Introduction to the different types of Garment Trims and Accessories (PART 1)

 

In the modern age, people love spending money on their favorite stuff. Cloths are one of the most desired products by people to date. Generally, it is believed that a person's personality gets reflected through what he wears. But would you buy cloth for yourself that is plain? No decorative material is attached to it, nothing fancy design printed or imposed on the fabric? 

Definitely, you would not buy such cloth. This is what trim does to the fabric. It enhances the aesthetic look and feel of the fabric. But wait for a second....... I only talked about trims, not accessories, what do you think whether both accessories and trims are the same or there is any difference between them? 

For some, it is believed that trims and accessories are the same, in fact, they have been used interchangeably in the industry. but that's not the case in reality. Trims and accessories are two different things, yet both of them have their own value in the process of garment manufacturing. 

• Trimming

Trimmings are materials that are attached directly to the fabric, they enhance the aesthetic as well as the decorative purpose of the fabric. Trim gets attached to the fabric through sewing, gluing, pressing, or heat setting. Zippers, Button, Thread, Velcro, etc are examples of trimmings.

• Accessories

Accessories are those materials that don't have the functional purpose to the fabric rather their purpose is more towards the finishing, and packing of the product. To put it simply, the accessories are used at the outer part of the garment. Some of the examples of accessories are Polybag, Carton, Price tag, Size tag, etc. 

Types of Garment Trims and Accessories

1. Basic Accessories
2. Decorative Accessories
3. Finishing Accessories

• Basic Accessories

Basic accessories are a fundamental need of a garment, without these accessories the garment doesn't get produced. The common basic accessories used in the industry are,

Thread, Zipper, Button, Label, Motif, Pocketing Fabric, Lining, Interlining, Velcro, Elastic, Cord, Ribbon, Rivet, Toggle, Collarbone

• Thread

Thread is simply a yarn that is used to stitch fabric together which produces a seam on the fabric. 

• Zipper

Zipper simply serves as a tool to bind two fabrics together, it helps the fabric to get opened and closed easily. There are different types of zipper renowned in the industry namely,

Metallic Zipper

Coil Zipper

Invisible Zipper

Plastic Molded Zipper

Open-Ended Zipper

Close-Ended Zipper

Magnetic Zipper

• Button

The button is also an essential and fundamental tool used in the textile industry, just like zippers, buttons also have different types namely,

Shank Button

Flat Button

Snap Button

Stud Button

• Label

A label is simply a piece of indicator that contains all the information of the fabric or garment. The label is categorized into two categories. There is the main label and then there is a sub-label attached to the fabric or garment.

Main Label

The main label only contains the brand name and logo of the brand nothing else. 

Sub-Label

The sub-label has different types namely,

Care Label

Size Label

Price Label

Composition Label

Flag Label

• Motif

The motif is simply an embroidered design or any digital design which gets imposed or paste to the fabric in order to increase the attractiveness of the fabric and to make the fabric look more fashionable.

• Lining

The lining is a piece of fabric that is inserted into the inner layer of the garment. The purpose behind lining is to increase the useful life of the fabric as well as reduce the fabric from direct tearing or damage.

• Interlining

Interlining is used in between two layers of fabric to give more support. It is attached to the garment through sewing or heat process. The purpose of interlining is to maintain the shape and improve the appeal of the garment. There are two types of interlining namely,

Fusible Interlining

Fusible interlining is used between two layers of fabric and it is applied through heat setting. Fusible interlining is used for every apparel product and it is also used in Ready to wear fabric as well.

Non-Fusible Interlining

The non-fusible interlining is used between two layers of fabric and it is applied by sewing through the two layers of fabric, not through heat setting.

• Velcro

Ever seen a sticky strap attached to our school shoes that were without lace? That sticky strap is basically what is called velcro. The use of velcro in garment manufacturing varies whether there is any need to use velcro or not.

• Elastic

Elastic is what we may all know it is, there are different types of elastics as well which have their own purposes. Namely,

Braided elastic

Knitted elastic

Fold-over elastic

Lingerie elastic

Braided Elastic

Knitted Elastic

Fold-Over Elastic

Lingerie Elastic

• Cord

Cords are simply a flexible material used to bind, tie, connect and support the fabric.

• Ribbon

Ribbon is a thin material used for decorative and tying purposes on a garment. There are different types of ribbons as well namely,

Grosgrain Ribbon

Satin Ribbon

Velvet Ribbon

Off-ray Ribbon

Lace Ribbon

Turquoise Ribbon

• Rivet

Have you ever seen a metal dot thing on the sides of your jeans pockets? That is what rivet is, the purpose of rivet is to reinforce the garment tension so that the shape of the garment remain upheld.

• Toggle

Toggle is a plastic piece that is used as button in bags, hoodies etc.

• Collarbone

Collarbone is simply a thin piece of plastic that is used to keep the original shape of the collar.

Conclusion

Till now I have discussed only the basic accessories used in garment industry, the rest of the two types (Decorative and Finishing accessories) will be discussed later in another article as this article it self has gone too lengthy. It is better to keep the reading and learning digestable otherwise the content and the intend behind all this effort will be wasted. 

Stay tuned for the next part of the article, till then see you all.