How Towels and Bathrobes Are Cut and Sewn

Weaving makes the cloth. Making up turns the cloth into a product. It covers cutting, hemming, sewing seams, adding labels and adding logos.

A good fabric can still become a poor towel if the hems are weak or the size is wrong. That is why buyers who check only GSM and colour often miss the faults that cause returns.

Towels are woven as one long strip. The loom leaves a flat band with no loops between one towel and the next. The strip is cut across that flat band, and each cut end is folded and sewn into a hem.

The long sides of a towel are usually not sewn at all. They are a selvedge, a firm edge the loom weaves so it cannot fray. Some cheaper towels are cut from wide cloth instead and have overlocked sides.

The care label is normally sewn into one end hem, near a corner.

Ask for a double fold hem on towel ends. The cut edge is folded twice, so it is sealed inside and cannot fray. A single fold hem leaves the cut edge inside the fold, where it can work loose in a hard wash.

Stitches per inch, or SPI, is how many stitches fit in one inch of seam. More stitches make a stronger hem, up to the point where the needle holes start to weaken thin cloth. Write the number you want on the order, and count it on samples.

Hems are sewn with a lockstitch, which locks two threads together and does not run if one stitch breaks. A chain stitch is faster to sew but can unravel along the whole seam if the thread is cut.

The piece of fabric is cut larger than the size you order. Some of it folds into the hems. Some of it allows for shrinkage in the first washes. The size you order is the finished size, measured after making up, and after washing if the towel is pre washed.

No two towels come out exactly the same size, so agree a tolerance: how far a piece may be from the target and still pass. Write it on the order as a plus or minus number, and say how and when the piece is measured.

A robe is cut from finished fabric using a pattern for each size. A shawl collar robe needs about eleven pieces: a back, two fronts, two sleeves, a collar, two pockets, a belt and two belt loops.

The pieces are sewn together at the shoulders, the sides and the sleeves. The collar is attached last, then the hem and cuffs are finished. Each step is a place where size can drift, so check samples in every size you order, not just one.

Use the part names on your order. Say which collar you want, whether the belt is sewn on at the back or loose, how many pockets, whether the cuffs are turned back, and where the logo goes.

Ask for bar tacks at the belt loops and pocket corners. A bar tack is a short, dense block of stitches that stops a stress point tearing. Belt loops without them are a common first failure.

Many robes have a strip of tape sewn over the inside neck seam. A taped seam is stronger and softer against the skin than a bare overlocked edge.

There are four common ways, and each suits a different order.

It is a sample made with the real fabric, thread, labels and logo, before bulk production starts. It is the last chance to catch a mistake cheaply.

Check it against your order line by line: size, hem, stitches per inch, label position, logo size and colour. Keep one approved piece, sealed and signed, as the standard the bulk is inspected against.