Knitwear Production Planning

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SPREADING

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SPREADING
□ The objective of spreading is to place the number of
plies of fabric that the production planning process has
specified to the length of the marker plan, in the required
colors , correctly aligned asto length and width and
without tension.

□ Spreading is the process of superimposing lengths of

fabric on a spreading table, cutting table or specially
designed surface in preparation for the cutting process.

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SPREADING
□ A spread or lay-up is the total amount of fabric
prepared for a single marker.

□ A spread may consist of a single ply or multiple plies.

□ The height of alay-up or spread is limited by fabric

characteristics,
□ size of the order to be cut,
□ cutting method and
□ the vertical capacity of the spreader.

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SPREADING
□ The number of plies in a spread may range from 1 to 300.

□ Although in certain industries, it is necessary to cut single

garments, most of the industries cut garments in bulk.

□ Savings in fabric is made by using multi-garment marker

plans and the savings in cutting time is made by cutting
many plies at the same time.

□ Altogether the manufacturing cost is reduced.

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SPREADING
□ The spreading of multi-size lays of many plies demands
strong tables, usually with steel legs and braced(Support
or hold steady) frames, aheavy laminated, smooth wood
top and sometimes centre legs.

□ A 10-meter lay of shirting fabric with 200 plies can weigh

up to 600kg and with 150-cm wide fabric can exert a
downward pressure of up to approximately 40kg per
square metre on the table surface.

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SPREADING
□ The table may also bear the weight of aspreading
machine, travelling on steel rails at the edge of the table.

□ The type of table surface is critical for the spreading and

cutting operations.

□ It is usually covered with aplastic laminate or tempered

hardboard, which provide alow level of friction.

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SPREADING
□ In advanced machines, The spreading table is
incorporated with asource of compressed air, giving the
facility of air floatation through perforations in the table
surface.

□ This enables heavy sections of lay to be moved easily

along the surface of the table to the cutting operation.

□ It is also possible to fit the table with vacuum facility so

that ahigh lay may be sucked down, compressed and
stabilized before cutting.
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SPREADING
□ Spreading may be done manually or by
computer-controlled machines.

□ One person or two may be involved with the spreading

process depending on the width and type of fabric, type
of equipment and size of spread.

□ Two people may be used for manual spreading unless the

spread is very short.

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SPREADING
□ One person may work in each side of the table to keep
the fabric flat, smooth and tension-free.

□ With automatic spreading, the equipment controls the

tension, fabric placement and the rate of travel.

□ The spreading operator monitors the process and

removes fabric flaws as needed.

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SPREADING
□ Two aspects of spreading that affect spreading efficiency
are the setup and actual layout of fabric.

□ Setup involves loading and threading fabric through the

spreader and positioning the machine and related
equipment.

□ The actual process of spreading involves laying out fabric

in the desired number of layers.

□ Fabric may be spread face up, face down or face to face.

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SPREADING MODES
□ A spreading mode is the manner in which fabric plies are
laid out for cutting.

□ The spreading mode is determined by the fabric

characteristics, quality standards of the firm and available
equipment.

□ Two fabric characteristics that determine the spreading

mode are the direction of the fabric face and the
direction of fabric nap.

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SPREADING MODES
□ The fabric face may be positioned in two ways:
Face-to-Face(F/F) or with all plies
Facing-One-Way(F/O/W), face up or face down.

□ Face-to-face(F/F) spreading may be continuous as the

spreader moves up and down the table.
□ This is the fastest method of spreading, the least costly
and generally results in the lowest quality.

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SPREADING MODES

□ With this method of spreading , the face is up on one ply

and down on the next ply as the spreader goes back and
forth.
□ Often symmetric, nondirectional fabric are spread
continuously, which places alternate plies face to face or
back to back.
□ Quality is affected because the operator is only able top
monitor the fabric face half the time.

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SPREADING MODES -Facing-One-Way

□ F/O/W spreads, face up or down, are more

time-consuming and expensive because fabric must be cut
at each end of the spread and the new end repositioned.
□ F/O/W spreading may be done with the fabric face up or
face down.

□ When the fabric faces up, the operator is able to monitor

the face for flaws and imperfections asthe fabric is being
unrolled.

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SPREADING MODES
□ This is particularly helpful when spreading prints.

□ Pile fabrics, corduroy and velvet are often spread face

down.
□ Other high quality fabrics are spread face up.
□ The second consideration in selecting the spreading mode
relates to the direction of the fabric nap.

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SPREADING MODES
□ Placement of the nap may be Nap-One-Way(N/O/W)
or Nap-up-and-Down(N/U/D).

□ Asymmetric and directional fabrics must have the nap

running the same direction, Nap-One-Way(N/O/W).

□ This spreading mode is the most time- consuming to

lay-up, but it generally produces the best quality.

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SPREADING MODES
□ N/O/W fabrics may be spread F/F and F/O/W.

□ If napped fabrics are to be positioned F/F, the fabric must

be cut and the roll turned at the end of each ply so that
the nap will lay in the same direction on facing plies.

□ This is suitable for directional fabrics and to pair garment

parts for the sewing operation.
□ This is also referred aspair spreading.

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SPREADING MODES
□ Symmetric and nondirectional fabrics allow flexibility for
spreading.

□ These fabrics can be spread with the nap running both up

and down the spread.

□ This spreading mode is called

Nap-up-and-Down(N/U/D).

□ This type of fabric canbe spread face-to-face or

face-one-way with the nap running up and down.
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REQUIREMENTS OF SPREADING

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REQUIREMENTS OF SPREADING
□ Standards for spreading ultimately affect the succeeding
operations of cutting, assembly, finishing and the final fit
and quality of the finished products.

□ Spreading operators have many factors to monitor during

the spreading process.

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REQUIREMENTS OF SPREADING
□ A high quality spread has the following characteristics:

1. It is free of noticeable defects in the fabric.

2. It is tension-free.
3. It is flat.
4. Selvages are accurately aligned at least on one edge.
5. It is free of static electricity.
6. It is accurately spliced with minimal waste.
7. The precise length, mode and number of plies specified.

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SHADE SORTING
□ Lays commonly require more than one roll of cloth.

□ It is likely that cloth pieces having same colour may have

been dyed separately and may have different shades.

□ A garment made from parts cut from these different

pieces will show a shaded difference between its different
panels.

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SHADE SORTING
□ When deliveries of anumber of rolls of cloth of the same
colour are received,
□ they should be sorted into batches such that shade
differences between them are undetectable.

□ This is done by a trained colourist or more easily by a

computer after measurement of the colour has been
carried out using a spectrophotometer or a colorimeter.

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SHADE SORTING
□ When rolls of cloth of the same colour but different
shades have to be spread adjacent to each other in the
lay,
□ they are separated by alayer of interleaving paper, a
roughened tissue in a bright color.

□ It should be easily visible at the edge of each stack and it

assists in easy separation of the plies for bundling.

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ALIGNMENT OF PLIES
□ Every ply should have at least the length and width of the
marker plan.

□ Ply alignment relates to the accuracy with which fabric

edges(both length and width) are aligned during
spreading.

□ Ply alignment affects the fabric waste and accuracy in

cutting garment parts.

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ALIGNMENT OF PLIES
□ If there is no width variation in the piece goods, both
edges will be aligned.

□ If variation occurs within aroll or between rolls, it is

essential to keep one edge accurately aligned.

□ Aligned edges of piece goods are matched with one edge

of the marker for accurate cutting and effective fabric
utilization.

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CORRECT PLY TENSION
□ Tension or tightness of aspread, is amajor factor that
ultimately affects the fit and quality because of the
reaction of the fabric.

□ Fabric should be as tension-free as possible when spread.

□ Fabric under too much tension as it is spread may be

stretched or elongated.

□ A tight spread will contract in length, and the ends may

tend to draw inward.
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CORRECT PLY TENSION
□ This may occur while the fabric is waiting to be cut,
which may result in a spread that is shorter than the
marker.

□ If the fabric contracts after it is cut, garment parts will be

smaller than the pattern, which creates problems in
assembly and garment fit.

□ This problem is called as snap back.

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CORRECT PLY TENSION
□ To avoid excessive tension, fabrics may be spread
manually or spreading equipment may synchronize fabric
unrolling with the rate of spreading.

□ Tension can be a problem with any fabric, but it is a

special concern for knits and fabrics containing spandex.

□ Some spreading machines are equipped to vibrate or

agitate the fabric as it leaves the roll which reduces the
tension and elongation of fabrics.

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CORRECT PLY TENSION

□ Slack tension is a lesser problem, but it still must be

monitored.

□ A slack spread contains excess fabric in each ply that may

create billows(rise up asif in waves) and ridges(any long
raised strip) in the spread.

□ Operators are able to monitor slack tension better than

high tension because slack tension is more visible.

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CORRECT PLY TENSION
□ As other plies are positioned over loose folds, creases
form that may distort the cut garment parts.

□ Cutting aslack spread may create oversized pieces, cause

inaccuracies in assembly and waste fabric.

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STATIC ELECTRICITY
□ Static electricity may result from friction among
materials and spreading equipment.

□ Particularly, fabrics made of man-made fibres may have a

static electricity problem, which may cause fabric plies to
cling to machinery or other fabric plies and creates
problems with flatness and accuracy of alignment.

□ Anti-static sheets may be spread in between the synthetic

plies for avoiding the problems.

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FABRIC FAULTS
□ They can have amajor impact on the quality of alay-up
and the products to be cut.

□ It is the responsibility of spreading operators to identify

fabric defects and make a decision on how to handle
them.

□ With certified fabric, many defects and their locations are

identified by the fabric inspectors.
□ Still, the spreaders must make decisions on how defects
should be treated, based on the severity.
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FABRIC FAULTS

□ It is also not safe to assume that all defects have been

identified.
□ Minor flaws may be left, depending on where they are
located, where they will fall in the cut garment parts and
the desired quality level in finished goods.
□ Considering that 5 to 15%of the fabric will be marker
waste and another 5% will be seam allowances, it may not
necessary to remove the flaw.

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FABRIC FAULTS
□ Some firms mark flaws by covering them with crossed
strips of narrow tissue paper.
□ The tissue paper alerts bundlers and the cut piece will be
recut if needed.
□ The more expensive the piece goods, the more likely that
flawed parts will be recut.
□ Flaws which are not removed in spreading may appear in
the finished garment, which creates asecond or areject.

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FABRIC FAULTS

□ As a finished garment with flaws has a large investment in

materials and labour, the loss may be greater than if the
fabric flaw had been removed or recut during spreading.
□ Recutting a flawed piece requires more time and labour
cost, but it reduces fabric waste.
□ Recuts are the flawed garment parts that must be
removed from the bundle and recut from the remnants
of the same fabric roll.

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FABRIC FAULTS

□ This is done after the cutting operation is complete.

□ It is time consuming and has arisk of shade mismatching.

□ Computer-controlled spreading systems can be equipped

with flaw management systems that use information
provided by mills relative to piece length, flaws and width
variation.

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FABRIC FAULTS

□ Electronic monitoring makes the work of the spreading

operator easier so that spreading can be done at a faster
rate.
□ Flaw removal is costly because it is nonproductive time
for spreading operators causes fabric waste by splicing
and removing the entire width of the fabric even when
the flaw may be isolated to a 2 inch wide area.

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AVOIDING DISTORTION
□ A layer of glazed paper is normally placed at the bottom
of the spread, with the glazed side down.

□ This helps to avoid disturbing the lowest plies of material

in the spread when the base plate of astraight knife
passes underneath.

□ It also gives stability to the lay if it is to be moved on a

floatation table.

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AVOIDING DISTORTION

□ In addition, it prevents snagging of the fabric on the table

surface which often becomes roughened with use.
□ When the lays are moved by floatation, it is important
that there is no differential movement of one ply against
another.

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SPREADING METHODS

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TYPE OF SPREADS
□ A continuous spread, where all the plies of fabric are
of the same length, underlying the complete marker plan.

□ A stepped spread, in which a series of separate

single-sized markers are positioned on top of varying
numbers of plies.
□ A stepped spread saves time.
□ A continuous spread save fabric.

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stepped spread

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HAND SPREADING
□ Even if many equipments are available for spreading, still
there is need to hand spreading.

□ Typical fabrics that are spread by hand are checks,

crosswise stripes and other regularly repeating patterns.

□ If accurate ‘stacking up’ of the design vertically through

the spread is required, the fabric may be ‘spiked’ on to a
series of sharp spikes set vertically on the spreading table.

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Pin Table

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HAND SPREADING
□ These are available with anadjusting mechanism that
controls the amount of spike showing above the table
surface.

□ It also enables the complete spikes to be lowered after

spreading to allow for cutting or for moving of the lay
along the table to a different cutting site.

□ The cost of hand spreading is managed by bulk cutting of

the fabric.

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MACHINE SPREADING
□ Basic spreading equipment consists of

□ (a) spreading surfaces

(b) spreading machines
(c) fabric control devices
(d) fabric cutting devices
□ Manually operated equipment and automated, high-tech
equipments are available.

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MACHINE SPREADING

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SPREADING SURFACE
□ The appropriate type of spreading surface is determined
by the fabric type, spreading equipment, cutting method,
cutting equipment and the firm’s quality standards.

□ Spreading require a flat, level, smooth surface.

□ Spreading and cutting surfaces are available in standard

widths that correspond to fabric width.

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