1.2　Fabric Pretreatment During Production　生产中的面料预处理

Besides understanding the knowledge of material, we must understand the char-acteristics of certain materials after purchasing them. For example, it is very import-ant to handle the shell fabric in the garment workshop or in finished operation, be-cause adopting a wrong operation to handle and finish the problem fabric may cause the poor quality products, such as transparent fabric, shrinkage fabric, pile fabric, knit fabric, leather, loose or tight fabric, thermoplastic fabric, etc.

1.2.1　Fabric Shrinkage　面料缩水

The quality of a particular piece of fabric determines whether it needs to be washed or dry-cleaned. If you are in doubt, you should ask for the washing/cleaning instructions when you purchase the fabric.As a rule, fabrics should be put through a shrinking process before cutting and making the garment.On the other hand, fabric that contains a great deal of sizing becomes soft, especially if rinsed in fabric soft-ener or in a vinegar solution.11All-cotton knits and sweat-shirt fabrics should always be washed before they’re sewn, as these can shrink up to 10%.

Always remember to turn the fabric inside out when washing, especially in a machine, as the color can lose its richness. If you plan to dry the garment in a clothes dryer, the fabric should probably be dried in it before cutting and sewing.If you combine fabrics or colors in a garment, the fabric should be laundered separately to avoid colors from running together and different rates of shrinkage.When a garment is made up, it should be treated as most delicate fabric.Most fabrics shrink only the first time they are washed, and mostly in the length.An option with pants is to be basted in the hem, and remove them before the first laundering.If you don't want to wash the fabric before making the garment, you can make a laundry sample of fabric.

1.2.2　Handling Skills　处理技术

There are now many fabrics used in garment manufacturing. Manufacturers need further knowledge, equipment and handling skills than those required to make simple cotton or woolen garments.The design, cutting and construction of the gar-ment must allow for the quality fabric to be used.For successive sewing, the stitch formation made with the need of thread, needle, stitch type and feeding mechanism of the machine must be compatible with the structure and fibre content of the fab-ric.12Pressing and finishing techniques must cooperate with the fabric’s initial char-acteristics and finishing.

1.2.3　Consideration of Fabric Characteristics　面料性能的考虑

The designer and pattern cutter's responsibility when using problem fabric is to use the quality of the fabric to enhance the design effect, but to be aware of the construction problems whenever possible, or with the knowledge that the skills and equipment necessary to produce the garment are at an adequate standard as possi-ble.13Some basic problems must be considered when manufacturing problem fabrics are stretch, seam pucker, damage to fabric structure, transparency, inflexibility, ther-moplastic, etc.There are various fabric constructions which can stretch, for example, knitted, specially constructed woven fabrics, bias-cut woven fabrics, etc.The amount of stretch will depend on the specific fabric, some will stretch in one direction only, others in all directions, therefore the design, cutting, and manufacturing techniques must vary accordingly.Seam pucker affects many fabric structures which are caused by a variety of reasons, such as seam twist, tight stitching, distortion of the fabric structure, etc.

Most fabrics can be spoilt if misused during manufacturing or wearing. These include tightly woven fabrics, loosely woven fabrics, pile fabrics, etc.14Care must be taken so that damages are not obvious during manufacturing but apparent on the gar-ment.The styles and constructions of transparent or semi-transparent garments must avoid any obstruction to this feature.Consideration must be given to edge-finish, seam, interlining&lining, etc.Materials such as leather and plastic can be inflexible to handle, patterns of a garment in such material is much more than softer materials, which is easy to gather.Leather must be dry-cleaned through a special process.A garment trimmed with small pieces of leather can be hand washed.Check stripes and printed fabrics require matching, which can cause stitching difficulties because of seam twisting.

Words and Expressions

handling['hændliŋ]处理（广东话：执手）

characteristic[kæriktə'ristik]特性

shell fabric[ʃel'fæbrik]面料

workshop['wə：kʃɔp]工厂，车间

dry-clean[drai kli：n]干洗

washing instructions['wɔʃiŋ in'strʌkʃənz]洗涤说明

shrink[ʃriŋk]缩水

outer clothes['autə kləuðz]外套

sizing['saiziŋ]上浆

rinsed[rins]洗涤，漂洗

softener['sɔfnə]柔软剂

vinegar['vinigə]醋酸

solution[sə'lju：ʃən]解决，溶解

sweat-shirt[swet-ʃə：t]针织套头衫式衬衫

laundry['lɔ：ndri]洗衣

all-cotton knits[ɔ：l'kɔtn nits]全棉针织品

clothes dryer[kləuðz'draiə]干衣机

cutting['kʌtiŋ]裁剪

sewing['səuiŋ]缝制

delicate['delikit]精致的

sample['sæmpl]样板

manufacturer[mænju'fæktʃərə]制 造商

equipment[i'kwipmənt]设备

design[di'zain]设计

construction[kən'strʌkʃən]结构

stitch formation[stitʃ fɔ：'meiʃən]线迹的形成

thread[Wred]缝纫线

needle['ni：dl]缝针

feeding mechanism['fi：diŋ'mekənizəm]送布机构

problem fabric['prɔbləm'fæbrik]问题布，疵布

seam pucker[si：m'pʌkə]缝迹起皱

transparency[træns'pεərənsi]透明的

inflexibility[in, fleksə'biliti]不灵活

thermoplastic[，Wə：mə'plæstik]热塑性塑料

knitted['nitid]针织

woven fabric['wəuvən'fæbrik]机织面料

bias cut['baiəs kʌt]斜裁

specific[spi'sifik]明确的

seam twist[si：m twist]缝迹扭曲

distortion[dis'tɔ：ʃən]歪斜，扭曲

technique[tek'ni：k]技能

spoilt[sp6it]破坏，损坏

obstruction[əb'strʌkʃən]障碍物

edge-finishes[edʒ-'finiʃ]边脚处理

interlining['intə'lainiŋ]里衬

lining['lainiŋ]里料（广东话：里布）

leather['leðə]皮革

print fabric[print'fæbrik]印花布

synthetic[sin'Wetic]合成纤维

needle heating['ni：dl'hi：tiŋ]（摩擦产生）针热

pressing['presiŋ]熨烫

trimmed[trimd]修整，装饰

baste[beist]假缝，粗缝

pants[pænts]裤子

beachwear['bi：tʃweə（r）]沙滩装

Exercises

1.List 5 kinds of problem fabrics.

Example：Transparent fabric.

2.Translate the following terms into Chinese.

（1）fabric characteristic

（2）shell fabric

（3）dry-clean

（4）cleaning instruction

（5）shrinkage

（6）sweat-shirt

（7）sweater

（8）laundry

（9）all-cotton knits

（10）cutting

（11）sample

（12）manufacturer

（13）cotton&woolen

（14）designer

（15）stitch

（16）thread

（17）seam pucker

（18）knitted

（19）woven fabric

（20）bias cut

（21）seam twist

（22）edge-finishes

（23）interlining

（24）lining

（25）leather

（26）beachwear

（27）printed fabric

（28）seam

（29）synthetic

（30）pressing

（31）baste

（32）pants

（33）pressing shiny