Guide to Basic Garment Assembly for the Fashion Industry

Garment assembly is fundamental to the creation of designs.  

This guide provides fashion students and designers with the knowledge of the techniques and components essential to the assembly of sewn products. 

Guide to Basic Garment Assembly for the Fashion Industry develops your understanding of which stitch and seam types to select for particular fabrics and garments.  As well as the knowledge to construct a range of basic techniques to assemble entire garments using the correct components. 

It can be difficult to master the skills of garment assembly by reading alone: a visual demonstration of online videos, showing the steps of garment assembly for the following: 

• Sewing darts 
• Sewing front edge fastenings
• Inserting zip fastenings                 
• Attaching waistbands
• Assembling and attaching simple and complex pockets
• Sleeve opening construction
• Assembling and attaching cuffs
• Assembling and attaching collars                                                        

Preface vii

Acknowledgements ix

1 Introduction 1

Getting Started 2

Getting to Know the Parts of the Sewing Machine 3

2 Stitch & Seam Types 5

Stitch Types 8

Seam Types 17

3 Attachments for the Sewing Machine 25

Edge Guide 25

Presser Foot 27

Hemming Foot 28

Zipper Foot 29

Folders 30

4 Needles & Thread 31

Parts of the Needle 31

Thread 34

Thread Consumption 36

Thread Sizing 37

5 Interlining 41

Fusing Equipment 42

Applying Interlining 43

6 Sewing Darts 47

7 Front Edge Fastenings 51

8 Inserting Zip Fastenings 59

Invisible Zip Insertion 60

Concealed or Standard Zip with Guard Insertion 64

9 Attaching Waistbands 71

Standard ‘Run On and Close Down’ Waistband Application 71

Elasticated Waistband 76

10 Assembling & Attaching Pockets 79

Patch Pocket 80

Shaped Pockets 84

Jetted Pocket 88

Welt Pocket 94

11 Sleeve Opening Construction 101

12 Assembling & Attaching Cuffs 109

Two Piece Cuff 110

One Piece Cuff 113

Attaching the Cuff to the Sleeve 115

13 Assembling & Attaching Collars 117

Collar Parts 117

Stand Collar (Frequently Known as the Mandarin Collar) 118

Attaching the Stand Collar 121

Flat Collar (Also Known as the Peter Pan Collar) 123

Attaching the Flat Collar 125

One-Piece Shirt Collar 127

Attaching the Shirt Collar 130

14 Sewing Problems 133

Stitch Formation Problems 133

Fabric Distortion – Pucker 135

Damage to the Fabric 137

Garment Assembly Terms Glossary 141

Author 143

Index 145

Jayne Smith has worked in the fashion industry for over 30 years. Her passion for fashion assembly led her to deliver this discipline at the Scottish College of Textiles and the School of Textiles and Design at Heriot Watt University. Jayne held the position of Director of Learning & Teaching at Herriot Watt University for many years and was responsible for developing and implementing the overall strategy.

Jayne is also a talented Product Developer, specialising in assembly and creative pattern cutting for fashion. Her expertise has led her to deliver the discipline in many universities and colleges across the globe.