Cut and sew
The term cut and sew is used to denote a garment that has been customized from raw fabric rather than one that has been purchased from a third-party supplier and then screenprinted or altered.
The term is prevalent in the urban fashion industry, where designers can either have a design screenprinted on a pre-made garment, such as a t-shirt or hooded sweatshirt, or have the entire garment created from scratch. In the latter case, the designer of the graphic also played a role in the creation of the garment itself.[1] Cut and sew garments are generally of higher quality and price than a standard mass-produced item. Brands like A Bathing Ape, Diamond Supply Co., Marc Ecko and Kanati Clothing Company have 'cut and sew' lines, which are most commonly items like button up shirts and other higher end clothing items instead of items like t-shirts.
In the apparel manufacturing industry, "cut and sew" refers to cutting and sewing garments from purchased fabric, as distinct from knitting fabric and then cutting and sewing that knit fabric into garments.[2]
References
- Allaire, Christian (2020-09-10). "The Label Honoring Indigenous History Through Streetwear". Vogue. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
[...] they are currently working on producing their first for-sale, cut-and-sew collection, which they plan to release in October. 'We’re developing our own T-shirt and button-down patterns,' he says. 'Everything is going to be from scratch.'
- "1997 Economic Census, Manufacturing, Geographic Area Series". U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, Bureau of the Census. 2000. pp. B-17. Retrieved 22 October 2020.