A man’s jacket takes more than a hundred operations. In this video we explain how it is made on an industrial production line and which machine does each job, from cutting to final inspection.
The stages of the line
- Cutting: the fabric is prepared on the spreading table and the KURIS automatic cutter takes the parts from the pattern.
- Small parts: the flaps are sewn and trimmed automatically. The collar is prepared on the PFAFF 3704, which joins the top collar to the felt undercollar.
- Fronts: first the darts and then the piping pockets on the Dürkopp Adler 745-35, which places the piping, sews, cuts the opening and makes the corner notches in a single cycle.
- Lining: inside pockets, label and joining to the facing.
- Assembly and edges: the side and shoulder seams are closed, and on the PFAFF 3822 the facing is sewn to the front while the knife trims the seam allowance in steps.
- Collar to neckline, with zigzag and differential top feed.
- Sleeves: the sleeve head is gathered, sewn into the armhole on a programmed workstation and the shoulder pad is attached.
- Teardrop tailor’s buttonholes on the Dürkopp Adler 581, in double chainstitch with gimp cord, and then the buttons.
- Final pressing and check of symmetry, edges, sleeve hang and buttonholes.
The machines that make the difference
Where the machine shows most is in the piping pockets, the front edge and the buttonholes. An automatic piping pocket unit makes every pocket the same, with the pattern matched on checks or stripes. The PFAFF 3822 leaves the edge flat and without bulk when the fabric is turned. The Dürkopp Adler 581 sews the tailor’s buttonhole and then cuts it open so the edge stays clean.
Why a jacket takes so many operations
A jacket is not a flat garment. The front has interlining so it keeps its shape, the collar and lapels have to fall on their own, the sleeve is set with the head gathered so it follows the shoulder, and the lining goes inside without pulling on the outer fabric. Each of these things is one or more operations, and almost all of them show if they go wrong. That is why a jacket line has many specialised workstations instead of a few machines that do everything.
What changes between a workshop and an industrial line
A tailor or a small workshop can make almost the whole jacket with a good lockstitch flatbed machine, an overlocker and a lot of handwork. The difference with an industrial line is repetition: the pocket unit, the programmed sleeve workstation or the buttonhole machine do the same operation the same way on every garment, whoever is sitting in front of it. When production grows, the usual thing is to automate first the operations that take the most time or cause the most faults, which tend to be the piping pockets, sleeve setting and buttonholes.
Where to start if you want to improve your production
Measure how long each stage takes and where most garments get reworked. If the bottleneck is the pockets, an automatic piping unit is the investment you will notice most. If the problem is the edges or the buttonholes, the answer is special machines like the ones in the video. And often it is enough to fit the right attachment on the machines you already have; we explain it in how to improve your machine’s productivity.
Which machine do you need for your production?
It depends on how many garments you make and which stage you want to improve. On the machinery for suits and jackets page you will find the machines by operation.
Write to us or call us on 659 730 968: first we advise you, then we talk about machines.