[TC]² Technology Communicator

[TC]² Seminar Offerings
Still Accepting Registrations!

Are you seeking to engineer patterns for improved garment fit and efficient production? [TC]² offers 3 training days in apparel patternmaking, grading, and marker making condensed from our popular Pattern Development and Grading for Fit seminars.

This seminar focuses on major steps from first pattern to production marker. Participants will draft a women’s pants sloper from body measurements, use two flat pattern techniques to manipulate scaled slopers, develop grade rules for one upper and one lower body garment, make a scaled marker, and study key product development terms. Maintaining style intent through the process will be emphasized.
Prequalification is an understanding of basic fabric characteristics and sewn construction processes.

Why is it so hard to find a well-fitting pair of pants?  Have you noticed that some pants styles fit certain people better than others?  Is it true that higher priced pants fit better than lower priced pants?  Is it necessary to sacrifice comfort for fit?

These questions and more will be studied with examples of patterns, bodies, and garments.  We will explore why good fit can be subjective, demonstrate approaches to resolve fit issues, and teach methods for achieving good fit.

Topics:

Seminar participants will work collaboratively on practical exercises for learning and practicing steps of managing fit issues.  The seminar’s small size and flexible format encourage ample opportunities for participant interaction. 

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?  The seminar is specifically designed for technical designers and product developers working in retail environments. Attendees should understand apparel terminology and patternmaking.

[TC]²’s most popular in-house seminar, Intro to Apparel Manufacturing, offers an overview of the entire manufacturing process with numerous hands-on exercises. Topics covered include: textile fundamentals, fiber formation and fabric design, fabric characteristics, pattern and marker development, material utilization, spreading and cutting exercises, costing, and much more. Key apparel terms and concepts are featured, along with standard terminology for seam and stitch formations. 

Don’t miss this opportunity to establish common ground for all members of the supply chain. Attending this seminar will allow fabric and trim suppliers to better understand their customer needs, and brands and retailers will recognize not only the manufacturing constraints, but also the cost drivers within the design-manufacture-delivery process. Newcomers to sewn products manufacturing can gain a firm understanding of processes required for finished goods.

The program is designed for Customer/Vendor Partnership Teams, Quality Assurance Specialists, Engineering Trainees, Management Trainees, Retail Managers, and Production Planners.

COURSE SCHEDULE: The seminar will be held at [TC]², 5651 Dillard Dr., Cary, NC, and will begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 4:30 p.m. each day.

For additional information or to register, use our contact form.

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Grade Rule Puzzle 1
Part 1

By Elizabeth White, [TC]²

Continuing the theme of grade rules from last month’s article, I am including several grade rule tables for consideration as parts of a puzzle. One of the issues with grade rules is that there are many ways to organize them. There are advantages and disadvantages with each of those options and some companies have definite preferences. CAD systems used for grading may have settings for some options and not others. However, it is important for grade rule table users to understand how to read these different options.

(Read the entire article here.)

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[TC]² Activity
Intermoda Show Report
July 17 – 20, 2012

By Arturo Rodriguez, [TC]² Latin America

At the July 2012 edition of Intermoda, with thirty six thousand square meters of exhibition space, over 2,000 apparel brands were present. Mexico’s premier apparel fashion show attracted well over 20,000 persons during the 4 days that the show was held at the Expo Guadalajara Convention Center.

Some 28 years ago, Intermoda started in Guadalajara, first as a regional show, then national and now with international participation, including exhibitors and buyers from the USA, Colombia, Guatemala, Canada, China, India, Spain, Panama, Peru and several other countries. The vast Mexican domestic apparel market with over 110 million persons is very tempting for the global apparel sector.

With our associate member Lectra and the CANAIVE, the [TC]² 3D body scanner was again demonstrated as the beginning of a truly digital supply chain. Imagine being able to feed real personal measurement data directly into a CAD/CAM system that will then create virtual garments for the proportionally sized avatar that was created. It reduces weeks of making samples and trying on, and allows no waste in material.

In accordance with the intent of engaging fashion experts, a series of conferences were delivered, where the attendees received an overview of the latest industry trends and market strategies.

For the 7th year, I coordinated, organized and conducted a panel entitled “Confronting the Chinese Dragon.” A group of 6 experts that included 2 apparel manufacturers that also import from China, the national purchasing director of a leading supermarket chain in Mexico, the president of the Jalisco chapter of the National Sewing Chamber (CANAIVE), and an expert on international apparel trade sat down for two hours to discuss the complex commercial relationships between Mexico and the People’s Republic of China.
 
The first panel was held in July of 2009 at Intermoda in response to the dramatic decline of the textile/apparel sector in Mexico. The intent  of the panel is to advance the discussion among the textile/apparel sector of Mexico.

On Wednesday, July 18th, we confronted the following questions:

China’s sheer market size (provides approximately 40% of the USA apparel market) and apparel output dwarfs Mexico’s exports (which is approximately 5% of the USA apparel market).

The steady rise of China’s middle class with all its economic buying power will be the antidote that Mexico (and most of world) needs to keep China’s apparel exportation muscle in check. As one Chinese expert said, “China has the ambition not to be the leading apparel maker but the country managing the leading apparel brands.”

Mexico may elect to focus on quick response and unique designs to control a certain section of its domestic market, if it has an adequate supply of textiles, hoping to source from the USA. Mexico could also partner with China on joint ventures.

The dialogue will continue at the next IM Show in January of 2013.

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Member Profile - YKK

By Karen Davis, [TC]²

Mr.Tadao Yoshida founded the original company, named San-S Shokai, in downtown Tokyo in 1934. Today, Tadahiro Yoshida, YKK president and son of the founder, guides an organization that operates more than 109 affiliated companies in more than 70 countries representing more than 39,000+ employees. YKK Corporation of America has 14 operating companies located across five time zones from Canada to South America.

YKK entered the U.S. in 1960 as a zipper distributor. To be near garment district customers, YKK established a headquarters and an assembling plant nearby in Lyndhurst, NJ. 

In 1973, YKK's Macon, GA operation was established as an independent company, YKK Industries, (U.S.A.) Inc. In that same year, YKK’s five sales companies merged into one, YKK Zipper (U.S.A.) Inc. YKK's sales company merged with the manufacturing company in 1975 to become YKK (U.S.A.) Inc. 

YKK began zipper manufacturing in April of 1974. Zippers are used everywhere, and YKK supplies the apparel, luggage, sporting goods, government/safety, and automobile industries with standard items such as metal, coil, and Vislon® zippers. There are special application products such as air/water tight, heat/fire resistant, ECO-friendly, and abrasion resistant zippers as well as custom logo parts to make one of a kind products.

Throughout the '70s and '80s, YKK USA continued to introduce zippers with enhanced functional as well as aesthetic value.  YKK USA then began to expand its fastener business beyond zippers. By 1988, YKK USA Macon began introducing plastic buckles and notions. In 1992, YKK USA Macon opened its branded Cosmolon® plant where woven SmartTouch® and extruded PowerHook® fastening tape systems were produced for a wide variety of applications.

Today, YKK USA has grown to become one of the world's largest suppliers of a full line of fastening products. The company manufactures plastic and metal zippers, plus the automated equipment to install them, as well as hook and loop self-closing tape fastening systems, and plastic molded buckles for various growing markets including apparel (jeans and ready-to-wear), safety, automotive, government, sports, marine, and medical.
 
YKK works with other YKK fastening subsidiaries including YKK Snap Fasteners America Inc., a manufacturer of metal buttons, rivets, burrs, hooks and eyes, and snaps, and Tape Craft Corporation, a manufacturer of webbings and rigid narrow fabrics, to provide its customers with the best possible solutions for their fastening needs.

The goal of YKK (U.S.A.) Inc. is to continue to be a valuable partner to its customers by providing excellent quality product solutions to meet the ever-changing and increasingly specialized needs of the marketplace.

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Speakers Announced for Technology & Innovation Session at the 28th IAF World Apparel Convention

The 28th IAF World Apparel Convention will be held on September 24 – 28, 2012 in Oporto, Portugal, and will focus on the theme Fashion Business in a Changing Environment.

During the Technology & Innovation Session, speakers will take a closer look at innovation in digital solutions for fashion business and new ways of attracting consumers. They will speak about web sales and mobile shopping, and draw from their own experience in e-commerce models. Always reaching the right consumer with the right product means mastering the art of managing a worldwide supply chain as if all the players were sitting in the same room. This session will focus on how this can be achieved in a changing environment.

The moderator of this session, Mr. Braz Costa (Portugal), is the Director General of CITEVE as well as the President of Textranet.

The following speakers will share their views and delve into the theme:

Registration, which can be done on the IAF website, has officially opened. All interested delegates are invited to consult the website for information regarding theme, program and registration.

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Important Dates

September

October

November

For detailed information about industry events, visit www.techexchange.com

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A Look Ahead in the Newsletter


IBAGUE Maquila y Moda 2012

View previous editions of this newsletter

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[TC]²
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Cary , NC 27518
www.tc2.com
Phone: 919-380-2156
Fax: 919-380-2181

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