How to reduce fabric waste when cutting knitted garments

Cutting is where a large part of a garment's cost is decided. Fabric is usually the biggest component of the direct cost of a T-shirt or hoodie, and everything left on the table as offcuts has been paid for but will never be sold. Reducing cutting waste is both a saving and one of the most concrete steps a workshop or brand can take to reduce textile waste.

Marker efficiency: the key indicator

The marker is the layout of pattern pieces across the width of the fabric. Its efficiency shows what percentage of the fabric area ends up in cut pieces. The rest is waste.

A hypothetical calculation: a T-shirt order uses 500 kg of fabric. At 78% efficiency, about 110 kg becomes offcuts. If you optimise the marker and reach 85%, offcuts drop to around 75 kg. The 35 kg difference is fabric you no longer need to buy for the same production, and across a year's volume the sum becomes significant.

What drives efficiency

• Fabric width: the marker is laid on the usable width. If the pattern was planned for a different width from the one delivered, waste goes up. Ask for the exact width from the spec sheet and check it on arrival.
• Mixing sizes: a marker that combines large and small sizes fills the space better than one with a single size.
• Piece direction: on knits, pieces are normally laid along the wales. On melange, striped or lustrous fabrics, turning pieces through 180 degrees can cause shade differences, so there is less freedom in the layout.
• Pattern shapes: large pieces with simple shapes are easier to nest. Sometimes a small design change, such as an extra seam on a large pocket, raises efficiency.
• Computer markers: CAD software tests many layouts quickly. For repeat runs the investment pays back fast, and many workshops offer the service to outside clients.

Spreading losses

Even with a good marker, fabric is lost when the plies are laid:

• ply ends, at the start and finish of each ply;
• splices, where one roll ends and the next begins;
• selvedges, which are not usable;
• defects that have to be cut around.

A few rules reduce these losses: marker length matched to roll lengths, relaxing the fabric before spreading so it does not shrink back after cutting, and planning splices in areas without large pieces.

What to do with offcuts

An offcut is not automatically waste. Practical options, in order of value:

1. Small parts for your own products: binding strips, inner pockets, fabric labels, pieces for kidswear.
2. Secondary products: scrunchies, masks, pouches, pet accessories, which can grow into a small product line.
3. Selling or donating to small workshops, sewing schools and makers.
4. Recycling: offcuts sorted by composition and colour are a sought-after feedstock for mechanical recycling.

The key is sorting: mixed offcuts have little value, while offcuts sorted by composition and colour are worth far more. Put a few labelled bags or bins next to the cutting table, for example light 100% cotton, dark 100% cotton and blends, and weigh what collects each month. That figure quickly shows whether your markers are improving over time.

Example: basic tees in a short run

Say you are making 300 basic tees in four sizes from our 155 g anthracite melange single jersey in combed cotton and polyester, roughly 185 cm wide. The generous width lets you fit more pieces per ply, and mixing sizes in one marker improves efficiency. Because it is a melange, check whether every piece must face the same way to avoid shade differences between front and back. The offcuts, in a known blend and a single colour, are easy to sort for reuse or recycling.

Details on widths and weights are in the single jersey family.

Next step

Ask for the exact fabric width before making the marker, and calculate consumption per piece from it. From our Afumați stock you can buy exactly the rolls you need with no minimum, which also avoids leftover part-rolls at the end of the season. Made-to-order colours start at 150 kg per colour per article.