Cutting and Sewing: How an Order Moves Through the Line

Cutting and sewing happen under one roof at SLSPOLO — 18,000+ m² across two plants, four production lines, 180+ staff and 150,000–200,000 pieces a month. An order does not begin with the pattern. It begins with the fabric that arrives, because a roll that does not match the agreed weight changes every panel cut from it. From there the style moves through incoming checks, cutting against the sealed sample, assembly on a single line, then finishing and packing. Sampling takes 3–7 days, bulk takes 15–25 days after sample approval and deposit, and the minimum is 100 pieces per style per colour, with sizes mixed inside a colour.

The First Check Is the Cloth, Not the Pattern

Incoming materials are checked against the approved order file before anything is released to the floor. Every roll is weighed on a round-knife gsm scale and the reading is recorded, then set against the weight agreed for the order. Shade is compared with the approved reference and the surface is checked for defects. A roll that fails the weight comparison is not quietly fed into the lay and forgotten; it becomes the problem of the order from that moment, and it is settled before cutting starts.

This is also where a buyer-nominated mill earns its place. If you name the supplier, the fabric is bought from that supplier and the mill reference goes into the order file, so a repeat starts from the same source instead of from whatever is closest to hand. The weighing step is what makes that reference mean something, because it is the only point at which the cloth is measured rather than described.

One Approved File and One Sealed Sample Before the Marker

Every style carries an approved order file: the construction method for each part of the garment, the size chart and its tolerances, the target weight, the trims, the label positions and any special process. Two physical samples are made at approval. One is couriered to you. The second stays at the factory as the sealed pre-production sample, and it is the garment bulk is measured against at inspection — not a description, not a photograph, not anyone’s memory of the fit.

That arrangement settles in advance what matching the sample means. If a bulk garment deviates from the sealed sample outside the tolerances written into the file, it is remade at our cost. The pattern and the measurement spec are signed by both sides before a single panel is cut, which is why the cutting table works to the sample rather than to the sketch that started the conversation.

What the Cutting Table Confirms

Cloth is spread and relaxed, then pre-shrunk, and only then laid in plies and cut on the computerized cutter, which follows the nested marker. Every panel in a large run is cut to the same line, so the first garment and the last are cut from the same instruction.

The cutting check looks at two things: panel accuracy against the marker, and the bundle and size tickets that travel with the panels. A bundle carrying the wrong ticket is a size problem waiting to be sewn into a garment, and it is cheaper to catch at the table than at the inspection bench. Because the pre-shrink happens before cutting and the wash allowance is built into the pattern, the size chart you approve describes the garment after washing, which is the measurement your customers will take.

Four Lines, One Style Per Set-Up

Assembly is organised by style. Four production lines and 180+ staff carry the work, and a style is set up on a line and stays there for the run. Styles are not combined to reach a minimum, because each one needs its own marker, its own thread set-up and its own line changeover.

On the line itself, each operator repeats one operation, and the production order is clipped at every workstation. Every order and every style gets its own production manual, signed at approval and identical at every station, covering fabric and trims with consumption, the construction method for each part, and the precautions that experience says matter. When a question comes up mid-run — which rib, which label position, which thread colour — the answer is in the manual rather than in someone’s recollection.

Flatlock, and Where It Belongs in a Build

Flatlock runs in house alongside the plain seams. The seam allowances are butted and coverstitched flat, so the join sits against the skin with no ridge. That is what makes it the default for base layers and activewear, where a raised seam under the arm or along the shoulder is felt on every movement. It is still a sewn seam, not a bonded one.

The distinction matters when you write the tech pack. Bonded construction replaces the join with adhesive film rather than stitching it, and it starts at 200 pieces per style per colour, with the film confirmed against the fabric of the order. Mark each join on the tech pack as bonded or sewn before sampling, so the line is set up for the construction you actually approved.

After the Last Seam: Wash, Finishing and Packing

Garment wash is the process that genuinely sits after sewing: it is applied to the made-up garment and then re-measured, so what it moves, it moves on the finished piece. Heat transfer works the other way round — it is applied to flat cut panels before assembly, while the panels are still flat and placement can follow a template taken from the confirmed pattern.

Finished garments then go to finishing: loose threads trimmed, the body checked for stains panel by panel, steam pressed, and measured against the size spec on a pull of each size. The packing line runs needle detection, finished cartons are sampled to AQL 2.5 for major defects against the sealed sample, and your own inspector or a third-party agency is welcome at final inspection. Testing can also run through a laboratory your own team nominates, as long as that facility is in mainland China.

The fastest way to start is to send the style closest to your target from the T-shirt range, with the quantity per colour, the size range, the fabric and any join you want bonded rather than sewn. We come back with fabric options, a costed quote and a sampling date, and you can stand at the cutting table and walk the lines yourself on a factory visit. The order then follows the sequence set out on our production timeline, and the counting rules behind the minimum are explained on the MOQ page.

Other processes on the same floor: the manufacturing overview, garment washing, quality control.

Frequently asked questions

Why is fabric weighed before a cut-and-sew order is released?

Every roll is weighed on a round-knife gsm scale when it arrives and the reading is recorded against the weight agreed for the order. Weight decides how the cloth drapes, how it prints and how the finished garment measures, so a roll that does not match is settled with the mill before cutting rather than discovered at inspection. The same check covers shade against the approved reference and surface defects, and the roll is not released to the cutting table until it passes.

Why can two styles not share one minimum?

Each style needs its own marker, its own thread set-up and its own line changeover, so two styles are two set-ups rather than one larger run. That is why the minimum is counted per style and per colour, and why two styles in the same fabric cannot be added together to reach it. Sizes can be mixed inside one colour, so a single style still covers a full size range from a modest quantity.

What does flatlock change compared with a standard seam?

Flatlock butts the seam allowances together and coverstitches them flat, so the join lies against the skin without a ridge. On a base layer or a piece of activewear that is felt immediately under the arm and along the shoulder, which is why those garments are built with it. It remains a sewn seam. Bonded construction is the alternative, and it starts at 200 pieces per style per colour, with the film confirmed against the fabric of the order at sampling.

How long do cutting and sewing take from approval?

Sampling takes 3–7 days from a confirmed design, and bulk production takes 15–25 days after you approve the sample and pay the deposit, excluding transport. Cutting, sewing, any wash step, finishing and packing all sit inside that bulk window. A repeat run needs no new pattern or grading work, so it starts from the approved sample instead of from a blank page. Dates for your specific order are confirmed in the quote, and we tell you before a date moves rather than after it has.

Can you produce from a sample garment instead of a tech pack?

Yes. If you only have a garment, we take it apart, record the seams and stitch types, measure the pattern pieces, weigh the fabric and identify the yarn, then send a written spec with a size chart for you to approve. That spec and a sealed sample become the basis for cutting. A tech pack shortens the process, but a reference garment is enough to start, and photographs with flat measurements are enough for a first quote.