10 Things I've learned About Bulk Sewing

It's tedious. But otherwise:

1. Mark EVERYTHING: Right and Wrong side, Front and Back
2. Bundling is extremely important
3. Make comprehensive checklists so you know what to do, when to do it, and when you have done it.
4. Neatness and quality are a matter of pattern and equipment, more than of skill
5. Mistakes point out flaws in your systems, not in you!
6. HAVE SYSTEMS!!!
7. Every day you'll need a warm-up task to be good again.
8. Arranging your workspace efficiently is a basic requirement. Have everything where you need it.
9. You NEED to have appropriate facilities.
10. Don't rush!

Which can be summed up as: be organised. But let's go into more detail...

1. Mark Everything

Having sewn the wrong sleeve in back to front, and only realising after sewing the other one in and rehemming it, I've started chalk-marking the notches on the WS of the sleeves so that I know which is  the right side when I'm sewing. Yes, I should have known this anyway, but the point of mistakes is to realise you will make them, and then work out how to stop yourself (or anyone else) making the same ones again. 

Also mark sizes on the garment pieces so you don't sew a large leg to a small one. (I actually haven't done that because I marked all the pieces! XD)

2. Bundling is Crucial

I think I'm using this term wrong but bear with me. Having only sewn single things at a time before, I never really appreciated bundling. Bundling is organising what you're sewing. I'm not sure whether it's organising by sizes or by bits you're sewing together. I think it probably depends on the scale you're working at and how many companies are involved.

In my case, bundling means either putting all the bits of one size together so I know I've got a complete garment to make up, or bundling according to which bits can be sewn without having to get up from the machine or changing any settings.

Why is this crucial? Ask the 4 back legs and two right legs of several pairs of trousers I have to cut siblings for.

3. Checklists

This isn't fool-proof but it really helps. I like to do them in spreadsheet form. This is the one I did for my final collection at college:

"A thing of beauty is a joy forever."

And this is the one I used for cutting out the garment pieces (definitely not foolproof, but at least I got all the sleeves and facings cut. It was the trousers that I got mixed up with.)

I couldn't find my paper list, so I made one in Numbers to demonstrate.

It's very satisfying to tick things off. I know people who will add things to their lists that they've already done, just so they can tick them off. But it also helps you to keep your bearings in the job. 

4. Quality and Equipment

I know a 'bad workman always blames his tools but:

A good workman knows which tools to use for the job at hand, 
and he knows how to use them. 

He's not going to use a normal saw to cut complicated shapes, he'll use a jigsaw.

Your tools are your pattern and sewing equipment. It's vital to have a well-cut pattern, which means not only that it fits well, but that the seam allowances and markings are made to make it virtually impossible to put the pattern together incorrectly. Your sewing equipment, in this case, means your presser feet. Feet with guides and/or feet that let the fabric feed properly will make your work neater and easier, therefore quicker. You also have to know how to get the best out of your machine. Mine doesn't like going too fast with a long stitch; it upsets the feed.

5. Mistakes

This is something I've had a lot of trouble with. I'm prone to making mistakes. I really beat myself up about it every time I do something wrong. But, you know what? Mistakes are a good thing. They were going to happen at some point, so I'm glad they happen 'now' and I can work out how to prevent them happening again.

Which means working out your systems.

Mistakes mean there's something wrong with your systems, not with you. 

If you keep sewing a sleeve in backwards, clearly mark the notches on the wrong side. Ahem. Then it won't happen again. 

6. Have Systems

What do I mean by 'systems'? Methods and ways of keeping things organised. Orders of construction. These are discussed more individually with each project on this blog.

7. Warm-up

This might just be me, but I find I need to do a practice on something else to get my eye. Especially if I'm using a machine I haven't used in a while.

8. Efficient Workspaces

Imagine not having to tidy up afterwards! This is achievable if you have separate bins for threads, fabric and paper, placed where you will produce that waste. Even better if you have 'scraps', 'cabbage', and 'yardage' bins.

Keep your pin cushion next to your machine (or on your wrist) if you use pins. Keep small scissors near the machine for close cutting of threads near the machine, too. And put things away when you've finished using them. Pen pots were invented for a reason.

9. Appropriate Facilities

Here's a secret: you don't hate doing certain tasks, you hate impediments. I often think I hate cutting but what I actually hate is the discomfort of dealing with the wrong size or type of cutting surface. Equally, I don't hate my overlocker, I just hate it when the thing goes wrong and I don't know why (and so can't fix it).

One reason RTW is cheaper than making things one at a time is that they can cut 10-50 pieces at once. 

Much simplified maths (that confused me):

At home:

Make 2 tops per hour, each costing £10 to make, with an RRP of £30. Your profit per top is £20, or 200%.

At a factory:

Make 100 tops per hour, each costing 10p to make (through economies of scale), with an RRP of £10. Profit per top is £9.90 or 990%.

This maths is oversimplified and doesn't take account of all factor like wages. Although, in fast fashion, I suspect the difference is negligible. Even so, you can see why Made In Britain isn't common place. The cost of manufacturer is simply too great. (Stopping myself from ranting now!)

So don't beat yourself up for being 'slow'. You're not slow, you just have a bicycle instead of a Ferrari. And you're probably cycling on rocky ground too, instead of a racetrack or velodrome. What we have to do is smooth out or remove impediments as much as we can.

On a side note: ROTARY CUTTERS ARE AMAZING! I'm so glad I got a new blade. It's really speeded up a lot of the cutting. Now I want a big cutting table made of cutting mat. Do they exist?

10. Don't rush: work with clarity

The Tortoise and the Hare can be interpreted in many different ways. The usual is 'slow and steady wins the race' (it doesn't, as calculated above). Another is that the Hare got cocky and took a break, which let the Tortoise get ahead. 

Another way to look at it is this: hares and other speedy animals aren't actually very good at endurance. They also tend not to live that long. Tortoises, on the other hand, take their time about everything and live to be about 200. I'm not saying one is any better than the other - they both have a place and work well at what they do. But the Tortoise was never going to be as fast at the Hare and, in this case, which must have been quite a long race, the Tortoise's slowness was its strength.

It's important not to rush because rushing leads to mistakes (which can be good, as discussed above, but let's not make them repeatedly when we don't have to). I get flustered. I need my brain on paper and I work much quicker with a plan laid out in front of me, ticking things off as I go. I also can't multitask well, but that's another point.

Lay things out in front of you as they will be sewn together. Dedicated 'bundlers' do this in factories, I think, so that the machinists can just sew the pieces together. I never realised how important bundlers are, but without them the place would be chaos!