Textiles Review |

BRÜCKNER: What Modern Textile Finishing Looks Like Today At ITMA ASIA

2025-12-18T10:00:00+00:00

This tool and much more is available to customers in the new myBrückner customer portal. All important machine information, access to digital services, and a service system are bundled there and can be accessed at any time.

Brückner relax dryer POWER-DRY PD-1

Another new product is the POWER-DRY PD-1, a completely newly developed relax and shrink dryer for finishing knitted fabrics. This dryer is suitable for both open and tubular fabrics and can be easily integrated into an existing line concept. Customers benefit from maximum evaporation capacity in the smallest possible length, optimum shrinkage values, excellent accessibility thanks to space-saving sliding doors, horizontal lint screens, low maintenance and cleaning times, and an energy-saving suction zone. The system can also be heated using a hybrid system or even CO2-free using a high-temperature heat pump. The system has been specially designed for high-quality goods with a soft and voluminous hand, e.g., polo shirts, nightwear (interlock), single jersey T-shirts, or lining fabrics such as sweatshirts.

Customers can also look forward to a new unit in the coating sector: the OPTI-COAT 2in1 coating unit combines the advantages of floating knife and knife over cylinder, thus ensuring maximum flexibility. With a high-precision coating cylinder and a perfect ground coating knife, excellent results can be achieved for paste and foam coatings. In addition, the unit’s special design ensures optimum accessibility for cleaning and maintenance purposes.

If you would also like to benefit from these advantages or learn more about the optimization potential in your textile production, you are cordially invited to visit the Brückner team at ITMA ASIA 2025 in Singapore. In hall 7 at booth A-102, their experts will be happy to meet with you for a personal discussion and provide you with individual advice.

Avery Dennison Expands Deal With San Francisco 49ers

2025-12-18T10:00:00+00:00

Avery Dennison, Mentor, Ohio, has extended its partnership with the San Francisco 49ers, continuing as the team’s exclusive partner for personalization and embellishment technologies via its Embelex solutions portfolio. The updated agreement expands in-venue customization at the 49ers Team Store at Levi’s® Stadium with new stations for personalized jerseys and customizable Levi’s jackets.

“This partnership shows how far fan engagement has come,” said Steve Mason, vice president, general manager, Commercial & Embelex, Avery Dennison. “It used to be about buying a jersey off the rack. Now, with on-demand customization and digital patches, fans can create something personal and interactive; a memento that connects them to a moment, a season, even the community around the team.”

2025 Quarterly Issue IV

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America Knits: Sparking Big Change In A Small Town

2025-12-18T10:00:00+00:00

Hawkins has been on a remarkable journey in the cut-and-sew business from the time he graduated college with a degree in finance. From Reelsboro and Ayden, N.C., to Honduras — requiring his first passport at age 35 — and back to the United States in Swainsboro, Ga.

He didn’t expect to work in the apparel industry. “I thought maybe I’d work in a bank,” Hawkins said. But through his part time job, he met Skip Hudson who owned five cut-and-sew plants in and around New Bern, N.C., where Hawkins grew up. “Hudson asked me one day what I was going to do after graduation because he knew I was a senior,” Hawkins recalls. “I really didn’t know, and Hudson asked if I’d like to learn about the sewing business. He said his company was taking a different approach and was looking for some-one fresh out of college to teach the business. They wanted to find some-one that could think outside the box.”

This chance offer set Hawkins on a course that would dictate his career to date. After learning about the cut-and-sew business at Hudson’s Reelsboro facility, an investor helped Hawkins open his own cut-and-sew business in Ayden at the young age of 25. The business thrived staying busy from 1988 until 1994, when the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came along. “NAFTA marked the first time since I had opened my plant that we saw a slowdown, and it was the first time I’d ever had to lay anybody off” Hawkins said.

Steve Hawkins (third from right) with America Knits staff and past interns.

He had never owned a passport, so when a colleague in the business asked if he’d ever considered going overseas, Hawkins did not immediately entertain the idea. But when he learned if he set up a plant in Honduras that he could keep it running 52 weeks a year, he was intrigued and decided after some more research, to take the leap. “That’s where I learned a lot of the full package part of the business,” he said. “I also made many connections with Parkdale, as well as other spinners.”

But in a now well-known twist of events, cut-and-sew work slowly began to move to Asia and work was harder to come by in-between seasons for Hawkins’ Honduras facility. He decided to return to the United States and went to work for a larger, global manufacturer in sales and production management. It was a job he enjoyed, and it allowed him to further his knowledge of the business with another layer of learning. But the extensive traveling required to visit customers and offshore facilities meant he was missing out on home-life with his wife and sons. “I wanted a lifestyle change,” Hawkins said. “I had two young boys that were in first and fifth grade and I was missing everything because I was traveling all the time.”

At that point in his life, industry friends were urging Hawkins to consider opening a plant in the United States again. “That’s where David comes in,” Hawkins relayed. “We had been best friends since kindergarten, and we’d always wanted to be in business together. You’d have to know David, but I guess saving lives wasn’t exciting enough for him,” Hawkins said with a chuckle. “And that’s what brought us to this little town with a population of 7,000 people in Georgia called Swainsboro.”

(left to right): Industrial engineer Luis Bobadilla, Hawkins, and Avery Williams, product development and production planning. Bobadilla and Williams form America Knits’ young management team.

Attracted by the potential work-force in Swainsboro, the duo first identified a good building for the plant and then invested in state-of-the-art equipment from the very beginning. They hoped to differentiate America Knits from other plants in the United States. “We knew the facility had to be something different and spent a good bit of money to outfit it and make it like we wanted it to be,” Hawkins said. “We wanted to avoid the old school thinking of ‘let’s get it as cheap as we can and just get started with used equipment.’ My theory was that we need the plant to look different, it needed to be bright, attractive and a place people would want to come to work.”

Displayed prominently on the plant floor is the company’s slogan, “Together, we are building a new story.” Hawkins really believes in this idea. “The slogan really applies to the employees on the floor — we can only talk about it,” he said. “The story we are building has to be created by everyone involved in America Knits.

“We also hope that when visitors enter our facility that they see the quality of everything we do, not just the quality of the shirts we make,” he said. “If you have a clean, organized facility, I think that environment naturally promotes quality.”

No sooner had Hawkins and Talton got America Knits up-and-running making basic T-shirts, the Covid pandemic hit. “Just like everybody did at that point in time, we pivoted and figured out how to make personal protective equipment [PPE] like masks and isolation gowns,” Hawkins said. “As a cut-and-sew company in the United States, we were quite fortunate because there weren’t many companies to turn to for help.”

In 2020, Parkdale Inc. led an effort to build a coalition of companies to respond to the nation’s need for PPE, and America Knits was honored to be included in the group. Hawkins said the collaborative effort generated a lot of free publicity for the fledgling company. “We were the smallest company in the group, but for a period of time, every night our name was mentioned on national television!” he said proudly.

That initial exposure attracted the attention of the State of Georgia and Governor Brian Kemp. In 2021, America Knits was invited to the governor’s State of the State speech where the company was highlighted for its efforts to make PPE during the height of the pandemic and the willingness of its employees to step up and work even though there were so many unknowns. That exposure led to more work for the company producing shirts for the Georgia prison system at a time when inmates couldn’t work in factories within prisons. “It was definitely hard times, but the exposure built us to where we became a recognized company within the state of Georgia and we have received really friendly treatment from everyone involved, as well as numerous state recognitions,” Hawkins said.

As the supply chain shortages created by the pandemic eased, America Knits refocused on its original business plan. The company currently has the capacity to produce a total of 20,000 pieces a week in an assortment of premium T-shirts, polos and sweatshirts — all made using fabric sourced from U.S.-based manufacturers. A recent expansion investment added screen-printing, embroidery and laundry equipment.

Hawkins emphasized fit is something that is very important to consumers and that it is therefore important to him that the shirts sold by America Knits are true to size and remain so after home laundering. America Knits’ new washing and enzyme equipment allows the company to precisely control the size of the finished garments.

The company aims to add garment dyeing in the not-too-distant future, and possibly even some spinning capability one day.

America Knits also is working closely with a Germany-based automation company that is developing robotic technology for T-shirt assembly. “We are sending them cut parts as they need them so they can tweak and experiment making T-shirts using robots,” Hawkins shared. “When they are ready — and they are getting closer — we hope to get a machine in our plant as a beta site.”

As of today, the company employs 53 local people. In many cases, those associates are quite familiar with the sewing business. “We are trying to rejuvenate a business where for many of our employees, their mothers, fathers and sometimes grandparents worked in sewing plants when they were young,” Hawkins said. “I think engaging employees is important,” he added. “We need to make sure they know what the goals are, and what the vision is for what we are trying to build. We also want them to feel proud of where they are from.”

“Made in Small Town America” is imprinted in every shirt America Knits makes. “That idea means something to me,” Hawkins said. “There isn’t a large enough workforce for us to grow in Swainsboro, but I would like to replicate the business model in other small towns. I think it’s possible because by automating some of the tasks, we’ve made it a nicer place to work.”

Hawkins credits his wife, Alejandra, with suggesting employees be known as VIPs. They also make a point to celebrate birthdays at the plant. They hope such efforts will attract younger people into the business.

Another change America Knits made to the traditional cut-and-sew business model was to eliminate tying wages to production quantities. It was confusing to employees and sometimes meant losing good people because they didn’t fully understand and connect the hourly wage with the incentivized pay. “We took everyone’s average wage from the prior year and made that their guaranteed salary,” Hawkins said. “We still set goals for the teams but find they are more diligent about reaching the goals now than when they made money for production. We still have set costs, but we know the team costs per hour and in the end, we still get what we need. It was a game changer.

“We also encourage employees that the more they crosstrain, the more jobs they can do and the more raises they can earn!”

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Hawkins understands the value of training and educating the work-force. He never forgot Hudson’s willingness to give him a chance to learn from the ground up when he was a new college graduate.

“We have a really young middle management team at America Knits that is learning this business, and we take on interns and new graduates to learn as well” he shared. “Our goal is to keep layering on new people —hopefully those that have the ambition to eventually start their own plant someday. I believe in character. I hire the people who may not have the knowledge, but they have the character. For someone with the right character, the sky is the limit!”

When it comes to nearshoring the apparel industry in the United States, Hawkins says the solution is obvious, but not easy to implement. “The problem with scaling and ramping up U.S. manufacturing is the lack of middle management,” Hawkins shared. “This industry is valued in small towns, but once an industry has been gone more than 20 years, middle managers are retired or have moved on to other work. Unfortunately, the middle management aspects of this business are not learned in one month, six months or even a year in most cases. It takes two-to-three years to become a good mechanic or maintenance guy or shift supervisor. Without those people, it’s hard to make good product.”

He noted that middle management positions pay more and it’s not feasible as a small business to double up on such positions while people are training. In order to expand, experienced people who can hit the ground running are needed so a new plant can generate revenue while also training new people. Hawkins said the ability to bring in trained people from other countries is one way to open facilities faster and with less risk, but as a major political issue, it’s not a popular idea.

While America Knits did not receive any government funding or assistance when it first opened because of its very small size, the company has since been able to take advantage of some incentive programs. “Georgia has a program where they will pay half of a trainee’s salary for up to 12 weeks,” Hawkins said. “We underwent an expansion and did participate in that program, and it went really well.”

In 2020, America Knits joined the Field to Closet initiative — a program designed to increase demand for cotton fiber, reward growers and support communities — to help with a medical scrub project. The group put together a supply chain in the state of Georgia to make scrubs for rural hospitals that were struggling to get the PPE they needed. The cotton was grown and yarn spun in Georgia, fabric was made in the Carolinas, and the all-cotton scrubs were cut and sewn at America Knits.

This collaboration led to a second Field to Closet project with Lumberton, N.C.-based Contempora Fabrics Inc. for clothing brand J.Crew.

The J.Crew collaboration allowed America Knits and Contempora Fabrics to become better acquainted, and the companies have since partnered outside of Field to Closet, with Contempora acquiring a stake in America Knits. “Partnering with Contempora is one of the best things that happened to us since we started the company,” Hawkins said. “We now have the credibility of a partner that has more than 50 years in business, and one that shares a philosophy and has similar culture to our own. In addition, together we form a completely vertical factory, and we are not dependent on anyone.” The companies hope that together, they can build a stronger U.S.-based garment supply chain. A new beanie and cap product line was announced this year as part of this partnership.

Seeds II Seams, America Knits’ own brand, is 100-percent American made.

When brainstorming on future ideas with Field to Closet executives, Hawkins realized the next step for America Knits was to start its own brand. The discussions led to the Seeds II Seams brand, which was developed with focus on sustainability and is 100-percent American made. The brand logo incorporates a crow because as the crow flies, there is only 238 miles between the links in the complete supply chain for the brand’s garments. In comparison, based on a recent independent study, the average T-shirt sold in the United States travels 17,000 miles from fiber to finished product.

A sweatshirt from the Seeds II Seams product line

While ruminating on his challenging career in the apparel cut-and-sew industry, Hawkins laughed and said: “I always thought it would be fun to be in sports in some way — maybe as a head football or baseball coach. But maybe this is almost the same in a weird way. You have professional people with God-given talents, and you put them together as teams. Then you have to motivate the teams and have to try to get them to pull together in the same direction to hit your numbers.” It’s an analogy that while unexpected, surprisingly works.

Hawkins also spoke of adrenaline and the extremely competitive nature of the business. “It’s competitive in that you are trying to accomplish goals on a daily and a weekly basis, which causes a lot of stress” he said. “But if you’ve been in this business for a long time, you get addicted to the stress and the excitement and ultimately surviving!”

Hawkins has not only survived but thrived in the cut-and-sew industry adapting, rebuilding and learning at every turn. And with its partner, Contempora Fabrics, and an eager workforce, America Knits is poised for whatever comes next — a future Hawkins approaches with the same curiosity, grit and affection for the industry that has carried him through more than 30 years.

2025 Quarterly Issue IV

Why Spinners Might Love the Knitting Machine (and Tips to Get Started)

2025-09-03T10:00:00+00:00

Why Spinners Might Love the Knitting Machine (and Tips to Get Started)

Do the parts you love by hand and let the machine do the rest! Explore the basics of how a knitting machine works and discover a cool way to use it for complex projects. Do the parts you love by hand and let the machine do the rest! Explore the basics of how a knitting machine works and discover a cool way to use it for complex projects. Continue reading.

You might wonder why anyone would go through all the trouble to handspin yarn, only to knit it on a machine instead of by hand. Doesn’t that defeat the purpose? I don’t think so! In fact, there are plenty of reasons why. Besides the speed that a knitting machine offers (leaving more time for spinning!), it’s easier on my hands, and offers interesting creative challenges. I never expected to love knitting machines. My first experience with one was a disappointing disaster—with dropped stitches, broken yarn, and a carriage that just wouldn’t go. It seemed that I could only use the machine at a very loose gauge, creating a knitted fabric with limited appeal. Since then, however, I’ve come to love this storied tool. In recent years, I have made about half my handspun sweaters on a knitting machine, including Sandi Rosner’s Millefiori Pullover, featured in the upcoming Fall 2025 issue of Spin Off. With that project, I started the colorwork section by hand in the round, then transferred the project to the knitting machine to knit the plain stockinette body and sleeves. To me, this is the best of both worlds—I get to knit the fun and engaging part by hand, and then the less exciting parts speed by as I push the knitting machine’s carriage back and forth.

Each knitting machine has a bed with a set number of needles that resemble latch hooks, and each needle holds a single stitch. Not surprisingly, a flatbed knitting machine works pieces flat, and a circular knitting machine works in the round. To knit a row, the operator pushes a carriage back and forth across the bed. The carriage works by moving the needles as the working yarn is laid on the needle. In a wave-like motion, the carriage opens the latches, pushing the previous row’s stitches behind the latch, lays the working yarn in the hook, then pushes the previous row’s stitches forward. As this happens, the latch closes, and the previous row’s stitches drop off the needle. Weights keep everything in place and keep the carriage from jamming. My best tip for getting started with a knitting machine is to spend plenty of time practicing, swatching, and getting to know your machine—ideally with scrap yarn! If you start out with a used knitting machine, like I did, you might also need to spend some time troubleshooting and performing maintenance. My flatbed LK150 (shown in this article) came to me with rusty needles and a disintegrating sponge bar, which keeps the needles in place. After replacing these parts and cleaning the machine, it was ready to go. Like our trusty spinning wheels, knitting machines also require regular cleaning and oiling to keep them operating smoothly.

If you’re brand-new to knitting machines, be sure to check out Mary Renstrom’s article, “Machine Knitting with Handspun.” to find out more. In it, she explains how to choose a knitting machine, how to spin yarn for machine-knitting, and what to look for when choosing a knitting pattern. !assets/images/1755822304-graves-knitting-machine-needles-and-claw-weights.jpg “1755822304-graves-knitting-machine-needles-and-claw-weights”) Knitting machine needles (left) look like latch hooks. Claw weights (right) keep the stitches properly situated on the needles.
Photo by Matt Graves

If the knitting machine is so great, why would I knit half of a sweater by hand and half by machine? Great question! There are plenty of projects that I knit almost entirely on the machine, doing only the edgings by hand. But some patterns are just designed to be knit in the round, like yoked sweaters. These can be tricky on the knitting machine because of the placement of increases or decreases across a row. On a knitting machine, a transfer tool is used to make increases and decreases. The knitter uses it to move stitches to an empty needle, then works a yarnover or other increase of choice. Decreases are made by moving two stitches to one needle with the transfer tool, then knitting the next row. Critically, each increase or decrease requires the surrounding stitches to be rearranged, so most shaping increases and decreases happen at the selvedges of the work—think of the increases and decreases you might do at the side of a sweater body or sleeve. This process makes traditional yokes impractical on the knitting machine, as the knitter would spend a great deal of time rearranging stitches on the bed. Not only is this time-consuming, but in my experience, the work tends to get stretched out of shape and more problems are likely to occur, such as a jammed carraige and broken yarn mid-row. But this doesn’t mean you can’t make a yoked sweater on the knitting machine! There are many workarounds, including changing the pattern from a circular yoke to a raglan-style seamed sweater, or working the yoke by hand, then hanging it from the needles, and working the front, back, and sleeve portions of the garment on the knitting machine, as I did with Sandi Rosner’s Millefiori Pullover. Take a look at this quick video to see how it’s done! [wpcc-iframe width=”100%” height=”500” src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/RH2eb0cZ2EE?si=CZ3LXZoY69yB7O5G” title=”YouTube video player” frameborder=”0” allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen=””] If you’re on the fence about whether a knitting machine is right for you, I hope you’ll explore some more of the resources below. There’s so much potential in this tool!

Learn more about using knitting machines with handspun yarn in Mary Renstrom’s article “Machine Knitting with Handspun.”
Discover Spin Off contriubtor Micki Hair’s innovative approach to machine knitting in the Fall 2020 and Fall 2025 issues of Spin Off and in her web article, “A Special Gift, Jersey Style”.
Is using a knitting machine cheating? Find out Pamela’s take in the upcoming Fall issue! Be sure to subscribe to reserve your copy of the new Spin Off issue and get the digital copy the day it comes out! Pamela K. Schultz is the content editor for Spin Off. She spins, knits, weaves, and gardens in coastal North Carolina.

Shima Seiki unveils cutting-edge digital textile innovations at Intertextile Shanghai Autumn 2025

2025-09-03T10:00:00+00:00

Shima Seiki unveils cutting-edge digital textile innovations at Intertextile Shanghai Autumn 2025

Shima Seiki Mfg., Ltd., the Japanese leader in computerized knitting technology and digital design solutions, is set to present its latest innovations at the Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics – Autumn Edition 2025, taking place from 2–4 September at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai. The company will exhibit together with its Hong Kong and Chinese subsidiaries in the Digital Solutions Zone, a hub dedicated to cutting-edge advancements in textile and apparel technology. A major highlight of Shima Seiki’s exhibit will be APEXFiz®, its subscription-based design software that enables seamless digital workflows across the fashion industry. APEXFiz® offers a comprehensive range of tools, including planning, design, color evaluation, fabric simulation, and 3D virtual sampling. By creating highly realistic digital prototypes, the software minimizes the need for physical sampling, helping brands reduce costs, speed up product development, and significantly cut down on material waste. In addition to software, Shima Seiki will showcase its suite of Shima Online Services, which includes yarnbank®, a digital yarn sourcing platform where users can access downloadable yarn data, and SHIMA Datamall, an online content service that supports product planning and production processes. Both platforms are designed to streamline digital workflows while encouraging more sustainable industry practices. The company will also host a seminar titled “New Era of Digital Fabric: End-to-End DPC Solution” on 3 September, providing deeper insight into its digital strategy. With these initiatives, Shima Seiki underscores its commitment to driving innovation, efficiency, and sustainability in global fashion manufacturing.

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Bangladesh RMG Export in August $3.17bn export with a growth rate of -4.75%

2025-09-03T10:00:00+00:00

Bangladesh RMG Export in August $3.17bn export with a growth rate of -4.75%

Share Export Promotion Bureau of Bangladesh has released the RMG export data for July-Aug 25/26: The country has achieved $7.13 billion in exports with a growth rate of 9.63% where the Knit sector has achieved $3.95 billion exports with a growth rate of 9.11% and Woven sector has achieved $3.18 billion exports with a growth rate of 10.28%. For the month of Aug, the country has achieved $3.17 billion exports with a growth rate of -4.75% where the Knit sector has achieved $1.77 billion exports with a growth rate of -6.34% and Woven sector has achieved $1.40 billion exports with a growth rate of -2.65%. By: Mohiuddin Rubel, Former Director, BGMEA
Managing Director, Bangladesh Apparel Exchange
Additional Managing Director, Denim Expert Ltd Share Previous article #

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Armas Makina, Örgü Kumaşlar İçin Geliştirdiği KnitMaster HT Jigger XL ile Dikkat Çekiyor

2025-09-02T10:00:00+00:00

Armas Makina, Örgü Kumaşlar İçin Geliştirdiği KnitMaster HT Jigger XL ile Dikkat Çekiyor

02/09/2025/BOYA BASKI TERBİYE, ETEXTILEMAGAZINE Tekstil makine sektöründe uzun yıllardır faaliyet gösteren Armas Makina, örgü kumaşların terbiye süreçlerinde karşılaşılan hassasiyet sorunlarına çözüm sunmak amacıyla geliştirdiği KnitMaster HT Jigger XL modeliyle sektördeki yenilikçi adımlarına bir yenisini ekledi. Özellikle örgü kumaşların elastik yapıları nedeniyle klasik jigger sistemlerinde yaşanan deformasyon sorunlarına dikkat çeken firma, yeni geliştirdiği modelle bu alandaki ihtiyaçlara doğrudan yanıt vermeyi hedefliyor. Örgü Kumaşlara Uyumlu Yapı ve Hassas Proses Kontrolü Armas Makina’nın mühendislik ekibi tarafından geliştirilen KnitMaster HT Jigger XL, otomatik gergi kontrolü, düşük tansiyonlu tahrik sistemleri ve yüksek hassasiyetli yönlendirme teknolojileri ile dikkat çekiyor. Bu sistemler, örgü kumaşların zarar görmeden işlenmesini sağlarken kumaş yüzeyinde oluşabilecek kalite kayıplarını da önlemeyi amaçlıyor. Makine, 1400 mm’ye kadar ulaşan yüksek sarım çapı kapasitesiyle uzun metrajlı kumaşların duraksama olmadan işlenmesine olanak tanıyor. Böylece hem proses verimliliği artıyor hem de dur-kalk kaynaklı gerginlik problemleri azaltılıyor. Enerji Verimliliği ve Sürdürülebilir Üretim Enerji verimliliği, Armas Makina’nın geliştirdiği sistemlerin ortak özelliklerinden biri. KnitMaster HT Jigger XL’de kullanılan ısı izolasyon sistemleri ve proses sırasında uygulanan enerji tasarrufu odaklı yapı sayesinde, klasik sistemlere göre daha düşük enerji ve su tüketimi sağlandığı belirtiliyor. Firma, bu yönüyle makinenin yalnızca üretim kapasitesini değil, aynı zamanda sürdürülebilirlik hedeflerine katkısını da ön plana çıkartıyor. Sahadan Olumlu Geri Bildirimler KnitMaster HT Jigger XL’ın devreye alındığı üretim tesislerinde, makinenin süreçlere olumlu katkıda bulunduğu ifade ediliyor. Özellikle örgü kumaşların işlenmesinde yaşanan problemleri büyük ölçüde azalttığı ve operatörler tarafından kolayca adapte edilebildiği üzerine geri bildirimler alınıyor. Armas Makina, kullanıcılardan gelen geri bildirimlerin ürün geliştirme sürecine entegre edildiğini ve sistemin sahada performansını kanıtlamaya devam ettiğini belirtiyor. Bakım Kolaylığı ve Servis Altyapısı Makinenin bakım ihtiyacının minimum seviyede tutulması, uzun vadede işletmelere operasyonel avantaj sağlıyor. Armas Makina’nın yaygın teknik servis ağı, kurulum sonrası destek süreçlerini hızlandırırken, operatör eğitimleri ve proses danışmanlığı gibi hizmetler de müşterilere sunuluyor. Ar-Ge ve Tecrübe Temelli Üretim Yaklaşımı Armas Makina, bu yeni modelde yıllara dayanan makine üretim tecrübesini ve Ar-Ge gücünü birleştirdiğini vurguluyor. KnitMaster HT Jigger XL, yalnızca örgü kumaşlar için özelleştirilmiş teknik bir çözüm sunmakla kalmıyor, aynı zamanda işletmelerin rekabet gücünü artırmaya da katkı sağlıyor. Armas Makina, Tek Tahrikli Jigger Sisteminde Seri Üretim Aşamasına Yaklaşıyor Armas Makina’nın son dönemde üzerinde yoğunlaştığı projelerden biri de tamamen kendi mühendislik altyapısıyla geliştirdiği tek tahrikli jigger makinesi tasarımı oldu. Özellikle son iki yıldır Ar Ge departmanının odaklandığı bu proje kapsamında, daha kompakt bir yapı, daha az hareketli parça ve optimize edilmiş tahrik gücüyle çalışan yeni nesil bir jigger konsepti oluşturuldu. Firma yetkilileri, bu çalışmada önemli başarı elde edildiğini ve sistemin saha testlerinin ardından inovatif bir ürün olarak seri üretime alınması için gerekli adımların atılmaya başlandığını ifade ediyor. Yeni modelin, hem mekanik sadelik hem de enerji verimliliği açısından mevcut sistemlere göre ciddi avantajlar sunması hedefleniyor.

New zealand’s apparel imports rise modestly to $711 million in 2025

2025-08-29T10:00:00+00:00

New zealand’s apparel imports rise modestly to $711 million in 2025

New Zealand’s apparel imports recorded steady growth in the first seven months of 2025, rising 4.7 percent to reach around USD 711 million compared with the same period last year. The figures indicate a modest recovery after earlier declines, with demand gradually strengthening across key categories. During the first five months of the year, imports stood at USD 504.9 million, representing a slight dip of 0.98 percent year-on-year. China continued to dominate as the leading supplier, accounting for just over 60 percent of imports. While Bangladesh experienced a minor decline, Vietnam registered double-digit growth, and India and Indonesia also posted gains, reflecting a more diversified sourcing base. By the first half of 2025, imports had gained momentum, increasing by 5.1 percent to approximately USD 622 million. Growth was driven largely by knitted clothing, which saw stronger demand, particularly in June when imports rose nearly 9 percent compared to the same month in 2024. The cumulative January–July total of USD 711 million highlights a steady rebound for the sector. Stronger contributions from Southeast Asia and South Asia are complementing China’s dominant position, gradually reshaping New Zealand’s sourcing landscape. While the growth rate remains modest, it reflects resilience in consumer demand and the ongoing adjustment of supply chains. With China still firmly in the lead but competitors making steady inroads, New Zealand’s apparel imports are becoming more balanced, reducing reliance on a single source and creating a more stable long-term outlook for the market.

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Four Preps, Four Projects

2025-08-29T10:00:00+00:00

Four Preps, Four Projects

Learn how to choose your fiber preparation with a knitting project in mind—here are some suggestions to get you started! Learn how to choose your fiber preparation with a knitting project in mind—here are some suggestions to get you started! Continue reading.

Carded Batt
Dizzed Roving
Rolags
Hand-Combed Top
First Steps in Fiber-Prep
No Prep, No Problem! Choosing a new knitting project is always exciting—but when you’re working with your precious handspun, the options can feel overwhelming. The challenge grows when you’re experimenting with new fiber prep methods. While there aren’t many hard rules for matching yarn to project (beyond hitting gauge), some pairings just work better than others—you wouldn’t want soft, fluffy yarn for hiking socks that fall apart on the first wear! To help you start thinking of how to select a knitting project to pair with your fiber-prep, we’ve paired four preparation methods with ideal projects show off your handspun. Whether you’re spinning rolags, combed top, dizzed roving, or a carded batt, these curated combinations are sure to inspire. And those hiking socks? How about Barbara Kelly-Landry’s Ultimate Icelandic Hiking Socks, which combine both combed top and rolags for the best of both worlds! —Spin Off editors

A freshly carded batt is a joy to spin. The fiber is organized into a light and lofty mass, and your resulting yarn will trap plenty of warm air to keep you nice and cozy—especially if you pair the prep with a woolen drafting style. Your airy yarn will be the perfect starting point for Martha Owen’s Crescent Shawl Recipe. Use one yarn or a combination of small samples or stash. You can even consider overdyeing the finished piece, like Martha did, to create a stunning, personalized result. Knit Martha Owen’s Crescent Shawl Recipe and discover her approach to piece dyeing.

Whether you’re working from a blending board, drumcarder, or handcards, dizzed roving has all the loft and ease of spinning that a batt does, but many spinners find the resulting ribbon of fiber much easier to handle. From here, you can take your spinning anywhere, but why not try knitting the soft and lacy Horseshoe Cap? In addition to being a great way to show off your handspun, this quick project is a quick and delightful way to dip your toes into lace knitting! Find the Horseshoe Cap pattern in the Spin Off Library, along with a gallery of other options to customize your own version.

There are plenty of ways to make rolags and fauxlags. Whether made on a blending board, drumcarder, or with handcards, fluffy rolags are fun to make and spin. They’re also a great way to blend color like Kim McKenna did in her version of Diana Twiss’s En Plein Air Half-Mitts. Built with a literal tube of air in the center, yarn made from rolags is know for being warm and cozy—perfect for the chill of fall and winter days that are just around the corner for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere! Find the En Plein Air Half-Mitts pattern in the library, and read about how Kim McKenna blended her colors in the Winter 2025 issue of Spin Off.

If you want to knit socks with your handspun yarn, you want them to last. Hand-combed top, paired with a strong wool, fits the bill perfectly. Sandi Rosner’s Socks Fit for a Spinner is a pattern that lets you customize your socks to your gauge, and your recipient’s feet, and is sure to be your go-to sock recipe for years to come. Find Sandi Rosner’s Socks Fit for a Spinner and many more sock patterns in the Library.

Want to learn more about one of these fiber-prep methods? Every spinner has a different approach, and there’s always more to discover! That’s why we put all four of these methods—and more—in the Fall 2025 Spin Off issue, coming out August 28, 2025. When you pick up this issue, you’ll learn:

Two ways to make a batt—semi-worsted and a true woolen,
How to diz roving from a drumcarder,
How to make a rolag on a blending board,
And Amy Tyler’s tips for diz-free hand-combed top. After you’ve had a chance to see all the exciting articles, projects, and tutorials in the upcoming Fall 2025 issue, we hope you’ll experiment and find your perfect prep/project pair.

Do you want to get right to your spinning wheel or spindle without spending all your time on preparing the fiber yourself? There’s no shame in that! Any of these projects can be made with commercial top, so you can dive straight into spinning and focus on creating a beautiful yarn.

Resources

You can find all these patterns—and more—in the Spin OffLibrary.
Be sure to subscribe to reserve your copy of the new Spin Off issue and get the digital copy the day it comes out!

BUFT Students Gain Practical Industry Insights at Taipei Bangla Fabrics Ltd.

2025-08-28T10:00:00+00:00

BUFT Students Gain Practical Industry Insights at Taipei Bangla Fabrics Ltd.

Share BGMEA University of Fashion & Technology (BUFT) students recently visited Taipei Bangla Fabrics Ltd., a 100% export-oriented industry specializing in polar fleece fabrics, knit fabrics, yarn dyeing, and garment dyeing and washing in Bangladesh. Considering the growing demand for high-quality fabrics in the country’s garment sector, the company has established advanced manufacturing facilities equipped with modern machinery and operated by highly skilled and experienced technicians.
The educational visit was organized under the guidance of honorable faculty of Dr. Mohammad Raza Miah, BUFT. During the visit, students explored various sections of the factory, including knitting, yarn dyeing, fabric dyeing, and finishing processes such as compacting, stenter, brushing, as well as the Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP).
Production Capacity of Taipei Bangla Fabrics Ltd.

Dyeing: Polar fleece and micro fleece – 40 tons/day; Yarn dyeing – 16 tons/day
Knitting: 30 tons/day
Yarn dyeing (additional): 6 tons/day
Students expressed their sincere gratitude to the Managing Director, Executive Director (Operations), General Manager (Production), Deputy General Manager (Production), Assistant General Manager (Production), Production Managers, Administrative Manager, and other supporting staff for their warm hospitality and for generously sharing their expertise.
The industrial environment at Taipei Bangla Fabrics Ltd. was highly impressive. Students found the visit both educational and inspiring, as it provided them with valuable industry exposure that will complement their academic learning and contribute to their future careers in the textile and apparel sector.
In addition to its educational value, the trip was also an enjoyable experience. Students especially appreciated the lively atmosphere during the bus journey, which kept the group engaged and entertained throughout. Among the different sections, the yarn dyeing department was found to be the most interesting, as it allowed the students to gain a clear and practical understanding of the complete dyeing process. Next article #

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