Fabric Painting- Creating Magic on Fabrics

Fabric is such a medium that can be used in a wide variety of ways to express oneself. Wear it as clothing to make your own style statement or make them into astonishing home furnishings to decorate homes- they are always amazing! Not only fabrics come in a variety of colors and textures, they can even be embellished in different ways to make them all the more beautiful. Embroidery is the most accepted and widely adopted means of embellishing them. However, fabric painting has there since ages and is one of the adoring crafts that people love to do with fabrics. In fact, fabric painting is one of the means that can be used in innumerable ways- the only need is to let loose one's imagination.

Mostly, natural blended fabrics such as 50-50 cotton-polyester blends are chosen for doing fabric painting. There is a set process for fabric painting where it is first washed and dried to let it shrink and for cleaning any dirt, dust, or textile finishing chemicals from it. Then paints are chosen from among fabric paint tubes, fabric paint pens, paint pots and brushes. Designs are also chosen according to one's interest which include free hand designs, that is to paint without any design laid out beforehand. Many draw the designs with pencils on the fabric to be painted and others use iron on transfer method in which they use a colored transfer pen to trace over a simple lined picture. The design is then applied by placing the drawn lines directly onto the fabric and gently pressing a hot iron on top. The fabric is then painted through different techniques like stamping, reverse stamping, screen painting and others. Once fabric painting is finished, it is allowed to dry for about at least 24 hours to 72 hours so that it is thoroughly dry and set. The finished item is then again washed and dried.

However, there are certain considerations that should be kept in mind while fabric painting. This will be clear with tips for fabric painting. So read these tips and create magic on fabrics with fabric painting.

Fiber Testing Techniques

The manufacturers of apparels, home furnishings and other textile products must know the fiber contents of the fabrics they use in order to meet the specific requirements of the said products. Retailers too are bound by the 'Textile Fiber Products Identification Act' to check the labels of the products before selling them. The consumers too need to know what fibers are they using in all the products so that they may put them to their expected use. Thus, fiber testing becomes very important.


Nontechnical Tests
There are many tests for fiber identification. They can be broadly classified as nontechnical tests and technical tests. The nontechnical tests include feeling test and the burn test. The feeling test is the most simple one which requires identifying fiber just by touching the fabric. For example, wool will feel warm whereas cotton or linen will feel cold. However, this is not a very reliable method as many fabrics are made of different fiber contents. In the other test called the burn test, a sample fabric is burnt and observed for the various characteristics shown by it after burning so that its fiber contents can be determined.

Technical Tests

There are fiber testing techniques that are carried out in laboratories. These technical tests for fiber identification are the microscope test and the chemical tests.

Microscope Test: In this technique, powerful microscopes are used for testing and identifying the fiber contents of different fabrics. Different fibers show specific characteristics regarding shapes, length, marks etc. under the microscope. It is very effective for testing the natural fabrics. Since many synthetic fabrics have similar appearance, sometimes, it becomes difficult to test them under microscope. Dark color fabrics also can't be tested as light doesn't pass through dark substances. Additionally, dyes of the fabrics also have to be removed by stripping, bleaching etc. so that they can be seen clearly and without any wrong effects that can misguide and result in incorrect test reports.

Chemical Tests: They can only be conducted in well equipped laboratories. There are two key techniques for chemical testing- stain and solvent. The stain method uses acid and alkali on different fabrics to identify the fiber contents. A fiber stained with acetic acid turns to a specific color but when the same fiber is stained with mild alkali, it turns to a different color. For example, acetate changes to light green color when acetic acid is used and turns orange when dilute carbonate of soda is used. In the solvent method, different solvents are used to distinguish one kind of fiber from another. There is no single solvent or chemical that can be used on all fibers. The fabric has to be cleaned thoroughly and the finishing chemicals have to be removed completely before immersing sample fabric in solvents. Animal fibers are destroyed in strong alkalies while plant fibers destroy in acid.

Fabric Weaving Process

Fabric is manufactured in a variety of ways. The basic principle, however, is something like that of making birds nest where the straws are interconnected to make a web like structure. Fabric is also interconnection of yarns or threads that is achieved by many different processes. Weaving is one of the major processes for fabric construction where two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced with each other to form a cloth. The lengthwise set of yarns running from the back to the front of a weaving loom is called warp. The crosswise yarns are filled in the warps and thus they are known as the filling or the weft.

Both, warps and wefts have to be specifically prepared before weaving is done. The preparation includes operations such as spooling, warping and slashing. In spooling, the yarn is wound on larger spools (cones) that are placed on a rack known as creel. From the creel, the yarns are wound on a warp beam, which looks like a huge spool. These yarns are unwound for slashing, or sizing which is done to prevent chafing or breaking of yarns during weaving. The sized yarns are then wound on a final warp beam and are ready for the loom. The weft yarns have to be spun into desired size by giving them the right amount of twist needed for the type of fabric they will make. Weaving essentially includes four major operations that are performed in sequence and are continuously repeated. These operations are shedding; picking; beating up; and taking up &letting off.

Shedding involves raising up of alternate warp yarns in order to insert the filling yarn into the warp to form a shed. Shedding is automatically performed by the harness on the modern weaving looms. In picking, when the warp yarns are raised through shedding, the weft yarn is inserted through the shed with the help of a carrier device. A single crossing of the filling from one side of the loom to the other is called a pick. Various methods are adopted for carrying the filling yarn through the shed in different kinds of looms. A shuttle loom uses a shuttle which contains a bobbin of filling yarn. It leaves a trail of the filling at the rate of about 110 to 225 picks per minute (ppm).

As the shuttle looms are very slow and noisy, many shuttle less looms have been developed which include projectile loom; rapier loom; water jet loom; air jet loom etc. In projectile loom, the picking action is done by a series of small bullet like projectiles. Rapier looms have one or two rapier devices that travel along the width of the loom to carry the weft from one side to the other. Water jet and air jet looms, as the names suggest, use a jet of water and air respectively to carry the weft yarn across the loom. All these shuttle less looms have speeds ranging from 200 to 600 ppm. There are circular looms also that are mainly used for making tubular fabrics with the help of a shuttle device that circulates the weft in a shed formed around the machine.

Beating up, also called battening, beats each weft yarn against the portion of the fabric that has already been formed which results in a firm and compact fabric construction. As the shedding, picking and battening processes are being done, the new fabric is wound on the cloth beam, which is known as 'taking up'. At the same time, the warp yarns are released from the warp beam which is known as 'letting off'.

The Making of Warm and Cozy Quilts

Quilts are a delight to eyes and cozy to feel. However, much effort is put into for making quilts so beautiful and comfortable. They are made through quilting, which is a form of sewing done either by hands, sewing machines, or by quilting machines.


The basic process of quilting involves selecting of patterns, fabrics and batting; measuring and cutting the fabrics into right sized blocks and then piecing these blocks together to make the quilt top. After that the three pieces are layered to form a quilt sandwich and then sewed with hand or machine. Excess batting is trimmed from the edges and binding is sewn to the front edges of the quilt with machine and hand-stitched to the quilt backing. Batting, binding, piecing etc. are the exclusive quilting terms one, who's interested in quilting should know.

The quilts are decorated with complex designs and patterns which depends upon the visualization and creativity of the quilter. Various quilting softwares have made this work an easy task for them. With all the embellishing needle work and techniques various quilt styles are made such as appliqué quilt, block quilt, embroidered quilt, patchwork quilts among many others.

Apart from hand quilting, machine quilting has also become very popular. Machine Quilting is done by sewing machine as well as Longarm quilting machine. In sewing machine, the layers are tacked together by laying the top, batting and backing with pinning, using large safety pins, or tacking the layers together before quilting is done. The longarm quilting machine holds and keeps the quilt stationary on rods while the machine head moves the needle across the quilt. When quilting with sewing machines, the fabric has to be moved through the machine.

Longarm quilting process is a very fast process done with the help of longarm quilting machines that are 10 to 14 feet in length and consist of an industrial sewing machine head, a 10-to-14 feet long table, and a number of rollers on which the fabric layers are positioned. There are hand guided as well as computer guided quilting machines. The computer-guided machine head is attached to a computer system that lets the quilter to choose a design to be sewn onto the fabrics. With selection of the design, the machine will sew the chosen design onto the quilt without any assistance by the quilter.

There are two types of longarm quilting- pantograph designs and customized designs. Pantograph designs span the length of the longarm table which is placed beneath a plastic layer on the table and then traced using the laser found on the machine head. The design can be repeated in rows to create an all-over design on the quilt top. This is a relatively fast and easier method of quilting. Customized designs have individual designs or blocks on various parts of the quilt depending upon the requirements of the end user or the customer. Many sewing styles are adopted for the purpose, such as meandering, feathers and motifs. It is time-consuming and therefore quilts become expensive when made through this method.

Fabric SigNature DNA- Unique Technology to Fight Fraudsters

There is a good news and a bad news, in fact a news that is good for the fashion and fabric industry and bad for the fraudsters. A revolutionary new DNA-based technology- unique label incorporating Signature DNA taggant- has been developed to put a stop to fakes and track down counterfeiters.

Counterfeit textile and clothing have become a trouble with billions of dollars worth of seizures and losses incurred all around the world. In such a situation, the textile suppliers, manufacturers, retailers and brand owners have the added burden of testing end products for determining their authenticity so that the end-user can be assured of getting genuine products.

Although many technological measures are used for this purpose such as holograms and other hard-to-copy trademarks, heat transfer labels, invisible inks, unique threads and merchandise-tracking technology, they all become useless if the companies are not able to control their labeling supply and conduct regular audits. It is, in fact, very difficult to make out the difference between genuine and fake products just by seeing them because counterfeiters also use technology and digitally reproduce identical labels within a few hours of the launch of an item.

Keeping all these factors in view, SigNature DNA has been developed to fight the fraudsters. This new DNA-based technology applies a unique SigNature DNA marker to inks and yarns in a label or piece of fabric. A mark is individual to a brand, just like DNA. This makes it the only label in the world that can't be copied, re-engineered or counterfeited. Forensic testing can be done to determine whether a garment or label is authentic by the presence of the brand’s SigNature DNA. As it is recognized by law as positive-proof of authenticity, evidence is admissible in a court of law which is quiet an effective way to check the fraudsters. This is a great achievement that'll benefit the textile and related industries as brand identity is of great value to them.

An Introduction to Industrial Knitting

Most of us love to wear knitted fabrics that are so comfortable due to their perfect fit and stretchability. However, I am doubtful as to how much each of us know about the knitting process followed by the apparel manufacturing companies for making highly popular clothing such as sports wear, underwear, sweaters, suits, coats, rugs and other home furnishings.


Industrial Knitting
Knitting is the second most popular method of fabric construction, after weaving. The complex knitting industry has two primary divisions, one of which manufactures knitted fabrics for garment manufacturers, sewing centers, consumers etc. and the other one produces completed apparels such as hosiery, sweaters, underwear etc.

A knitted fabric is made with yarns formed into interlocking loops with the help of hooked needles. Crocheted fabrics are the simplest form of knitting where a chain of loops is constructed from a single thread with the help of a hook. When the interlocking loops run lengthwise, each row is called a wale identified with the direction of warp in woven fabrics. When the loops run across the fabric, each row is called a course which corresponds to the filling or weft in woven fabrics.

Apart from the number of stitches or loops per square inch in a knitted fabric, the needle quality also decide its properties. With varying thickness and length of needles the stitches will also get thicker and longer respectively. There are three types of needles that are mostly used for industrial knitting- the latch needle, spring-beard needle, and compound needle.

Types of Knitted Fabrics

Depending upon the wales and courses, there are two types of knitted fabrics
1.Weft knit fabric, where one continuous yarn forms courses across the fabric.
2.
3.Warp knit fabric, where a series of yarns form wales in the lengthwise direction of the fabric.

Weft Knitting has three basic stitches- Plain-knit stitch; Purl stitch; and Rib stitch. Any other stitch is a variation of these three stitches. basic stitches of hand knitting can be identified with weft knitting. When done on weft knitting machines, individual yarn is fed to a single or multiple needles at a time.

In warp Knitting, each needle loops its own thread. The needles of warp knitting machines produce parallel rows of loops that are interlocked in a zigzag pattern. The stitches on the front side vertical with a slight angle. The stitches on the back are horizontal as floats at a slight angle. These floats are called laps or underlaps and are a distinguished features of warp knit fabrics. There are seven basic types of warp knitting- Tricot knit; Milanese knit; Simplex knit; Raschel knit; Ketten Raschel knit; Crochet and Weft-insertion warp.

Warp knit fabrics are smooth, sheer, wrinkle resistant, shrink strength and abrasion resistant as such they are very popular with the masses. Warp knit fabrics are considered better than the weft knit fabrics as these fabrics do not ravel easily, are less prone to sagging and have superior dimensional ability.

Industrial Sewing- Complex Process for Simple Garments

Sewing, as we commonly know, is fastening of some flexible material like fabric, leather etc. using needle and thread. Sewing is done not only for making clothes and home furnishings but also for bookbinding, shoemaking, quilting and for many other such functions. Although the basic necessity in all sewing remains that of needle and threads, the techniques and machines used are different for different sewing purposes. For instance, dressmaking at home will require a simple sewing machine. For quilting, a machine with advanced features is required while for commercial apparel making, heavy duty industrial sewing machines are needed for high quality seams.

Industrial Sewing Process
Industrial sewing is far more complex process when compared with general sewing done at home. It requires many preparations and mathematical calculations for producing garments with perfect seam quality. For conducting industrial sewing, one must possess the required technical knowledge as the flat sheets of fabrics having holes and slits are given curves and folded in three-dimensional shapes in very complex ways that require a high level of skill and experience in order to get smooth, wrinkle-free designs. Apparels thus designed are then cut using templates and sewn by manual laborers or automatic sewing machine. The seam quality is very sensitive to cloth tension that differs from time to time in the whole sewing process. As such, the cloth has to be handled with great care while it is guided towards the sewing machine needle.

Pre-sewing Tasks
Even before the actual work of sewing starts, there are many pre sewing tasks that have to be accomplished. These can be enlisted as recognizing the fabric's shape as appropriate tensional force depends on the properties of fabric; deciding fabric edges to be sewn – whether sewing for joining two parts of cloth or for decorative purposes; planning of sewing process to establish the sequence of seams to be stitched; and identification of seam lines as the seam lines are situated inside the fabric's outer line and therefore distance between the two (seam allowance) has to be determined.

The Sewing of Clothes
The actual sewing process consists of guiding the fabric along the sewing line with a certain speed that is in harmony with the speed of sewing machine. The errors of fabric orientation are either controlled manually or through automatic machines. When one edge of seam line is sewed, the fabric is rotated around the needle till the next edge of the seam line coincides with the sewing line. The process is repeated until all the edges of seam line are sewed.

While sewing, many factors have to be considered such as thread tension and consumption because the correct balancing of the stitch and the tension given to the threads is very important for quality stitch formation. Care has also to be taken for presser- foot displacement and compressing force. Presser- foot is the part of sewing machine that holds the fabric in place as it is being sewn. If this system is not efficient then it results into irregular seams and many other defects, especially when running on high speed. Needle penetration force measurement is also very important for the analysis of quality problems or 'sewability testing' and for quality monitoring.

Textile Designers- Converting Fantasies into Realties

We all love to have beautifully designed fabrics for our garments, home furnishings and other accessories. Have you ever thought, how these fabrics get their design? Who is behind creating the innovative textile designs? And how much effort goes into making a fabric which we might reject in just a few minutes? Do you know the textile designers and their creative but very complex work of textile designing?

Textile Designs- The Vision of Textile Designers
Textile design is the process of making designs for knitted, woven or printed fabrics. It is a technical process which includes both- surface design and structural design of a textile.
Textile designer must have knowledge of yarn making, weaving, knitting, dyeing, finishing processes, as also of different types of looms, knitting machines, and printing processes. He conceptualizes new and innovative designs, creates sets of design samples, experiments with color, fabric & texture and finally designs fabrics as per the prevailing fashion trends.

Creation of Textile Design
The Textile designer makes a sketch of the finished design envisioned by him. His sound technical knowledge of production and the properties of fibers, yarns, and dyes help him in visualizing the final textile product. Earlier, drawings of woven textile patterns were made onto special graph paper called point papers. Weavers used these drawings for setting up their looms for producing the fabric. However, today, the professional textile designers use some or the other kind of computer-aided design software for the purpose. The modern CAD/CAM technology helps in easy creation of virtually any kind of weave and design, helps simulate the created weave or design into the virtual fabric in different color combinations even before the fabric is manufactured.

Textile Designers
There are two basic fields in textile designing- fabrics for home furnishings; and for clothing & other textile accessories. The textile designers make creative, stylish and contemporary designs as per the market demands. They also keep regional, historical and cultural factors while creating these designs. They can work as one of many professionals- freelance designer, in-house designer, stylist, color specialists, curator, printing supervisors or managers.
The textiles designed by these designers only go to make fashion clothing that fashion designers offer you along with the home furnishings, textile accessories and other textile products.

How Footwear Companies make Shoes

Footwear was invented for protecting our feet. However, it has now become one of an essential fashion accessories. Made of a variety of materials like leather, plastic, rubber, fabrics, wood, jute, and metal- it can rightly be said the garment of our feet. Shoes are only one of the many categories of footwear that includes sandals, boots, slippers, and many others.

If you look at your shoe, you can see that it has many parts- sole, insole, outsole, midsole, heel, and an upper part that is called vamp or simply upper. These parts can be easily identified. The exterior bottom part of a shoe is the sole. The interior bottom of a shoe, directly beneath the foot, is its insole. The layer of the shoe that comes in direct contact with the ground is its outsole. There's also a layer between the outsole and the insole. It is the midsole for shock absorption. The rear part at the bottom of a shoe is the heel. The upper part of a shoe that helps in holding the shoe onto the foot is the vamp or the upper. Shoe has other parts too, such as lining, tongue, quarter, welt and backstay.

Shoes were originally a handicraft that was adopted as a profession by many. However, nowadays, shoe making is a large industry which works with specialized footwear making machines. A footwear company has four departments in which a progressive route is followed for making shoes. These are- Clicking or Cutting Department; Closing or Machining Department; Lasting & Making Department; and Finishing Department & the Shoe Room.

In the Clicking or Cutting Department, the upper part of the shoe is made by cutting leather in perfect shape. In the Closing or Machining Department, the component pieces are sewn together to produce the completed upper. Both these works are conducted by highly skilled workers and machines. In the Lasting & Making Department, the completed uppers are molded into a shape of foot with the help of a “Last” which is a plastic shape that simulates the foot shape. A strip of leather or plastic called welt is sewn onto the shoe. The upper and all the surplus material is trimmed off the seam. The sole is stitched together with the welt. The heel is then attached which completes the “making” of the shoe. In finishing department, shoes are given an attractive finish by staining, polishing and waxing. In the shoe room, an internal sock, having the manufacturers details or a brand name is fitted into shoe.

Shoes are made for each and every size of feet. If you go by the sizing guidelines sizing guidelines you can find that perfect shoe which you'll feel has been made just for you!

Fabric Welding- For Neat, Durable and Specialized Sealing

We all love to use latest products. The ones that have unmatched features. A trendy jacket that is water resistant, abrasion resistant and that doesn't show any seam. An attractive tent for the evening party and yes sans all those lose threads at seams that look so ugly. A safe and secured inflatable boat that doesn't allow any water inside, after all it's the question of life and death! Have you ever thought, how these products are made so durable, safe and at the same time neat and attractive? Its all because of fabric welding-the technique of joining fabric pieces by using heat and pressure- without any sewing, seam taping or gluing!

The heat sealing technique of fabric welding has been made possible by thermoplastic coatings on fabrics, such as polyvinylchloride (PVC), polyurethane (PU), polyethylene fabric (PE) and polypropylene (PP). Whenever, a fabric has to be made water resistant, abrasion resistant at the seam, resistant to thread decay and also to give attractive appearance, there is no better method then fabric welding. There are basically two types of fabric welding- Dielectric Welding and Rotary welding.

In Dielectric Welding, a die is lowered onto the fabric pieces that are supported by an underlying base plate after which a timed pulse of radio frequency energy is delivered between the die and the base plate. The fabric gets heated to the point where it melts the thermoplastic coating temporarily. As a result, the pieces of fabric are fused together. The die is then lifted and new pieces of fabric move into position for getting welded.

In Rotary welding, the fabric pieces move continuously through the welding area, usually pulled along by a pair of drive wheels. Heat is delivered through heated metal wedge or hot air. This is done immediately before the fabric passes between the drive wheels wherein welding pressure is applied which heat seals the fabric.

Many other welding technologies are included in these two basic methods of welding, knowing about which is really interesting.

Warping- The Soul of Textile Construction

When we set to select a textile, we consider many facts- color, texture, feel, looks, drapability and many others. Have you ever thought how much efforts are put in by the textile weavers to make that fine textile? We all know that weaving and knitting are the two major methods of fabric construction what gives the fabric its quality is how carefully it has been warped? Now, what is warping then? 'Warp' is the set of yarns that are laid out first on a loom or frame and 'Weft' is the yarn that is woven under and over the warp yarns that are already stretched onto the loom. Thus, textile warping is the process of creating the base yarn that runs top to bottom on a woven cloth.

The basic two types of warp knitting machines, Tricot knitting machine and Raschel knitting machine, that are equipped with compound needles have made textile warping a very easier task than it was when done on looms.

Yarn preparation is very crucial for weaving and knitting. In some cases, the ends of yarns can be fed directly off cones into theknitting machine and in some others, the yarn ends are fed off warp beams. A warp beam is a large spool holding all the warp yarns in a parallel wind for weaving. The quality of a warp beam is crucial for determining the quality of the knitted fabric. Variations in yarn thickness, tension, twist and other such issues might produce a defective fabric. If utmost care is not taken then it results in many warping defects such as lapped ends, bulges, broken ends, excessive or insufficient number of yarn ends, frequent yarn breakages, improper length of warping, coarse knots and many more. In most of the cases, warping mistakes are nearly impossible to correct during the knitting process.

The two basic methods that are used to prepare the warps for the knitting machines are- Indirect Warping and Direct Warping. Indirect warping involves winding of yarns from the yarn packages onto an intermediate cylinder (mill) in many parallel groups with a specific density after which they are back wound onto the warp beam. In direct warping, the yarns are wrapped in one operation, from the yarn packages onto the warp beam.

Fashion Clothing: What Fashion Designers Offer You

So, you are all set to go to the fashion boutique! The boutique referred by your friend. May be a fashion store or an apparel retail store. But do you really know, what type of fashion garment are you going to buy? Or you just remember what your friend said, “Oh that store is fabulous! It has such a vast collection of haute couture!” Do you exactly know what is “ haute couture” and do you really think that your 'good fat wallet' is enough for getting haute couture apparels? You might be thinking, “what a silly question? Of course, I'll come to know that. After all, what are the labels for?” Come, lets see whether you'll be able to differentiate between the haute couture and other garments or not!

Types of Fashion Designs

Fashion designers usually depend upon textile designs to set their fashion collections as unique. These designs are the work of trained textile designers who design fabric weaves and prints for clothes and furnishings. There are essentially three categories of fashion design.

Haute couture: The high-fashion clothings, haute couture, is originally a French term meaning 'high sewing' but today it has come to represent high end fashion clothing which can cost anywhere between few thousands to few lacs of dollars. Created for specific clients with "made-to-measure" technique, they are usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with great attention to detail and finish, often made with time-consuming, hand-executed methods. What is important in them is look and fit. Cost of materials and the time to make them doesn't matter- they can go to any extreme. In fact, Haute couture is a protected term which can only be officially used by companies that are the members of and meet certain well-defined standards set by the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture. Many ready-to-wear, and even mass market labels, claim to manufacture haute couture but according to established standards, they do not.

Ready-to-wear: These garments are not made for individual customers, but then also, much attention is paid to select the proper fabrics and their cuts. To maintain exclusivity, only a small quantity of such garments are manufactured and as such they are comparatively expensive but not like haute couture. They are produced as ready-to-wear collections and presented during fashion weeks, usually twice in a year. These collections can be under fashion designers own labels or under label of any fashion company for whom designers have made it. They can include anything from day wear or evening wear for men, women, teenage, lingerie, sportswear, bridal wear to even accessories.

Mass market clothing: As the above two categories come in very high and high price ranges which can be afforded only by a small section of consumers, the fashion industry mostly depends on mass market sales. This market presents a very wide range of ready-to-wear clothes in large quantities and standard sizes. Most often, cheap material and simple machine production techniques are used but the designs represent creativity. This helps in producing affordable fashion for all. The designs are, however, adapted form the trends set by the famous names in fashion. As such, they hit the market after a season or two.

Hopefully, now you know what you can get in the fashion stores and how to differentiate among them. Happy shopping then!

Private Labeling – Textile Service Providing Customized Clothing

If you love to dress up in quality clothings, it's more than likely that you fall for established brands most of the time. However, sometimes, it might happen that you could not find anything fulfilling your specific requirements. What do you do then? Do you change your requirements and compromise with the features available in the brands of your choice? More often you might be doing so because you are not prepared to compromise with the quality with which your brand is associated. But hold on, there's another option for you in such a situation. You can go for clothing lines with private label branding!

What is Private Labeling?

Private label products are manufactured by one company to be sold in the market under other company's brand. In garments business, they are clothing with a label exclusive to a store or a chain of stores. These clothings can be designed by retailer's in-house designers or by outside manufacturers. There are many textile services available these days. One of such service is that of private labeling. The firms engaged in providing private labels, help the retailers in customizing their clothing lines for their specific groups of consumers. The stores know their target market and its requirements through constant research. In fact, many of them have their own product evaluation centers that talk to shoppers about their present and future needs.

How are customers benefited?

Consumers get to select quality clothing at much lower prices as compared to manufacturers' established brands and that too without waiting for any discounts or promotional pricing. To eliminate all doubts about quality, some stores keep others brands too with their private labeled clothing. When the customers compare the two and see that they can save significantly and also get equivalent and sometimes better quality, they prefer to buy the private labeled clothing. Moreover, the retailer's name or symbol assures that the product meets the retailer's quality standards and specifications. Although the concept of private labeling was more prevalent in food products and other health & beauty products and it's comparatively new to the clothing business, yet it's making big in this sector, growing day by day. More and more store brand clothing lines are expected in this year 2009.