Freelance Sample Cutter
About Nicos.
Nicos Demetriou (Nick) is a highly skilled and experienced Freelance Sample Cutter. He has been working in the UK clothing industry as both a sample cutter and a production cutter, for over thirty years.
He began as a junior production cutter, and worked his way up to be head of the cutting room and production manager. His tasks have included :
- Sample Cutting
- Quality Control
- Production Cutting
- Marker Making
- Fabric Costing
Hard Working.
Nicos is a hard working and self- motivated professional who is extremely conscientious about his work. He always works to the best of his ability, both independently and as part of a team. He is very dependable, easy going and approachable, with great communication skills.
Sample Cutter.
Many small fashion companies do not employ professional sample cutters, using pattern cutters or sample machinists to cut out the styles instead. This can be a false economy as long as there is sufficient work to keep the sample cutter busy. Pattern cutters and sample machinists are generally are better employed sticking their own specialised fields.
Sample cutters know exactly how to cut all types of fabrics, with different patterns and checks. They are far quicker, more accurate, and can spot important pattern errors before sampling.
Fabrics often need to be cut with a layer of paper underneath the fabric. The paper provides a straight line for the fabric as well as support to help avoid distortion. For additional support, some fabrics require one layer of paper on top, and one layer underneath.
When students or junior pattern cutters are employed for sample cutting, they can take four times longer laying the fabric, adjusting it and pinning it in place.
Professional sample cutters tend to be extremely conscientious in cutting the fabric, while being very quick at the same time. Sometimes they may choose to cut a pattern out by just using weights instead of pinning. This can take a considerable amount of skill as the fabric wants to contort.
Quality Control.
Quality control is a much neglected area for new clothing businesses. It is absolutely essential to keep an eye on the quality of garments produced by your clothing factory. Because the new fashion business entrepreneur often has little experience in garment production they do not know how to go about ensuring the highest quality.
Garment Costing.
Fabric costs generally accounts for around 60% of the total garment cost, so it is really important to get as much out of you fabric as possible. If you cost a garment for cutting just one item, it may consume considerably more per garment than if you were to cost for two, three, or four garments.
It is extremely important to cost your garment consumption accurately, as a mistake in costing can be catastrophic – Especially if you are short in your costing.
An experienced cutter will have a rough idea how much fabric a particular type of style should take for a given width. It can be a good idea to try costing a garment by laying all your pattern pieces on the fabric, with the grain in any direction, just to see what an ideal costing would be. Then to lay them in the correct direction for comparison.
Costing Sheets.
Costing sheets (Bill of materials) are a detailed record of the costs involved for each style. They record costs for fabrics, trims, making, etc. Fabric is the most important item in this list. The costing sheet may form part of your tech pack.
Matching Fabric Checks.
Matching checks in a fabric is a more difficult skill than it appears. Much of the calculation in matching checks is in the cutting and marking of the pattern. But the laying out and cutting of the fabric are equally important.
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