in previous examinations. Unless it has been decided, as it sometimes is with small and inexpensive garments, that faults will be left in garments and “inspected out’ at the end of manufacture, the spreading operator is responsible for ensuring that faults do not occur in cut garment parts.

The simplest way to achieve this is by creating a splice. The spreader cuts across the ply at the position of the fault and pulls back the cut end to overlap as far back as the next splice mark. Splice marks are marked on the edge of the spreading table prior to spreading, by reference to the marker, and ensure that whenever a splice is created the overlap of fabric is sufficient to allow complete garment parts rather than sections only to be cut.

6.   Elimination of static electricity- In spreading plies of fabric containing man-made fibres, friction may increase the charge of static electricity in the fabric. The spreading operator will experience difficulty in laying a ply neatly on top of the others owing to either the attraction or repulsion of those plies according to how they are charged. He cannot align the plies accurately nor create a compact spread. Friction may be reduced by changing the method of threading the fabric through the guide bar of the spreading machine. Another way is to lay a layer of roughened tissue between successive fabric layers.

7.  Avoidance of distortion in the spread- A layer of glazed paper, laid glazed side down, is normally placed at the bottom of the spread. This helps to avoid disturbing the lowest plies of material in the spread when the base plate of a straight knife passes underneath, and also gives stability to the lay if it is to be moved on a flotation table. In addition, it prevents snagging of the fabric on the table surface which often becomes roughened with use.

8.   Avoidance of fusion of plies during cutting- Cut edges of thermoplastic fibre fabrics may fuse together during cutting if the cutting knife becomes hot as a result of friction with the fabric. In this case, anti-fusion paper may be used in the same way as interleaving paper. It contains a lubricant which lubricates the knife blade as it passes through the spread, thus reducing the increase in temperature of the blade arising from friction.

9.   Stepped Lay - is a multi-garment lay in which groups of layers have different lengths generally used for getting best utilisation and consumption of fabric. Ply of fabric lay is not spread according to marker length, i.e. when the plies are laid up in different lengths - a step lay can be formed. Different types of marker are essential for different steps. Its use is very less because of fabric wastage an lay making is difficult.

Stepped Lay

 10.  Splicing - is a process of cutting fabric across its width and overlapping layers in between the     two ends of the lay. Splicing of lay is required sometimes to avoid faults found in fabric into the garment components. After slicing cut end is pulled back to overlap plies as far back as the next splicing mark. Overlapping length depends on splicing mark to cover complete garment components. Splicing process is also used when one fabric roll ends in the middle of the marker and end bit length is enough to cover at least one complete garment components. Spreading of next roll starts from the splice mark.

Splice mark - Spreading table

Methods of Spreading:

1.  Manual Spreading- the cloth is pulled carefully from the fabric roll by hand and is cut to the appropriate length. Mechanical devices can be provided to facilitate the unrolling and cutting operations but the proper alignment of the fabric edges is the responsibility of the operator. This procedure is suitable for short lays & for frequent changes in fabrics & colours. It is widely used in the Indian Garment Industry.

Manual Spreading with help of carrier

Manual Spreading without carrier

2.  Semi-automatic spreading machine – The cloth is unwound & spread semi automatically, using a manually-driven carriage. The carriage is moved back and forth over the laying-up table. Built-in mechanisms take care of aligning the fabric edges and smoothing the plies. This system is favoured when the lays are long & broad and/or if the fabric is presented in large batches for relatively large orders.

Semi Automatic Spreading

3.  Automatic Spreading Machine- The moving carriage has been more or less fully automated to provide a more efficient production for large scale enterprises.

Fully Automatic Spreading

The nature of Fabric packages:

      1. Open fabric – Rolled: - most fabrics are supplied rolled as a single ply directly on to a disposable, tubular cardboard core about 7 – 8 cm in diameter. The packages are suitable for spreading by machine. When spread by hand they often require two spreading operators, one each side of the table. Open fabric may vary from less than 75 cm wide to over 3 m, especially with knitted fabrics.

     2. Tubular knitted fabric – rolled: - this is usually used for the manufacture of garments such as sports shirts or tee-shirts and in specialised cases the fabric width is that required for the shirt body. The fabric fits the designed girth rather than vice versa. Tubular knits can usually be spread by machine.

     3. Folded fabric- rolled: - this form is traditional with the woollen and woollen mixture fabrics used in tailored garments. The fabric is rolled onto a disposable, flat board approximately a centimetre thick. It is not suitable for spreading by machine, but its lesser width allows it to be spread manually by one spreader on narrower tables.

     4. Folded fabric – cuttled:- this form occurs usually with check fabrics and some tubular knits and aims to avoid the distortions which may ensue from tight rolling. The doubled fabric is folded accurately backwards and forwards in lengths of approximately 80 -90 cm, the end of the piece being wrapped around the pile of folds or cuttled.

      5. Velvet- hanging :-