By its very nature, clothing that is designed to keep workers warm, dry, and comfortable while they are toiling outdoors needs to be rugged, hard-wearing, and functional. That kind of combination is only possible if the manufacturer selects the right materials and ensures that the quality of the sewing is top-notch on every single seam on every garment. So, let’s take a look at how we still achieve this level of quality, a level that has kept our customers coming back time and again for the last 20 years.
How we begin
With any new garment, the genesis of the preparation stage is research and development. We have an in-house team of four designers, and we can also call on the design talents of freelancers based in the UK and Germany for regional input. These talented individuals are aware of market trends in the workwear sector, and they bring that knowledge to bear on their designs.
They source fabrics, develop samples, and finally create patterns. Our CAD pattern-making team turns the finalized designs into a tech pack that details every element of the garment and how it is to be put together.
Before our staff begins work we hold a pre-production meeting so that everybody who is involved in the creation of the workwear garment understands what is required, including the production schedule.
Samples are collected from the quality department and layer sheets are collected from the industrial engineering department and passed to the supervisors.
Thread and accessories are collected from the stores.
Supervisors set up or adjust the machines.
Sewing begins and initial outputs are checked for quality.
How to choose fabrics
Workwear fabrics need to be durable, so they’re able to withstand long hours of daily use. They need to be waterproof and windproof, to keep out the wind and rain, while remaining flexible enough to allow the wearer to do their job. They will often need to be reflective too, so that workers are visible to others in low-light conditions.
The ideal outer material for many of our workwear garments is polyester, as it combines these traits cost-effectively. For instance, for our Men's High Visibility Jacket, featured below, we selected ‘high density 210T polyester.’ This synthetic material is lightweight, waterproof, dries quickly, and does not crease easily. The number tells us that 1000 meters of this polyester thread will weigh just 210 grams.
How to sew
Sewing is one of those remarkable innovations in human history that is so simple and yet so profoundly useful. The basic ‘unit’ of sewing is obviously the stitch, whereby a needle is passed through the surface of fabrics in different ways to join them together. One or more threads can be looped or interlaced with each other to bind them together.
A seam is a line of stitching that joins together two pieces of fabric. The standard seam allowance or distance between the seam line and the cut line is 1.5 cm.
Types of seams include:
Class-1: Superimposed seam
Class-2: Lapped seam
Class-3: Bound seam
Class-4: Flat seam
Class-5: Decorative seam
Class-6: Edge neatening
We use different seams to give different workwear garments:
strength
elasticity
durability
security
comfort
waterproofing
fireproofing
Sewing Machines
We use different sewing machines for different parts of the process, including:
a simple machine for topstitching and label attachment
an overlock machine for joining slaves, joining side seams and joining shoulders
A flat lock machine for all types of top stitching on cylinder beds
a flatbed machine for folding and piping
a compressor for bottom hems and sleeve hems
a Kansai machine for plackets and waistbands
various machines for holing, stitching, and attaching buttons, including snap buttons
a chain stitch machine, also for waistbands
Here we can see one example of the results of our design and production process. This is one of our latest additions—the Men's High Visibility Jacket
The description for it says: “Outside 100% polyester bonded with 100% polyester fleece, Water column 5,000 mm, Breathability 3,000 MVP, Not taped seams.”
Polyester fleece is a soft fuzzy fabric that became popular with backpackers in the 1990s. They found it to be as comfortable as wool, but more durable, lighter, and waterproof.
The ‘Water column’ figure refers to a measure of how waterproof a garment is. In this case, it’s 5000mm or 5 meters. Imagine this amount of water in a glass column. It doesn't have a bottom, so the water is sitting directly on top of the material. 5 meters of water produces a lot of pressure but the material on this jacket will not allow it to pass through!
According to the official European standard, a fabric may be called waterproof with a water column of 3,000mm or higher. International standard EN 343 defines fabric as waterproof if it has a water column of more than 800 mm, so this jacket has a very high level of waterproofness.
Its breathability rating tells us that 3,000 grams of water vapor can pass through a square meter of the fabric in 24 hours. This gives sweat a chance to escape and keep the wearer working in comfort, protected on the outside and dry on the inside!
Quality Control
AQL stands for Acceptance Quality Limit and it’s a term related to the maximum number of defects that buyers and suppliers have agreed on in a batch. Our customers can set different AQLs including for minor, major, and critical defects.
Arriving at a finished product this good is only possible thanks to our intense focus on quality. Loto has a dedicated quality inspection team that strictly follows AQL2.5 inspection standards, and we are adamant that any of our products that do not meet these standards will not leave the factory.
Conclusion
Manufacturing quality garments demands our ongoing dedication to perfection, and it's something that we will never compromise on. Get in touch with us today and discover why we are the last manufacturer that your business will ever need to partner with.
