Even if you select the material you need from among the many outer materials, choosing the wrong one can lead to product complaints and delayed delivery. I have summarized the points to note and how to choose when arranging, so please read on.

Points to note that differ by fabric use

In general, the companies that handle fabrics differ depending on the application. Test data such as strength and physical properties varies by use. Also, whether safety data for the human body has been prepared for fabrics that should touch the skin and fabrics that should not is different. Broadly speaking, many bag fabrics have relatively low strength. In addition, there may be no test data for durability, so if you want to use it, you need to have it tested by Kaken. For apparel fabrics, we may perform full-color testing for each color, but at least several colors have been tested, so you can check the quality. Of course, you can use bag fabric for apparel, or use apparel fabric for bags, but I think you need to check colorfastness and friction.

Points to note depending on the material and weave

Although it depends on the application, the characteristics of apparel fabrics also vary by material.

About cotton

Cotton is cotton in English. Cotton is found everywhere and many people like its texture, but many types are relatively less durable. In particular, the darker the color (black), the lower the wet rubbing resistance (friction in a wet state), and the more dye transfer occurs.

About polyester

It is an easy-to-use fabric with good color development and high colorfastness. However, because the fiber itself does not absorb water, when used for linings, functional fabrics such as moisture-absorbing quick-drying materials are needed.

About linen

Linen is a material commonly used in summer, but basically, lumps called neps get into the fabric. This is unique to linen, but it may look bad to people who do not know it. Even if you complain that it is bad, linen basically has neps, so there is a high chance it will not be accepted. I think you should tolerate some risk. SB2073 Cotton / Linen Hebecano washing machine processing [fabric] Shibaya Neps

About knit fabrics

For knit fabrics, the fabric width may change. I think it is often attached at the last large and small place in a knit fabric store. Huge and small are read as knit fabric, but the meaning is similar to "large or small." The point is that knit fabric shrinks and stretches, so even if the width is 150 cm, in some cases it may be 150 cm or less or 150 cm or more. To stabilize it, it is important to relax it before sewing. There are various precautions for other materials as well. In particular, delicate fabrics have many washing restrictions and poor lightfastness. It is important to match your brand direction with the fabric price.

Notes on fabric inventory

People often say that if you try to make samples and start mass production after 3-4 months, it is out of stock! That is often the case. There are actually two types of stock-out situations. The first is a peak-season fabric that will not be produced after the season, and fabrics that are completely for winter or summer will be left over, so even if out-of-season inventory runs out, it will not be produced. You can. Of course, if you take a certain lot, it will be produced, but this is unrealistic because it takes a long time to deliver. The second is standard fabric, which is always in stock. Constantly rotating fabrics representing fabric manufacturers, such as standard-count oxford and broadcloth, may already have been processed even if they are out of stock. Therefore, delivery time may be relatively short.

However, if you only choose standard items when making clothes, you will only have common materials. When selecting sample fabrics, I think it is a good idea to discuss issues such as inventory. Also, I think many brands want to reserve stock because they are afraid of running out, but I think the number of manufacturers that accept basic reservations has been decreasing recently. If it is our own inventory item, we will receive it, but if it is from a fabric manufacturer, it takes up to about 2 weeks, and if this keeps happening, we may lose credibility. Some manufacturers only accept basic purchases, and the level of support differs by manufacturer. Due to the impact of COVID-19, inventory turnover is declining, and responses are expected to become stricter.

Each wholesaler has quality standards

Although quality standards are overseas, there are department store quality standards, single-store quality standards, and overseas quality standards. Quality standards are quality criteria set by retailers when selling to customers, and we may not handle products with colorfastness above that value or dimensional change rates below that value. Also, in countries such as Europe, there are stores that place great importance on sustainability, and I have heard that if you do not use a lot of sustainable materials, it is useless, and there are also noncompliant items such as buffalo buttons. From the perspective of animal protection... This means that you may need to choose materials based on the current and future sales destinations of your company.

Summary

I wrote notes from different perspectives. Of course, I think there are ways to choose this in terms of arrangement and design, but if you know the shortcomings of each material in advance, I think you can proactively control quality, so I will continue to send more in the future.