CUT, MAKE, AND TRIM:

The CMT service provides people with the opportunity to utilize a fabric manufacturer's highly trained employees and expensive machinery to create the type of clothing that their hearts desire. It is a great service for people who want to create custom made shirts with specific measurements, perfect for people who have a hard time finding clothes that fit their body figures. It is also a highly recommended service for individuals who wish to start their own clothing business.

There are many steps that take place when it comes to designing clothes. When you are fondling a new shirt at a store you don't think about the amount of effort that went into creating that piece of fabric that you are caressing so tenderly. In most cases, there is no reason for you to know the manufacturing process behind the clothes you purchase.

Regardless, if you are planning on building an apparel manufacturing company it is very important that you familiarize yourself with the manufacturing process. Fortunately, starting a clothing manufacturing business is not as difficult as it once was.

Most textile companies offer a wide variety of services to their customers in addition to the regular products that the company produces. In other words, occasionally the companies responsible for mass producing shirts and trousers that can be found in regular stores also offer a wide variety of textile related services. One of the most common services that textile factories offer is called Cut, Make, and Trim (CMT).

In order to use a CMT service, simply collect the materials that you want your clothing to be made from and bring them to the factory. Once you have agreed on measurements and other technical issues, the employees of the company will do their best to create the type of clothing that you desire. They will essentially create your clothes for you. Of course, the CMT process can be broken into three major steps and several minor steps. The first and most important step is called Cut.

CUT.

The cutting step is the most difficult and time consuming step in the CMT process. This step is the main reason why companies offer a CMT service in the first place; cutting fabric to exact measurements is not easy. It can be incredibly difficult without the use of advanced machinery.

The 'cut' step involves cutting fabric to exact measurements, attaching each piece offabric to the next without hindering the design of the product, attaching other materialssuch as buttons to the fabric, and coloring the fabric. But the main purpose of this step is to cut as many pieces of fabric that are necessary to create the entire garment. Highly trained technicians will advise you on the amount of individual pieces that are needed and how to align them all to create a garment that will fit the clothing size you are targeting.

When you think of the cutting process, chances are you have an image in your head of thousands of workers slaving away feeding fabric through sewing machines under dull fluorescent lights and slicing the material with scissors. In reality, the fabric is cut and stitched with state of the art machinery.

These machines don't even technically 'cut' the fabric as you would probably imagine.

They create extremely intense laser beams that burn through fabric with perfect accuracy. The machines are controlled by experienced technicians. Without these state of the art machines it would be very difficult to find clothes with perfectly straight cuts and designs. These machines are responsible for most of the clothes in your closet; very few clothes are designed by hand anymore.

MAKE.

This step is not as complicated as the previous step but it is important. During the 'make' step, each piece of fabric is stitched together to create the design you are want. The vast majority of clothes are made from several pieces of fabric expertly stitched together. Take a look at your shirt, can you find any stitching lines? Chances are you have probably spotted a few. Each article of clothing is made from many individual pieces of fabric as well as different materials.

Again, the stitching is not done by hand. The whole process is 100% automated. Machines are used to stitch the pieces of fabric and other materials together with precise high quality stitching. Some clothing companies utilize an assembly line of workers to add certain features to the garment for a finishing touch. The machines do the hard work and the employees finish the job.

TRIM.

The trimming process is quite self-explanatory. It is the last step in the manufacturing process. It involves checking the garment for issues and trimming any excess fabric or thread. It is essentially a 'review' step. Employees check the final product of the garment for any inconsistencies and correct each one until everything is perfect and the customer is happy. Articles of clothing can only be shipped out once this step is complete. Most textile companies double check their products before shipping them out - this step helps maintain product quality.

Once these three steps have been completed, the product is ready to be distributed to stores around the world.

So now you know the basics behind a CMT service. If you have a unique design for a particular piece of clothing this service is highly recommended. It will be very difficult for you to design professional high quality clothing without utilizing professional factory equipment. Designing and selling clothes can be very profitable but profits can quickly drop if you do not produce a top quality product. And the only way you can create such a product, without purchasing millions of dollars' worth of equipment, is to utilize a CMT service. But remember that a CMT service is not the entire manufacturing process. It is your responsibility to provide the company with the materials that they need to create the articles of clothing that you want.

Of course, most textile materials are relatively inexpensive and you don't have to personally deliver the supplies to the company. So don't let that idea for a new company go to waste! Utilize a CMT service to start your very own clothing business!