Wow...

I went to this little factory in Suzhou—a small town of about two million people! The factory was like being in a dream, it was so unbelievably different. No heat. No bathrooms. But I saw incredible technique there—a totally different way of doing things. They had the same Japanese machines that we used, single needle and over-lock basically, and that’s really all we needed. But the precision in their shapes was totally new to me. It wasn’t really about a seam allowance. It was about the final shape. In America, you cut out your shape for a pocket; you had a quarter-inch seam allowance, you’d bend it over, press and sew it on. In China, you cut the final shape of your pocket on hard cardboard. Sometimes they actually took rice paste and water and painted it on to get the fabric stiff. Then they would hold the fabric over the edge of the cardboard and press it over these shapers. So if you wanted to make a collar it was all kind of pre-pressed for a precise shape. It was exactly right before it was sewn on and it gave a certain look to the clothes. It was very presentable but it was also a harsh look

….I still struggle in my dealings with Chinese factories to give more three-dimension to a garment and stop treating it like it’s a pancake. We don’t want an edge to be like a knife blade.

This from On the Runway. From now on I will certainly take a closer look at where my clothes are made, even secondhand pieces!