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| Issue date:01/12/2006 |
| ATA Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel - Dec 2006 Issue |
| Source:Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel |
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| With the fast growth of seamless garments, stitches may become "relics of the past", Mac Isaacs predicts |
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| Bemis Sewfree film is being inserted in between the two layers and ultrasonically bonded in one step |
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Seamless garments are the fastest growing part of the intimate apparel business and could well account for 50% of the industry's US$12 billion sales within the next decade.
Tailors of all generations have been trying to minimize the use of stitches to give more comfort to the wearer. Today, economic reasons spur up the efforts made by producers to seek for stitch-free apparel as cutting and sewing is the most labor-intensive step in the formation of a product. Moreover, the concentration of stress often arises at seam locations, which jeopardizes performance properties and leads to premature product failure. The sewing process creates small holes in the fabric and damage in the yarn. As well, fabric scraps produced from the cut-and-sew process are discarded, resulting in fabric waste.
Several technologies to eliminate stitches are either now on the market or in the development stage. Currently, the most common techniques are the use of adhesives and knitting whole garments or panels.
Seamless with adhesives
Jim Lovejoy, Director of industry programs (TC)2 said, "Adhesives have been used in the assembly of garments for four or five years. Sara Lee, for example, has developed a stitch-free bra that is put together with adhesives."
Judson Early, Corporate Vice President of Technology, (TC)2, added that when using adhesives, often the joint is stronger than the rest of the fabric. There were two types of adhesive joining. The fin type is where the two fabric ends are placed edge-to-edge and held together with adhesive. The lap type occurs when one fabric end overlays the other and is held together with adhesive. This type is much stronger than the fin type. However, it isn't always possible to use this type since the lap seam has one fabric edge always visible.
Industrial applications, such as convertible tops lend themselves to the lap type of joining where strength is of primary concern.
One of the leading adhesive makers is Bemis Associates Inc of the US with facilities also in Hong Kong and the UK. Its Sewfree adhesive films, first introduced in 2004, are specifically designed to replace stitched seams in outerwear garments. Aside from enhancing the design and performance of outerwear garments with adhesives, Sewfree can be used to create structural seams, zippers, pockets, stays, cuffs, hems, draw-string channels and more. Garments made from Sewfree also have the advantage of being lightweight due to reduction in stitching and waterproofing tape.
Bemis started in intimates and is now heavily used in outerwear. Pictured is a completely bonded jersey |
"A bonded seam can imitate the characteristics of a fabric better than thread," said Chris Parlee, Marketing and Promotions Manager. Moreover, value-added properties are continuously under development. "Sewfree is colorless, and its elasticity allows it to conform to the stretch characteristics of the fabrics being bonded." More development work is ongoing with such companies as ArcTayx, Columbia Sportswear, Marmot, Nike and North Face.
It is also crucial to use the correct heat, pressure and length of time in the bonding process. Bemis offers extensive technical assistance to designers and manufacturers to ensure optimum bonding in each application. "During manufacturing, the film penetrates the fabric to create a lasting bond," explained Ms Parlee. "Manufacturers can use a basic flat fusing press, so the barriers to entry into this segment aren't significant. However, ultrasonic and radio frequency welding can also be used."
Correctly bonded seams are in minimum as strong as sewn seams and the fabric used, according to Ms Parlee. They are also waterproofed, eliminating the need for waterproofing seam tape to cover holes made in the fabric from stitching. And because they don't absorb water, they eliminate possible chafing in garments that are worn next to the skin. Moreover, the bonded garments are up to 15% lighter in weight than those having stitched seams, seam bindings and waterproofing tape."
Machine-made seamless garment
Several machine makers of flat knitting machines are now able to produce whole seamless garments. This is accomplished by using multi-needle/transfer knitting beds. And when it comes to making seamless garments on circular knitting machines, Tefron Ltd, based in Israel, knows few if any equals.
Recent figures suggest that seamless intimate apparel has captured around 6% of the total market, or US$720 million, in the last five years. With the US as the primary market, Tefron Ltd controls about 30% of the burgeoning market for seamless underwear.
The company now produces active wear, tank tops leisurewear, sleepwear, shapewear and swimwear.
Active wear and sportswear offer exciting opportunities for development and expansion. Tefron's advanced technologies are ready to leverage the strengths of the latest performance yarns to produce seamless garments that offer moisture management, anti-microbial properties, enhanced comfort and fit and dynamic design.
The company employs circular knitting machines to make wide fabrics, including body-size circular machines (for all sizes) that produce both rib and singleknit, CF machines that manufacture continuous fabrics with engineered textures and cutting-edge Santoni machines with real rib capabilities that produce virtually finished garments from yarn. The latter transforms yarn into virtually complete, seamless garments, consolidating nearly all production steps into a single knitting machine while replacing traditional labor-intensive methods in which knitting, cutting, accessorizing and sewing functions are performed sequentially.
Tefron Ltd converted its knowledge in the seamless intimate apparel area into a viable seamless activewear business |
Amit Tal, Vice President in charge of the company's development center in Lake Oswego of the US, said while the company was the first to develop such products, it is now the largest producer in the world of seamless intimate apparel and a forerunner of the industry with its proprietary technology, Engineered for Performance, for instance.
"While we have knitting plants all over the world, we make seamless garments in our plants in Israel, North Carolina and Tennessee. In these plants we have well over 800 knitting machines of all makes and models. We have modified most of them in house to knit the proprietary fabrics we produce," he said.
Tefron's activewear products can be found with such labels as Nike, Reebok and Patagonia. Its intimate apparel products can be purchased at Victoria's Secret, The Gap and the Banana Republic.
Unlimited design possibilities
A piece of knitted wear by Wholegarment knitting technology |
Alternative to conventional knitting methods, Shima Seiki introduced the seamless construction of Wholegarment to produce an entire garment in one complete piece. It saves much of the labor-intensive cutting and sewing processes which often cause bottlenecks in the supply-chain flow. The leadtime usually needed to knit each part for the required number of garments is saved as well.
With a fully computerized equipment that allows "computer-to-knit" production, a three-dimensionally shaped and fitted garment is produced and ready to be worn straight off the machine. For designers, the seamless process allows patterns and designs to remain uninterrupted across the entire garment, front-to-back, over-the-shoulder and down-the-sleeves.
SWG-X Wholegarment knitting machine of Shima Seiki |
All in all, as the technology for producing seamless garment gets more mature, its applications expand to other areas of apparel to offer improved product quality and enhanced product differentiation, leading to price premium. New technology again opens a new realm previously unknown for both producers and consumers.
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Copyright © Adsale Publishing Limited. Credit goes to Adsale Industry Portal when used.
We reserve the right to take legal action against any party who reprint any part of this article without acknowledgement. For enquiries, please contact the Editorial Department. |
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