NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION AND TECHNOLOGY
SOURCING & COSTING OF APPAREL
PRODUCTS
ASSIGNMENT-1
SUBMITTED BY:
Ravikant
Sewing thread:
Sewing threads are special kinds of yarns that are engineered and designed to pass through
a sewing machine rapidly. They form efficient stitches without breaking or becoming
distorted during the useful life of the product. The basic function of a thread is to deliver
aesthetics and performance in stitches and seams.
Factors affecting Sewing thread:
Those factors can be classified into two types, affecting the Performance and Aesthetics
Factors affecting aesthetics-
Colour, lustre and fineness / thickness should be considered while selecting a thread for
decorative purposes such as top stitching or embroidery.
Other considerations include:
Hue and shade matching
Colour fastness
Stitch selection
Uniformity of stitch formation
Factors affecting performance-
Thread used in garments must be durable enough to withstand the abrasion and needle
heat that occur while sewing, garment finishing, stretching and recovery during wear.
Thread performance in garments can be evaluated from its
Seam strength
Abrasion resistance
Elasticity
Chemical resistance
Flammability
Colour fastness
Types of Sewing thread:
● Linen thread
Oldest sewing thread and was used at a wide range for sewing threads during
making of garments. This type of sewing thread has high strength and slightly can
make more strength of seam. Linen sewing thread was used at a large rate to sew
canvas, course fabric and so on. But now it is mostly replaced by synthetic threads.
● Silk thread
This type of sewing thread is made from both continuous filament and broken
filament silk. Comparatively it contains higher strength, extensive, lustrous and
good qualities. Silk sewing thread is most expensive, that is why using of it is
comparatively less. It is used to sew expensive garments.
● Soft Cotton thread
Bleaching and dyeing have done in this type of sewing thread and sometimes
lubricants are used to make it more frictional resistant. There is a possibility of
occurring shrinkage and seam puckering after wetting in water and washing the
garments respectively.
● Mercerised Cotton thread
This type of thread is finished by caustic soda solution with tension. As a result, the
entire fibres in the threads become round in shape and gain higher strength and
brightness.
● Glaced Cotton thread
Glaced cotton sewing thread is made by using surface coating on the soft cotton
threads. As a result, the threads become stiff, smooth and increase the frictional
resistance.
● Viscose thread
It may be made from continuous filament or staple fibres. The strength and stability
are comparatively less but more brighten. It has a limited use as a sewing thread but
widely used in embroidery work.
● Polyester thread
These types of sewing thread are strong, low cost, good washing fastness and
satisfactory elastic properties. It can be washed up to 150°C without any shrinkage.
It is widely used due to low cost. At present, polyester thread is widely used in the
garments among the synthetic fibres sewing thread.
● Nylon thread
Nylon sewing thread made from hexamethylene diamine and adipic acid. It has not a
wide used due to high extensibility because it makes seam puckering after sewing
due to shrinkage. These types of thread are used to sew knitted fabric, extensible
seam and swimming wear.
● Aramide thread
Aramide threads are not used as a large rate because of more expensive. Aramide
threads are used in special cases i.e. fire-fighting garments. It is costly. Its
commercial name is Nomex.
● PEFEthread
The using of PEFE sewing thread is limited due to the higher cost. It is used for
protecting against flame, melt and chemical garments
THREAD SIZING:
There is a great deal of confusion and misinformation regarding the size of sewing thread
and how we communicate size to one another. Over the years no clear standard has
evolved that is universal in the home sewing market. Our intent here is to give you
universal standards by which you can compare thread sizes from one manufacturer to
another, spun polyester to filament silk, or even cotton to rayon.
Common thread standards-In the industrial sewing thread market, the Cotton Count
System (NEc) has been the accepted standard utilized in sizing spun threads and the Denier
System(Td) has been the accepted standard for filament threads. Over the last several
years there has been a great deal of support to adopt auniversal standard under which all
sewing threads can be sized and will be understood worldwide regardless of the thread’s
construction. The TEX System is that standard for industrial sewing thread.The TEX system
will be used as the standard in this booklet. Once you understand how the
variousstandards, (such as cotton count, or denier) relate to TEX, you will be able to relate
the thread one manufacturer calls a number 50 to a 40/3 ply from another.
Until the TEX system, or some other standard, is adopted for home sewing thread, confusion
will exist.
THREAD SIZE COMPARISION:
In order to make comparisons as understandable as possible, the following chart breaks
thread into three major classifications:
Heavy weight threads: Tex 40 - Tex 90
Medium weight threads: Tex 27 - Tex 35
Light weight threads: Tex 10 - Tex 24
The threads used in the following chart are only examples to help you establish a basis of
understanding.
Functions of various machines in sewing thread manufacturing process:
Yarn singeing-
Sewing thread must be singed to ensure that the projecting fibres do not interfere
with downstream processing. Percentage of singeing can be achieved varied by
varying the yarn collection speed. Hair removal efficiency at singeing machine is
normally 30 - 50%. Flame temperature is around 8000 C. Singeing is mainly done in
Cotton Sewing Threads.
Hank to cone winding-
Conversion of hank into cone of suitable weight.
Waxing for reducing co-efficient of friction in sewing thread.
Polishing-
Some threads for special end-uses like leather industries, bag stitching, kite flying is
treated with starch, softeners, whitener, etc, on this machine. Cooked starch is
mixed with other chemicals and different recipes are made for different qualities
depending on the end-uses. Main objectives of polishing are:
Extra ordinary smooth surface.
Thread becomes round.
Stiffness increases.
Increase in tensile strength (7 - 10%).
Cross winding and lubrication-
Winding in various types of sewing thread packages like cone, cop, tube, ball, vicone
and spool.
Threads are treated with special waxes for achieving best workability during sewing
operation.
Lick roller lubrication is applied on industrial sewing thread where thread has to run on
high-speed sewing machine; The basic ingredient of the most of the lubricants is parafin
wax. Although silicones are also used because of their stability to heat and various
additives are also included to give some special properties.
COSTING PARAMETERS OF SEWING THREAD:
1) Availability of raw materials:
Today, the availability of cotton and synthetic staple fiberis not a problem. In 2013-
14 season, for the third time in a row, the main production countries supplied more
raw material than what was processed by spinning mills. In the case of cotton, in
particular, 87 per cent of annual consumption is held in storage throughout the
world. As an agricultural product fiber are not subject to the rules of the World
Trade Organisation (WTO), there are regional differences in fiber prices.In India,
raw materials are cheaper than the other countries. Prices fluctuate less than on the
international market, making planning easier. The price of raw material is the
crucial factor for manufacturing yarn. As the prices of synthetic fiber usually follow
cotton, this supports an investment in India.
2) Energy costs:
Studies show the great importance of energy consumption in relation
to yarn manufacturing costs in spinning. A global look at average costs reveals that
the price of energy has increased in some countries, at times significantly. Energy
consumption depends on the spinning technology, age, condition and producer of
the spinning machine, raw material and yarn count. Energy costs depend on
consumption and local prices. A precise comparison on the basis of the planned
product range is worthwhile in any case.
Availability of workforce in typical producing countries wages play a subordinate
role in yarn production. Rather, the decisive issue is the availability of well-trained
personnel. Automated spinning machines not only solve this problem, they also
increase efficiency and yarn quality at the same time. Automation of the spinning
mill is the solution for the non-availability of trained work force.Market accessibility
In a global environment, the costs between manufacturer and customer are often
underestimated - transportation, exchange rates and the hedging thereof as well as
customs duties etc. Investment decision must take into account the cost of entire
textile value chain. Growing domestic markets are attractive because exchange rate
risks and customs duties do not apply and transport costs are low. Growing markets
such as China and India are attractive for this reason. Good relations in mutual
trade, which allow simplified, duty-free imports, influence decision regarding
location.
3) Sustainable Manufacturing Costs:
Competition will close, if yarn manufacturing costs alone are higher, excluding the
raw material. The spinner who can offer lowest manufacturing costs with good,
consistent quality establishes the most sustainable position in this competitive
global marketplace.
Name of threads Price Use
Polyester sewing thread 120/kg Textile and apparel
industry/used for embroidery
Elastic sewing thread 400/kg Garment
Bag sewing thread 55/roll Dal, rice, seed packaging
Cotton sewing thread 280/kg Shrink resistant
Denim thread 150/kg Textile and apparel
Zari thread 330/kg Zari work
Embroidery thread(polyester) 120/kg
Nylon thread 250/kg Industrial use
Polyester spun thread 295/kg Shrink resistance, high
tenacity, high loop strength
PRICE LIST
