How Our Clothes Are Made

Welcome to our Los Angeles Factory! Here’s a look into how our clothes are made.

Patternmaking: A pattern is like a blueprint for clothes. It consists of all the pieces that are needed to be cut and sewn together to complete a garment. As the first step towards constructing our clothes, we believe patternmaking is one of the most important parts in creating the perfect fit. With attention to detail, our super skilled Patternmakers, Wendy and Humberto, take our sustainable designs and bring them to life! 

Paper patter cards hanging from a rack.

Marking + Grading: Meet Manuel. He takes our pattern and carefully adjusts the dimensions of each pattern piece to make our garments available in all sizes - this is called grading. After grading, like a puzzle, Manuel strategically places all those pieces onto a marker to guide the way the fabric is cut.

Pattern printer

Cutting:  Best in the biz. Our cutting team doesn’t mess around. Each roll of fabric is unrolled onto the cutting table while being inspected for damages - this is called spreading. Using an industrial cutting machine, our team traces the marker when cutting the fabric. The pieces are then bundled and prepared for sewing. Leftover scraps? Yes, please! We gladly take all leftover scraps and recycle it into new fabric. 

worker rolling out a large roll of white fabric onto a cutting table

Sewing: We work with some of the most skilled sewers in the industry. Our clothes are made through teamwork and the efficiency of an assembly line. Every sewer has a hand in constructing our clothes by sewing a portion of the garment, passing down the line, until complete. Now, our sustainable fabrics are ready for some color.

group of workers sitting behind sewing machines sewing new clothing at our LA factory

Dye House: Time for a short field trip. Our clothes travel only a few miles to our local dye house. Rather than sewing with pre-dyed fabric, we prefer garment dying- the process of dying each garment after its sewn. Using only non-toxic and low impact dyes, we garment dye each and every piece of our collection. Our method removes the negative effects of shrinkage and gives us the super soft feel we love!

large teal dying machines at our dye house in Los Angeles

Labeling + Finishing: Ready to get finished! Because most labels change color during the dying process, our sewing team attaches all labels after dying is complete. From there, our amazing finishing team inspects each garment for any flaws and damages - a process called Quality Control. Add a hint of steam, a slight press, and a few folds, our clothes are bagged (in a compostable bag- of course) and ready to be shipped to you!

close up picture of the finished golden and bone v-neck t-shirt 

Want to know more? Send us an email at hello@thestandardstitch.com