Tie Factory Visit: Manufacturing in China

Recently ODM had visited our suppliers in Zhejiang Province, first stop was our Tie Factory. Our aim was to check the production facilities of the factory; to learn more about the production process and to make sure that the production goes smoothly. Production Management and Factory Visits go hand in hand, making sure production runs smoothly without hiccups is important and being in the factory allows for immediate feedback.

Tie Factory Visit: Preparing Raw Materials and Outer Fabric

The most commonly used fibers for the manufacturing of ties are silk, polyester, wool and wool blends, acetate, rayon, nylon, cotton, linen, and ramie.

Our Supplier excelled at making silk ties, but to make the tie we must first produce the Outer Fabric.

To produce the Outer Fabric we must first spin and clean the silk, this occurs at high speeds. After this has been completed the yarn must then dyed to the the appropriate colour of the outer fabric.

With the dying completed, the yarn will then be sewn together to make the Outer Fabric. This is done using large Industrial Textile machines producing the rolls of fabric from which the ties design will be cut.

Tie Factory Visit: Cutting, Joining and Tipping

Cutting the outer fabric is skillfully done by hand to maximize the yield of ties that can be cut from the outer fabric. If the fabric has a random design, the operator stacks between 24 and 72 plies of fabric pieces. Where as if the fabric consists of patterns, such as stripes, these plies are stacked according to the pattern.

At this stage we obtain the three parts of the tie: the blade or front, the neck and the tail or back. The tie loop is also cut from the same cloth block as the tie.

Next comes the Tipping, where blade and tail are tipped, involving sewing a partial lining to the tie ends and the fabric care label. Finally there comes Joining, where the blade, neck and tail are joined together. This is usually carried out by hand and involves pressing, folding and sewing.

Tie Factory Visit: Applying the Interlining

Interlining determines not only the shape of the tie but also how well it will wear, so it must be properly coordinated in blend, nap, and weight to the outer fabric shell. It is usually a blend of cotton and wool.

A Liba Machine is used to insert the interlining, where upon the tie is then pressed and sewed. Unless you have your tie manufactured by hand, here a skilled worker would do the inter

Tie Factory Visit: Finishing

The tie is then turned inside out in order to be stitched and finished, during this time the brand label is stitched on. A final piece to be sewn on is the loop, which serves both as a holder for the thin end of the tie when it’s being worn and as the manufacturer’s label.

On silk ties only, the lining is then tucked by hand into the bottom corner of the long end of the tie. In all other ties, the lining does not reach all the way to the bottom corner.

Once this is completed, there will be careful pressing after sewing to assure that tie edges have a fullness, and do not lie flat.

With all these steps finished all is left is for a Quality Control and the ties to be packaged, and you have a completed tie.

Please check our video below to know more about the production process.

Here at ODM we have years of experience in fabricating promotional products. Feel free to get in touch and let us assist you in coming up with some new and innovative ways to promote your brand.

To find out more about production processes in China be sure to check out our portal on this topic: Manufacturing in China