http://www.fashion-incubator.com How to start a clothing line or run the one you have, better. Thu, 16 May 2013 00:39:24 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=191 http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/trip-report-pt-3-colombia-january-2013/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/trip-report-pt-3-colombia-january-2013/#comments Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:25:30 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://fashion-incubator.com/?p=12528 Continuing on with my saga (pt.1 and pt.2) I pick up again in Medellin where we went for the Colombiatex trade show. If I'm not mistaken, it is the largest trade show in Latin America, spread over several pavilions. If you coordinate your stay with the show's management, there is organized transport to and from from the show so it is very convenient to get there and back from your hotel. The image at right is one of the show decorations, a planter made of a spool of cording. I thought it was a neat idea (I imagine that will go up on Pinterest soon). The show itself is very high energy, not as loud as Project but just as vibrant. It wasn't what I expected but it was good anyway. I had expected to find more contract services and equipment but it was mostly a fabric show. Designers come from all over Latin America to source their lines. If I had any constructive criticisms to suggest to show management it would be to have more contractors exhibiting -I only found one dedicated contractor. There were some exhibitors who also did contracting (the bra fabric and cup suppliers mostly) but contracting bra manufacturing was an adjunct to their core business. For those of you producing bras, I think Colombia is the closest resource you're going to find. Colombian bra and mold suppliers are keen on innovation and technology -see the photo of this unusual bra cup supplier below:]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/trip-report-pt-3-colombia-january-2013/feed/ 7 http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/international-pleating/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/international-pleating/#comments Mon, 09 Jul 2012 21:15:55 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://fashion-incubator.com/?p=11517 Lisa B1 -we have three Lisa B's so they're numbered- mentions a new-to-me site that may interest you (HT), that belonging to International Pleating. Fully embracing today's demands for connectivity and transparency, they also have a blog and a FaceBook page. In business since the 1930's, International Pleating provides contract pleating services delivered to your specifications. They offer two types of pleating, hand (pattern pleating) and mechanical. Machine pleating ranges from knife, box, distressed and Fortuny pleating. Hand pleating types are sunburst (accordion), large box pleats and herringbone. You can see samples of each type here.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/international-pleating/feed/ 7 http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/pop-quiz-does-fiber-content-affect-fabric-weight-pt-2/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/pop-quiz-does-fiber-content-affect-fabric-weight-pt-2/#comments Wed, 20 Jun 2012 00:00:41 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=11431 part one, we had several good responses. The first closest answer was from Stu (no surprise there) who said "everybody is right -kinda". Okay he didn't really say that but he sorta did. Summarized, Stu says that the correlation between fiber content and weight is too small to expect controlling for fiber content to be sufficient to control fabric weight. Here is Stu's quote with all the math stuff (yay math!):]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/pop-quiz-does-fiber-content-affect-fabric-weight-pt-2/feed/ 6 http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/pop-quiz-does-fiber-content-affect-fabric-weight/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/pop-quiz-does-fiber-content-affect-fabric-weight/#comments Thu, 14 Jun 2012 21:52:59 +0000 Kathleen Fasanella http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=11422 My company supplies an item with an agreed spec of 90% poly/10% cotton. A random test showed the item weighed significantly less which caused a huge problem. I realize there are a lot of variables that go into the weight of a fabric, but I am the only person at my company who believes fiber content has something to do with the fluctuation. Am I wrong? It seems very logical to me that a decrease in cotton is what caused the test to fail and substituting a new fabric at 82/18 will weigh more because there is 8% more cotton. Controlling the weight means controlling the fiber content. Am I wrong? Why does everyone keep telling me material breakdown and weight have no correlation? I think you know what to do. Leave your responses as to whether fiber content affects fabric weight and why or why not in comments. We'll be giving away a prize to the first most complete answer; a copy of Patternmaking in Practice donated by Lisa Bloodgood. Good luck everyone!]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/pop-quiz-does-fiber-content-affect-fabric-weight/feed/ 19 http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/nifty-thread-consumption-tool/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/nifty-thread-consumption-tool/#comments Mon, 16 Apr 2012 20:44:08 +0000 http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=11205 Alternative title: How many ways do I love A&E? Let me count the ways... A&E (aka, A-N-E) is American & Efird, a US thread company. They're always doing neat stuff and have been small company friendly well before it was fashionable. Case in point, they have a nifty new-to-me tool you can use to calculate the amount of thread needed to sew garments with an estimating tool they call ANECALC® -but you're better off starting here because what you want is the ANECALC® Plus spreadsheets. The Plus worksheets are blank Excel worksheets that help smaller companies calculate their thread usage. For those of you who don't have machines or seams to measure but may have been hit with an unanticipated thread charge from your sewing contractor, there is a separate page that lists thread consumption of the most common types of products instead of having to figure it out the long way (pdf). The page lists thread consumption for products ranging from ladies panties to kid's knit shirts to men's and women's 5 pocket jeans. That will be great for many of you. That way you'll have an idea of your thread usage and can quibble (or not) with your contractor over how much thread they charged you for.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/nifty-thread-consumption-tool/feed/ 14 http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/berg-textiles-journal/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/berg-textiles-journal/#comments Fri, 06 Apr 2012 22:59:56 +0000 http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=11168 has purchased Fairchild publishing. Considering the timing (April 2), I wondered if it was a delayed April fool's joke but it's genuine. That announcement dispensed with, Berg is celebrating their tenth year of publishing the Textile Journal by making a selection of their content available free on the internet (offer expires June 14th). In addition, Berg is offering a 10% discount on individual subscriptions for the next 10 days (valid until 16th April). Use the coupon code TEXTILE10 at checkout. Last but not least, you can get a 20% discount off two year subscriptions, no coupon needed. Below is the list of articles culled from the ten years of Textile Journal publishing. I haven't had the opportunity to read any of them yet but some look interesting -for example, the collecting, hoarding and hiding strategies of US quilters. Somebody actually wrote a research paper on that. Based on people I know (not that I would ever do this), said researcher must have had a very large pool of respondents from which to draw conclusions. Webs of Wrath: Terrible Textiles from the War of Troy by Lois Martin (Volume 1, Issue 3) Wearing Propaganda: Textiles on the Home Front in Japan, Great Britain, and America during the Greater East Asian War, 1931-45 by Jacqueline M. Atkins (Volume 2, Issue 1) Collecting the Contemporary: "Love Will Decide What is Kept and Science Will Decide How it is Kept" by Sue Prichard (Volume 3, Issue 2) Hiding the (Fabric) Stash: Collecting, Hoarding, and Hiding Strategies of Contemporary US Quilters by Marybeth C. Stalp, (Volume 4, Issue 1) ]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/berg-textiles-journal/feed/ 3 http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/giveaway-pocket-dyeing-printing-finishing-expert/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/giveaway-pocket-dyeing-printing-finishing-expert/#comments Thu, 29 Mar 2012 03:03:00 +0000 http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=11115 Did you think I'd forgotten about hosting free book giveaways this week? I  wouldn't blame you but I've been busy busy busy. The first title OPR (Overseas Publishers Representatives) is offering for your perusal is part of the Pocket Book Expert series. The first title is Dyeing, Printing, & Finishing Expert. To be considered for the drawing to win this free book, you need only leave a comment on this or any other entry on this site. You can enter as many times as you like but please, only one comment per person per entry unless you are truly adding to the conversation. This Pocket Textile Expert Book covers both beginning and advanced topics about textile dyeing technology and serves the needs of entry level and non-technical people. Truly a pocket book, it measures 5.5" x 4" (cute) with a hardcover binding. In the event you elect to purchase one outright, OPR is giving Fashion-Incubator readers a 10% discount. So there you are. Enter to win book number one by leaving a comment. Good luck!]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/giveaway-pocket-dyeing-printing-finishing-expert/feed/ 57 http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/better-than-bamboo-kenaf/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/better-than-bamboo-kenaf/#comments Tue, 20 Mar 2012 22:38:40 +0000 http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=11054 Have you ever heard of kenaf? I've been eagerly awaiting its commercial development into textiles for years and it seems we're a bit closer to that goal. If you don't know what kenaf is it can be briefly summarized as a tall, fast growing plant (hibiscus cannabinus; related to cotton and hibiscus) that requires less energy and chemicals both in growing and processing. It can be made into paper that is superior to wood pulp and it can be grown in less than ideal fields -like tobacco. Kenaf has also been used in plastics, both to strengthen and to make plastic more biodegradable. But that's not all, it could be a solution to global warming in that it absorbs more CO2 than any other plant. It is claimed that one acre of kenaf absorbs as much CO2 as 8 acres of pine forest or more CO2 absorption that 2 -3 acres of rain forest. In areas that don't freeze, kenaf can be grown year round (3 crops). Research from Purdue says that over 20 years, one acre of kenaf can produce ten to twenty times more usable fiber than an acre of pine. The fabric developed from kenaf is similar to linen but it is still hard to find. [I did find drapes sold by Pottery Barn made of 100% kenaf but they're out of them now.] Research (pdf) shows that kenaf retted with bacteria rather than chemicals, produces the smoothest fabrics -another plus.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/better-than-bamboo-kenaf/feed/ 35 http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/new-wholesale-fabric-show-low-minimums-ny/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/new-wholesale-fabric-show-low-minimums-ny/#comments Thu, 08 Dec 2011 23:36:57 +0000 http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=10519 it is critical that this go viral -promote this show to all of your friends, colleagues and contacts because not sharing the details can kill a show like this faster than anything. If you don't make an effort to tell -oh let's just say ten other people- don't be dismayed if this is the first and last year this show is held. If you don't tell ten other people, I never want to hear you complain there aren't any shows for small designers. You should promote this show even if you don't live in NY or plan to attend! If this show doesn't succeed, the vendors will not be convinced to do it anywhere else. Meaning, if you want a show like this to open in a location more convenient to you, the best way to make it happen is to do what you can to make a show you're not even going to, a rousing success. Make sense?]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/new-wholesale-fabric-show-low-minimums-ny/feed/ 118 http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/your-dress-plan-for-111111-its-corduroy-day/ http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/your-dress-plan-for-111111-its-corduroy-day/#comments Fri, 11 Nov 2011 00:39:19 +0000 http://www.fashion-incubator.com/?p=10312 First somber, now silly. I gave you the warm up for tomorrow's festivities last year [Normally I would quote it but that makes the pipe key slanted and that simply will not do. I mean, compare this: 11|11|11 to this: 11|11|11 and you see the former simply will not do]: I’m sure my announcement is anti-climatic what with the ribald festivities taking place in your workplace today but for the few who may not remember, today is Corduroy Day! November 11th is the only obvious choice, 11|11 being the date that most resembles corduroy. I can’t imagine how wild next year’s parties will be on 11|11|11 but better make party reservations now. [Please note you should use the pipe key {|} rather than the forward slash {/} when writing 11|11 since it looks even more like corduroy.] I’ll bet that even if you did know today was corduroy day, you might not have known that the official symbol of the Corduroy Appreciation Club is the whale; whale being a homonym of wale. If you're wailing to wale for the whale, see this. I regret to report the event in Portland has been sold out. All 11 slots were taken early on. Uh oh, the Facebook page says 14 are confirmed attending. Say it isn't so! No matter, there are festivities pending in NY -and even commemorated with a special Two Item Rule cocktail! And if that's not enough for you, see this run down of the 11 days of Corduroy. Another fan posted this item (Etsy) described as "Pinwale Pin Whale". Ha ha. Pinwale pin whale, get it? Ha ha. It's a corduroy whale pin cushion made especially for the Corduroy Appreciation Club. Thus ends today's public service announcement. Now you know what to wear tomorrow. All the cool kids will be wearing cords. Yeah.]]> http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/your-dress-plan-for-111111-its-corduroy-day/feed/ 1