Karl Mayer ML 35 C -The shortest route from the machine to the body. A bra featuring functional zones and fewer seams is ready to go into mass production on the ML 35 C.

Fewer seams in a garment mean fewer making-up sequences and make the garment more comfortable to wear. This is why the product developers at KARL MAYER have been busy since the beginning of last year with producing a bra having fewer seams on the ML 35 C.

This multibar raschel machine offers all the advantages of the latest generation of lace machines and enables completely new products to be developed. The focus here is on the possibility of incorporating specific stretch zones into the garment. The maximum shog path of the string bars of 170 needles, and the use of multiple yarn guides provides plenty of scope for designing garments.

The example of the bra illustrated here shows how these facilities can be exploited. The individual stages involved in developing this transparent support garment have already been described in Kettenwirk-Praxis [1, 2], and the end product is shown here. Apart from the straps and the fastening, the entire bra is produced as a single piece, from the side sections to the cups. No seams are required at the edges, nor at the transition points between the individual components. This not only improves comfort and reduces making-up costs, it also prevents the bra from unattractively showing through the garment worn on top.

This clever design has been complemented by using specific types of yarns, which are designed primarily to provide optimum functional characteristics. In this case, elastane in three different counts is used, i.e. Lycra® in a count of 156 dtex and Lycra® bright, Type 260, in a count of 44 dtex were used in the pattern bars, and Lycra® clear, Type 136, in a count of 310 dtex was used in the ground guide bar. The elastane yarn is located in the fabric according to a predetermined arrangement to produce an elastic ground – and that’s it! When combined with the abstract flower motif, the textured pattern yarn provides support and stability in the area under the bust. The thin, stretch, comfortable edges around the top of the bra-cup create an attractive décolleté look that is also comfortable to wear. The shape is perfect and there are no constricting or protruding points.

The edges are worked to match the contours of the bra during production, and form a wide band in the lower section of the bra, which means that the bands do not have to be incorporated in a subsequent processing stage. This reduces the number of seams, which can often make a garment feel uncomfortable. Another advantage in terms of increasing production efficiency is that the cutting layout is designed to minimise waste. In this case, the idea is to ‘kill two birds with one stone’.

The bras are produced so that two are arranged in a staggered relationship to each other in the fabric piece, which maximises material usage and ensures that the yarn can be incorporated to suit the functional requirements of the garment.

Subsequent sequences in the manufacturing process involve separating the pieces and moulding. Susa Vertriebs GmbH + Co is responsible for carrying out thermal moulding and the subsequent making-up processes. According to this specialist producer of swimwear and lingerie, this product behaves perfectly during processing. In fact, it is a bra that is ‘easy to make’ and ‘comfortable to wear!’

[1] Defying gravity – with the ML 35 C, Kettenwirk-Praxis, 2/2006, pp. 4-5

[2] Spanish and romantic in one piece, Kettenwirk-Praxis, 3/2006, p. 11