Abstract:
Seamless garment technology is a remarkable innovation in the fashion industry that eliminates the need for sewing, seams, and stitches. This technology leverages specialized circular knitting machines to create clothing that seamlessly conforms to the body, offering unparalleled comfort and fit. By eliminating the labor-intensive fabric cutting and sewing processes, the production process is optimized, resulting in faster and more efficient manufacturing. Furthermore, seamless production reduces the likelihood of product failures, as many garment issues are related to seam failures, ultimately leading to higher-quality pieces.
The introduction of seamless garment technology represents a significant advancement in the apparel industry. Traditional production methods often rely on labor-intensive cutting and sewing, which can introduce needle holes and seam-related stresses in the final product. Seamless garment technology addresses these issues by eliminating the need for fabric laying, cutting, and sewing, while also enhancing overall comfort.
Circular knitting machines, historically employed for creating seamless garments, have played a pivotal role in this transformative process. This article explores the various aspects of seamless garment construction, including possibilities such as raglan, circular yoke, saddle shoulders, and set-in sleeves. It also delves into sizing, grading, sample/prototype knitting, copyright, ethics, resources, pattern writing, pattern testing, finding inspiration, yarn selection, and selling patterns.
1. Seamless garment technology how it work?
Seamless garment production relies on state-of-the-art circular knitting machines, often manufactured in Italy. These machines execute entire garment construction based on preprogrammed computer commands, allowing for a range of stitching patterns.
The result is a fully finished or semi-finished garment that lacks side seams, enhancing both comfort and aesthetics.
Seamless garment technology is a remarkable innovation in the fashion industry that eliminates the need for sewing, seams, and stitches. This technology leverages specialized circular knitting machines to create clothing that seamlessly conforms to the body, offering unparalleled comfort and fit. By eliminating the labor-intensive fabric cutting and sewing processes, the production process is optimized, resulting in faster and more efficient manufacturing. Furthermore, seamless production reduces the likelihood of product failures, as many garment issues are related to seam failures, ultimately leading to higher-quality pieces.
The introduction of seamless garment technology represents a significant advancement in the apparel industry. Traditional production methods often rely on labor-intensive cutting and sewing, which can introduce needle holes and seam-related stresses in the final product. Seamless garment technology addresses these issues by eliminating the need for fabric laying, cutting, and sewing, while also enhancing overall comfort.
Circular knitting machines, historically employed for creating seamless garments, have played a pivotal role in this transformative process. This article explores the various aspects of seamless garment construction, including possibilities such as raglan, circular yoke, saddle shoulders, and set-in sleeves. It also delves into sizing, grading, sample/prototype knitting, copyright, ethics, resources, pattern writing, pattern testing, finding inspiration, yarn selection, and selling patterns.
Participants in this class will gain insights into the grading and sizing process, particularly for raglan-sleeved garments, and are encouraged to bring their yarn and appropriate needles. While child garment design serves as the primary example in this class, the principles discussed are equally applicable to adult garment design.
Seamless garment production relies on state-of-the-art circular knitting machines, often manufactured in Italy. These machines execute entire garment construction based on preprogrammed computer commands, allowing for a range of stitching patterns.
The result is a fully finished or semi-finished garment that lacks side seams, enhancing both comfort and aesthetics.
Seamless technology has revolutionized global apparel production by enabling faster response to fashion trends. Garments no longer require cutting and sewing, streamlining the production process and reducing costs by up to 40 percent compared to traditional knitting methods.
- Biggest challenge is to educate the consumer about the range of benefits that seamless garments have to offer.
2. Benefits of Seamless Garment Technology:
2.1 Design Possibilities:
- With our focus on innovation and quality, producers are constantly developing new seamless styles to meet customer's demand.
- Development of new fibres and knitting adaptation are continually evolving. New advancements coming from fibre producers and yarn spinners will continue to pro-vide innovation from the supplier side.
- Based on the structure of the knit, the patterns and con-struction of the garment cannot be matched with any other non-seamless garment and the ability to combine textures and levels of compression opens up endless possibilities for coloured patterns, jacquards, ribbing and detailing.
- There are endless design possibilities with seamless technology, with the variety of different stitches that can be achieved within a single garment, for example a jersey knit can be placed side-by side with a mesh knit, a rib knit, a jacquard knit. This is impossible to do with any other type of knitting process.
- The features of seamless technology benefit the retail store and ultimately the end consumer, who will notice a difference once they try on a seamless garment. Once the consumer wears it, it offers a high-repeat purchase ratio. Consumers are only beginning to understand the benefits of seamless technology.
- Because of the versatile nature of seamless technology, there are infinite opportunities in the market," both locally and internationally. The seamless concept can be applied to underwear, swimwear, control-wear, leisurewear, sleepwear, ready to wear and active wear
2.2 Pricing:
- Unlike a regular knitting machine, which produces yards of the same pattern that need to be cut and sewn, the seamless machines produce individual garments from yarn that is fed into the machine-Retails for about 10-15 percent more, because of the specialized equipment involved and the high demand for such limited availability of machinery.
- This benefit is worthy of a price increase, meaning certain part of knitting/apparel category such as intimate, active wear market can be justified due to above listed benefits since some of its features cannot be accomplished in conventional circular knitting or cut & sew method.
2.3 Fit
- The garments are precisely fitted to the body, producing a smother, clean look.
- Seamless garments conform smoothly to your individual shape and produce fewer lines under clothes to allow for a more streamline silhouette.
- The softness of seamless knitwear combined with the use of antimicrobial and hydrophilic yarns create the best features for an activewear garment.
2.4 Comfort
- Wearers love seamless garments because they are forgiving, non restrictive and are not binding. The lack of seams provides for improved comfort as the body moves.
- With an increasing demand by consumers for more comfortable and better-looking clothing. Seams tend to pucker up, and tags chafe against the skin. Seamless garments feature knitted in shaping to eliminate bulky elastics and provide enhanced comfort
- The main seamless products are underwear, outerwear, activewear, shapewear and swimwear, all of which are highly elastic, fine to very fine fabric, made of micro-fibers, required to be very extensible and soft; therefore adding to comfort.
2.5 Quality and Durability:
- Besides offering higher comfort and better fit to consumers by eliminating seams, the innovative technique creates entire garments with minimal intervention of cutting and sewing processes leadingto substantial savings in cost and time, higher productivity, quick response, and just in-time production.
- Seamless garments have no waistband failures, no waistband or side seam failures and are more durable due to the high proportion of manufactured fibres such as nylon. The broad technical application of selective engagement and disengagement can be adopted sensibly to produce a ready to use customized garment thereby reducing wastage of cloth.
- With traditional production methods, fabric is the starting point for most garments. The fabric is dyed, patterns are cut, and then the pieces are sewn together. If printing or embroidery is part of the design, these are additional steps that take place later in the production process. But with seamless production, there is no fabric. One Italian machine can make the entire product in just minutes; and the machine automatically knits components like waistbands and hems.
- Seamless garments take 30 percent to 40 percent less time to make than a cut-and-sew version minimizes the traditional labour intensive step of cutting and sewing.
3. Application of seamless garments:
3.1 Protective textiles:
- The Seamless filament-knit gloves and apparel are available on the market. They are lightweight, flexible and comfortable for workers in the electronics, food-handling, paint, plastics and other high precision business sectors which require high levels of safety in addition to contaminant-free cleanliness.
3.2 Ready to wear:
- Santoni says those who desire instant fashion enjoy the versatility and creativity that is in constant evolution."Smart fibres or intelligent garments are suited to any occasion. Sophisticated garments capture glamour in motion. Seamless apparel offers both fashion and function for those who want to create their own benchmark for style. Garments produced through seamless technology create comfort during those times when the wearer wants to relax and unwind. Products offer freedom of movement for one's own schedule at one's own pace," the company says.
3.3 Sports textiles:
- Seamless apparel construction focuses on supporting muscles. The development of advanced second-skin textiles has led to renewed interest in seamless garment construction. A diverse range of products such as gloves, hats, and socks are some of the more obvious applications. Swimwear also offers exceptional fit through the use of elastic and quick-drying yarns.
3.4 Sports bra features heart sensing technology:
- "A new seamless heart-sensing controlling sports bra is offered on the market. It is designed to give greater support during high impact sports. Textile electrodes are knitted into the bra and stretch and move with the wearer, maintaining contact with the skin and sensing the heart's electrical pulses. Dr.Rita Paradiso, Ph.D., Research Director of Smartex, Italy, explains:"Conductivity is the main property being exploited and for our applications, knitted technology is the right one, because we need different domains within the fabric structure with different types of yarns. We have to decide in which places we need to put the conductive yarns and where background yarns are used, because the values of resistance change depending on their position. Of course, we need a garment which fits like a 'second skin' because the bio-electrode is in direct contact with the skin."
3.5 Medical textiles:
- According to Santoni the onset of seamless technology in the medical arena has led to advantages for those times when the body needs it most. With the incorporation of high performance fibres and additional sensors or electronics, and the unique combination of fibres which are designed for comfort, the required functions of the garment are achieved.
4. Conclusion:
By this review paper we conclude of some of the important points as following:
- This seam less technology can directly produce nearly finished product.
- Seamless garments are in vogue and the demand for such garments particularly under wears is increasing.
- Presently these seamless garments available in the market are knitted one.
- Woven garments are not available.
- Seamless garment made of tubular material are well known.
- Lot of innovations are being carried out in to this technology, very soon this will change the transformation in apparel business
References:
1. Spencer, D. J., Knitting technology: A comprehensive hand-book and practical guide (3rd Ed.). Cambridge, England; Lancaster, Pa.: Woodhead Publishing Limited, 2001
2. Clapp, T., Gunner, M., Dorrity, J., Olson, L., The Online Inspection of Sewn Seams, Project S94-41, National Textile Center, Annual Report, 1994
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Nikhil Bhosale, Bajirao Jadhav, Vishnu Pareek are final year students at Department of Fashion and Clothing Technology and Shrikant Eklahare is professor at Department of Textile, Faculty of Finishing, D.K.T.E Societys, Ichalkaranji
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