Although there are many sewers and costume creators in the world, not many people understand how their clothes are created. It all comes down to the fabric and seams that make up these garments. Moreover, there is a complex process behind fabric production. Anyone who wants to learn how to make fabric should check out this guide to the fabric manufacturing process. You will see how raw materials are woven or knitted into the finished, colorful products used today.


RAW MATERIALS

Whether synthetic fabric, cotton-based fabric or any other type of natural fabric, all fabric production starts with raw materials. These materials are grown and harvested from a variety of sources such as cotton, wool, leather, flax, hemp or silk. From here, the raw materials are spun into yarn and yarn. While it was done by hand in the past, today it is the spinning wheel responsible for this process. As the spinning wheels move, the fibers are collected on a bobbin, which is connected to another machine to continue their journey.


WOVEN FABRICS

After being spun, the fabric fibers now become usable yarn. Each yarn is knitted together to form a fabric. Weaving takes place on a loom, which is a machine that holds the threads under tension to facilitate intertwining. Back and forth motions intertwine the yarn, and rapier weaving machines lift the yarn and then transport it to another loom that pulls it. These machines provide high speed and reliability with versatility depending on the fabric you are touching.


KNITTING FACTORIES

Knitted fabrics have their own fabric production processes, unlike weaving. Knitting requires a series of needles that connect the yarn loops in longitudinal rows and yarn loops called rows. Most knit fabrics use a circular machine with a fixed needle on a rotating cylinder. As this cylinder rotates, the needles form seams to produce a tubular fabric 9” to 60” in diameter. Some knitting machines may use thousands of needles to produce multiple cones of yarn at once. Flat knitting machines, another type of knitting machine, can make millions of stitches per minute that automatically falls or adds stitches to fit different shapes.


FINISHING

Finally, the knitted or woven yarn undergoes a finishing process. Often, these fabrics are filled with impurities and debris that need to be cleaned. Bleach removes the base color, while various chemicals and cleaners remove residual oils, wax, and other substances. The finished fabrics also go through a mercerization process that increases the pore size in the fabric threads to facilitate dyeing. Mercerization is a solution that creates bright or dark colors on the fabric. The fabrics are then stretched and pulled to get more color. It is then dried and made ready for shipment.


Now that you know the basic steps behind fabric manufacturing, be sure to browse our selection of apparel fabrics at Fabric Wholesale. We carry a variety of cotton, silk, nylon, linen, sheer and printed cotton fabrics at a reasonable price point. Whatever garment you create, make sure you use the best quality fabric that suits you best.