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From fibre to finished garment: the machines a textile unit needs

A step-by-step guide to spinning, fabric making, dyeing and sewing, the machine that does each job, and how to ask for a quotation.

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Textile & garments machines

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  • Step 1: Opening and carding

    Bale opener

    Plucks small tufts from the tops of many cotton bales at once and blows them on, mixed, to cleaning.

    Availability subject to feasibility check

    Request this machine

  • Step 1: Opening and carding

    Carding machine

    Wire-covered cylinders comb the tufts into single fibres, take out short fibres and trash, and form a soft rope called sliver.

    Availability subject to feasibility check

    Request this machine

  • Step 2: Spinning

    Draw frame

    Combines several slivers and draws them out between rollers, so the sliver becomes even and its fibres lie straight.

    Availability subject to feasibility check

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  • Step 2: Spinning

    Ring spinning frame

    Long rows of spindles draw roving thinner and twist it into yarn, winding it onto bobbins.

    Availability subject to feasibility check

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  • Step 2: Spinning

    Winding machine

    Unwinds yarn from small bobbins, clears out faults and winds it onto large cones ready for knitting or weaving.

    Availability subject to feasibility check

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  • Step 3: Knitting or weaving

    Circular knitting machine

    Needles set round a turning cylinder knit yarn from many cones into a continuous tube of fabric.

    Availability subject to feasibility check

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  • Step 3: Knitting or weaving

    Weaving loom

    Lifts some warp threads and lowers others, then shoots weft yarn across and beats it in, to weave woven fabric.

    Availability subject to feasibility check

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  • Step 4: Dyeing

    Fabric dyeing machine

    A closed vessel where fabric circulates in hot dye liquor, driven by a jet of liquor or a turning winch, until the colour is even.

    Availability subject to feasibility check

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  • Step 4: Dyeing

    Effluent treatment plant

    Tanks that balance, treat and settle the coloured waste water from dyeing before it is released.

    Availability subject to feasibility check

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  • Step 5: Fabric finishing

    Stenter

    Clips hold the fabric edges and carry it through a long hot-air oven, which dries it and sets its width.

    Availability subject to feasibility check

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  • Step 5: Fabric finishing

    Compactor

    Presses knitted fabric between a heated roller and a felt blanket, so it shrinks less after the garment is washed.

    Availability subject to feasibility check

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  • Step 6: Cutting and sewing

    Fabric cutting machine

    A knife on a heavy base, or a computer-guided cutter, that cuts many layers of fabric at once along the pattern.

    Availability subject to feasibility check

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  • Step 6: Cutting and sewing

    Industrial sewing machine

    A sewing head on a table, driven by a motor beneath, that runs fast all day; lockstitch, overlock and other types each do their own seam.

    Availability subject to feasibility check

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  • Step 7: Pressing, checking and packing

    Steam press

    A steam iron on a vacuum table, or a steam press, that takes the creases out of finished garments before folding.

    Availability subject to feasibility check

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  • Step 7: Pressing, checking and packing

    Needle detector

    A conveyor through a detection tunnel that stops the belt when it senses a broken needle or other metal in a garment.

    Availability subject to feasibility check

    Request this machine

How fibre becomes a garment

The main steps from raw cotton to a packed garment and the type of machine that usually does each one. Many factories do only some of them.

  1. Opening and carding

    Bales are opened and cleaned, and the fibres are combed into a soft rope called sliver.

    Machines at this step: Bale opener, Carding machine

  2. Spinning

    Slivers are drawn out thinner and twisted into yarn, which is wound onto cones.

    Machines at this step: Draw frame, Ring spinning frame, Winding machine

  3. Knitting or weaving

    Yarn becomes fabric, either knitted in loops for T-shirts and sweaters or woven for shirts and denim.

    Machines at this step: Circular knitting machine, Weaving loom

  4. Dyeing

    Fabric is cleaned, bleached and dyed; the used water must be treated before it leaves the factory.

    Machines at this step: Fabric dyeing machine, Effluent treatment plant

  5. Fabric finishing

    Fabric is dried, pulled to the right width and compacted so it shrinks less after washing.

    Machines at this step: Stenter, Compactor

  6. Cutting and sewing

    Layers of fabric are cut to pattern and the pieces are sewn into garments on a production line.

    Machines at this step: Fabric cutting machine, Industrial sewing machine

  7. Pressing, checking and packing

    Garments are pressed, checked for stray needles and faults, folded and packed for shipment.

    Machines at this step: Steam press, Needle detector

Printing labels or packaging too?

See the machines that print, cut and fold labels, tags and cartons.

Printing and converting machines