Introduction
Before fabric is cut for production, the layout on the cutting table decides how smoothly the rest of the process will go. A marker helps place pattern pieces so yardage is used well and waste is kept low. It is used for production cutting and also for prototype cutting in sample sizes. Digital markers can be sent to automated cutting machines, which helps streamline pre-production operations. For anyone working in garment production, understanding how markers are built and how different fabrics demand different layouts is a practical necessity.
What Is a Marker?
A marker is a layout of pattern pieces and the guide for cutting the garment fabric for production. A marker may be digital or manually drawn, in one or all size ranges for a style. Markers are also used for cutting prototypes in sample sizes. Pattern making and grading integrated software can create markers to be sent to automated cutting machines to streamline pre-production operations.
The layout of pattern pieces, also known as marker layout, is the arrangement of interlocking pattern pieces on paper or virtually on a computer, in preparation for cutting. Pattern pieces are arranged with regard to the structure, design, and width of the fabric. A marker is planned to get the most use of yardage to minimize waste, known as fabric fallout, which is the material remaining on the cutting table after garment parts are off-loaded. To determine fabric yardage needs for production, technical designers must consider the width of the fabric as part of the planned arrangement of pattern pieces in the marker.
Grainline and Pattern Piece Placement
Grainline marks on individual pattern pieces indicate the direction of the lengthwise grain, whether on-grain, on the bias, or on the cross-grain. When preparing the marker layout for cutting, the marker maker places the lengthwise grain, as indicated on the individual pattern pieces, on the length grain of goods. The lengthwise grain of pattern pieces is determined in the initial design and patternmaking stages of development.
Factors of garment design that affect the direction of the grain and placement of pattern pieces on a marker layout include:
- Balance
- Direction or pattern in fabric design or construction
- Direction of raised, brushed, or looped nap
- Light refraction quality of weave or knit fabric
When a marker maker creates a digital marker, a buffer, or invisible barrier, can protect all or specific pieces from being placed too close to another in the layout. Another option when creating digital markers is blocking. Blocking protects pattern pieces and accommodates the width of the knife blade to prevent unintentional cutting. If a paper copy of a digital marker is needed for cutting, it is sent to a printer to be plotted on a continuous roll having the same width dimensions as the fabric to be cut, and is the length of the marker.
Marker Layouts for Cutting Specific Fabrics
Marker makers consider layout in relation to how the fabric will be spread on the cutting table. Marker placement is the position on the piece goods spread to ensure the marker edge is parallel with the selvage so all cuts will be complete. Fabric spreading indicates how the material will be laid into multiple plies for cutting.
When each layer of fabric is laid face up or face down in the spread, it is referred to as a single-ply spread. Single-ply spreads are cut at each end of the spread in order to keep all layers facing the same direction. A face-to-face spread is laid out like an accordion, where each new ply of fabric is spread and folded back on the previous layer so that the face sides of the fabric lie against each other. Garments are cut from tubes of fabric in a tubular spread, and such garments do not have side seams.
Goods with particular weaves, patterns, or finishes, known as directional fabrics, need special consideration in planning a marker layout. This group includes brushed, knitted, looped, napped, one-way fabric designs, pile, and satin. When a directional fabric is reversed, it can show a different color tone or design. All pattern pieces to be cut from directional fabrics should be placed on the marker in the same direction. Directional fabrics require more yardage than non-directional ones.
Geometric fabric designs such as plaids, stripes, checks, and border designs require a special layout so that after the fabric is cut and seamed, the pattern matches.
Animal Skin Marker Layout
Skins are considered napped fabrics and require a one-way marker layout on a single spread. Animal skins are measured in square feet (centimeters squared) and differ individually in shape, size, color, and surface markings. To accommodate large pattern pieces, skins may be enlarged or elongated by piecing.
Finished Border Fabric Marker Layout
Pattern pieces are arranged on the marker on either the length- or cross-grain direction of a finished border fabric to utilize the border design on the garment. These fabrics have a decorative finish, which may be scalloped, on one or both lengthwise grain edges. Finished border fabrics include eyelet and lace.
Diagonal Design Fabric or Diagonal Print Fabric Marker Layout
In a marker layout, all pattern pieces are placed in the same direction, known as one-way, on fabrics printed with stripes, geometric patterns, or a motif pattern that forms diagonal lines from selvage to selvage.
Diagonal Weave Fabric or Twill Type Fabric Marker Layout
Pattern pieces are arranged on the marker in a one-way direction with the grainline parallel to the selvage. This avoids color tone differences caused by light refraction in a twill weave.
Directional Design Fabric or One-Way Design Fabric Marker Layout
One-way designs require all pattern pieces to be placed in the same direction in the marker layout.
Knit Fabric Marker Layout
Pattern pieces are arranged on the marker in a one-way direction with the grainline parallel to the selvage for tubular, sweater and other knit fabrics to avoid color tone differences caused by light refraction.
Light-Reflecting Fabric Marker Layout
Pattern pieces are arranged on the marker in a one-way direction with the grainline parallel to the selvage to avoid color tone differences caused by light refraction.
Napped Fabric Marker Layout
Pattern pieces are arranged on the marker in a one-way direction with the grainline parallel to the selvage to avoid color tone differences caused by light refraction. Garments are designed to have the brushed surface oriented downward.
Pile Fabric Marker Layout
Pattern pieces are arranged on the marker in a one-way direction with the grainline parallel to the selvage to avoid color tone differences caused by light refraction. When the marker is laid out for cutting the fabric in the downward direction, the pile of the material in the finished garment has a smooth texture and a lighter color tone with a silver-cast sheen. However, some velvet or velour fabrics are laid out on the marker so they are cut with the pile oriented in an upward direction, which provides a more luxurious appearance to the garment.
Border Fabric Design Marker Layout
Pattern pieces are arranged on the marker on either the length- or cross-grain direction of a border print to use or emphasize the border design on the garment.
Stripe Marker Layouts
Even Stripe Marker Layout
Pattern pieces are arranged in the marker layout so the geometric designs correspond or produce a chevron. Even stripes are a two-color design of alternating lines or series of lines, of even width, in either the lengthwise or crosswise direction.
Balanced Stripe Marker Layout
Pattern pieces are arranged in the marker layout so the geometric designs correspond or produce a chevron at the seam line. A balanced stripe is a design with the color and width of a line or series of lines in a mirror repeat to the right and left of the center stripe.
Uneven Stripe or Unbalanced Stripe Marker Layout
A one-way marker layout is required to continue stripes in consecutive order at a seam line. An uneven stripe is a design in which lines of mixed width and color are repeated consecutively, forming a one-way directional design. Garments are designed with the geometric pattern positioned on the body in one direction only.
Plaid Marker Layouts
Balanced Plaid or Even Plaid Marker Layout
Pattern pieces are arranged in the marker layout so the geometric pattern design matches or produces chevrons at seam lines. A balanced plaid is a mirror image of a series of colored groups of yarns within the pattern repeat, creating the linear pattern in both the lengthwise and crosswise directions of the fabric.
Uneven Plaid Marker Layout
Pattern pieces are arranged in the marker layout in a one-way direction in order to match the plaid at the seams. Uneven plaids contain colored groups of yarns that create the geometric pattern repeat differently in the lengthwise and crosswise directions.
Unbalanced Plaid Marker Layout
Marker layouts for unbalanced plaids are planned in a one-way direction. Unbalanced plaids contain colored groups of yarns that create unsymmetrical geometric designs that vary in the lengthwise, crosswise, or both directions of the fabric. Garments are designed with the geometric pattern positioned on the body in one direction only.
Conclusion
Marker layout is one of those steps in garment production that quietly determines the quality of everything that follows. The type of fabric spread, the direction of the grain, the behavior of the surface, and the structure of the print all shape how a marker must be planned. Whether working with simple knits or complex unbalanced plaids, the logic remains the same: place each pattern piece where it belongs, account for what the fabric demands, and reduce waste wherever possible. As digital marker-making tools continue to develop, the fundamentals covered here will remain the knowledge base that makes those tools effective.
Founder & Editor of Textile Learner. He is a Textile Consultant, Blogger & Entrepreneur. Mr. Kiron is working as a textile consultant in several local and international companies. He is also a contributor to Wikipedia.
