Discussion on the Sewing Process and Wearability of Women's Underwear

Underwear can be regarded as the closest and most intimate companion for women throughout their lives. A suitable piece of underwear can not only help you shape a perfect figure and display an elegant temperament, but also enable you to exude unique charm. However, if you neglect the choice of underwear styles and wear the wrong underwear, over time, even expensive and famous underwear brands will become the culprit for a deformed figure. Therefore, when purchasing underwear, you should not just focus on colors, lace, embroidery, etc. Choosing a suitable piece of underwear will affect your health and beauty for a lifetime. On the contrary, wearing the wrong underwear is equivalent to damaging your figure every day. Moreover, more importantly, it will affect your health and physical beauty.

We know that when purchasing any women's underwear, generally, we first look at its style, then its materials, and finally its workmanship. In terms of style, the main aspects are whether the design is novel and whether the functions are reliable and applicable. For fabrics, the main considerations are the hand feel, appearance, and texture of the fabric. It may be difficult to judge the internal quality and wearability, but it is precisely the selected materials and sewing processes that have a greater impact on wearability. Below, we will take a sponge-style bra as an example for illustration.

Firstly, we will start with the sewing process of this product to analyze its impact on wearability. The process flow of this product is as follows:

Material selection - Fabric gluing - Cutting - Shoulder strap cutting - Shoulder strap making - Middle cup combination - Middle cup covering stitch - Sponge combination - Inner and outer cup combination - Upper center gore attachment - Lace and upper center gore combination - Upper center gore and cup combination - Fixing lace and cup - Center seam - Center seam covering stitch - Center gore combination - Lower center gore and cup combination - Upper hem binding - Center gore, cup and center gore combination - Left and right seam covering stitch - Back panel and side panel stitching - Center position and side panel stitching - Adding elastic band at the lower hem - Binding the ear loop position - Binding the shoulder strap end - Sewing the ear loop and shoulder strap together - Hook and eye attachment - Small hook attachment - Binding the hook and eye - Inspection and packaging.

1. Material selection.

Since underwear directly contacts the skin, great attention must be paid to material selection. Usually, considerations are given to aspects such as the presence or absence of harmful components, hygroscopicity, antistatic properties, skin touch, sweat fastness and washing fastness (color fastness) of dyes, and the elasticity and strength of fabrics. Since natural fibers are superior to chemical fibers in terms of hygroscopicity, skin touch, and antistatic properties, and knitted fabrics are superior to woven fabrics in terms of elasticity, knitted fabrics made of natural fibers are often chosen as the lining materials for underwear. To increase the elasticity of fabrics, high-elastic fabrics with added spandex are usually used. Harmful components mainly refer to harmful chemicals remaining in fabrics during the dyeing process, which are easily absorbed by the skin during wearing. Hygroscopicity mainly refers to whether sweat can be effectively absorbed after the human body sweats. Staying in a state of poor hygroscopicity for a long time can easily lead to bacterial infections. Poor antistatic properties and uncomfortable skin touch will make people feel uncomfortable during wearing. Poor sweat fastness and washing fastness of dyes can easily cause dye molecules to fall off or even be absorbed by the skin during wearing, resulting in diseases. The elasticity and strength of fabrics affect their comfort and durability.

2. Fabric gluing.

Fabric gluing is to glue the fabric and sponge together with an adhesive. The surface of the fabric after gluing must be flat, and harmful adhesives and their solvents, such as those containing formaldehyde and acetone, cannot be used in the gluing process. Otherwise, these components remaining in the clothing materials will affect human health.

3. Cutting.

Generally, layout is done first and then cutting. Attention should be paid to the grain direction of the fabric during layout, and it should be arranged reasonably according to its properties. If the grain directions of the left and right pieces are inconsistent, it will result in different elasticities of the left and right back pieces of the finished product. When wearing, it will be found that the tightness on both sides is different. During the sewing process, it will also cause differences in size and affect the appearance. For shoulder strap cutting and making, generally, a long shoulder strap is first cut into a certain length according to requirements, then a shoulder strap buckle is put on, and it is sewn with a single-needle zigzag sewing machine or a bar tacking machine. When using invisible shoulder straps, it is necessary to ensure that they have sufficient elasticity and strength to prevent breakage and falling off. At the same time, pay attention to selecting appropriate machine needles during the sewing process to prevent the elastic thread from being punctured.

4. Middle cup combination.

Fix two pieces of outer cup fabric with a single-needle lockstitch sewing machine according to the arc, with a general seam allowance of 0.5 cm, and sew in a series. Middle cup covering stitch. Use a special presser foot to pull apart the sewn fabric pieces on both sides, and then fix them with a double-needle lockstitch sewing machine. This process requires that the tension of the upper and lower threads of the double-needle should be moderate and not affect the appearance.

5. Sponge combination.

Sew the sponge cut pieces with a single-needle four-point zigzag sewing machine, and fix them with fabric strips on both sides of the sponge. The combination between sponge pieces must be tight. Operators should sew along the arc of the sponge pieces when sewing. Moreover, the tension of the upper and lower threads should be consistent and moderate. Otherwise, the sewn sponge cups will have a poor three-dimensional appearance.

6. Inner and outer cup combination.

Fix the inner sponge cup and the outer floral fabric cup with a single-needle flat sewing machine. The center seams of the inner and outer cups must be aligned. Otherwise, the cups will be deformed and affect the appearance. Upper center gore. Fold the center gore piece in half and bind the edges with a three-thread overlock sewing machine. Lace and upper center gore combination. Fix the center gore and lace with a single-needle herringbone lockstitch sewing machine. The straight edge of the lace at the sewing position of the cup must be aligned. The center gore is only fixed on the lace, and sew along the arc as close to the edge of the lace as possible.

7. Upper center gore and cup combination.

Use a single-needle flat sewing machine to combine the lace and cup fabric. Do not sew on the lace. Overlap 0.5 cm of the cup part on the center gore piece, sew in the middle of the overlapping seam, make the head and tail even, and sew flat without wrinkling.

8. Fixing lace and cup fabric.

Sew on the outer upper part. The inner and outer sides of the lace should tightly wrap around the edge, and sew flat without wrinkling.

9. Center seam.

Fix the floral fabric of the center gore part with a single-needle flat sewing machine, with a seam allowance of 0.4 cm, and align it up and down.

10. Center seam covering stitch.

Use a double-needle lockstitch machine and a special presser foot to pull apart and align the sewn fabric pieces in the previous step, and add fabric strips on top.

11. Center gore combination.

Fix the inner and outer pieces of the center gore with a single-needle flat sewing machine without wrinkling, with a seam allowance of 0.4 cm.

12. Lower center gore and cup combination.

Fix the center gore fabric piece and the cup fabric with a double-needle flat sewing machine, and add fabric strips below. Fold the center gore fabric by 0.6 cm, turn the corner in the middle and fold the fabric strip, align it, and sew with double needles to the cup part.

13. Upper hem binding.

Fold the shoulder strap end according to the mark, use a two-needle coverstitch sewing machine, add fabric strips to tightly wrap the inner and outer sides, sew flat without wrinkling, and sew out 1 cm at the shoulder strap end. During the sewing process, pull the sewn upper hem by hand for inspection to ensure that the thread does not break. Otherwise, during wearing, if the wearer engages in intense exercise or sneezes, etc., the seam may break.

14. Center gore, cup and center gore combination.

Use a single-needle flat sewing machine, with a seam allowance of 0.6 cm, and align it up and down.

15. Left and right seam covering stitch.

Turn the seam allowance outward, with a side distance of 0.1 cm. Use a double-needle flat sewing machine, fold the seam upward, add fabric strips for reinforcement and decoration, and add film as needed to enhance its wearability.

16. Back panel and side panel stitching.

17. Center position and side panel stitching.

18. Adding elastic band at the lower hem.

The first overlap is 0.6 cm, and the second is the side seam. During the sewing process, grab a 10-cm length with both hands and pull it to the limit of the fabric. The thread should not break. Otherwise, it will affect wearing.

19. Binding the ear loop position.

Insert the button loop, fold the shoulder strap end, and fix it with a single-needle zigzag sewing machine. For the back strap, sew along the tight band edge. The needle should not sew onto the back panel. Reverse the needle at the upper end and adjust according to the width of the large hook.

20. Sewing the ear loop and shoulder strap together.

21. Hook and eye attachment.

Insert the trademark into the two rows of hook and eye on the right side, with an inner distance of 0.1 cm from the edge and a slight outer wrap over the edge. Try to tuck the back panel in but not let it protrude to avoid affecting the appearance. Use a single-needle zigzag sewing machine, sew in a series and then cut. Check one large hook for each bunch and pay attention to preventing needle cutting.

22. Small hook attachment.

For the two rows of hooks on the left side, be close to the inner edge and slightly wrap the outer edge over the back panel. Try to tuck the back panel into the small hooks. Use a single-needle zigzag sewing machine, sew in a series and then cut.

23. Binding the hook and eye.

Use a single-needle zigzag sewing machine, sew in a series and then cut. The binding stitch should be smooth and flat, and the joint of the upper and lower threads should be in the middle of the side. Nail flowers and paper tags at the designated positions as required.

24. Inspect and package according to requirements.

Conclusion
From the above process, we can see that from material selection to finished product packaging, an underwear requires so many processes, and each process has many requirements. Their qualities all affect the quality of components, and it is precisely the quality of these components that determines the quality of the entire finished product. To improve product quality, simply choosing good materials cannot guarantee a good product. Therefore, each process must be carefully crafted to lay the foundation for a good product and further enhance and improve wearability.

Development Trend
Due to changes in people's concepts, traditional materials and sewing processes can no longer meet the requirements for wearability. Subsequently, a series of decorative and health care underwear with sponge magic pads, water pads, oil pads, bead pads, electromagnetism, etc. have emerged. At the same time, ultrasonic hot-melt technology has also been adopted in sewing. These all indicate that the clothing industry, especially the underwear industry, is facing reform and innovation. Based on wearability, cross-industry horizontal connections are being implemented, and cooperation with fields such as chemical engineering, electronics, machinery, textile and apparel, and medical care is also being further strengthened.