Apparel Designing Questions and Answers

Answer: C

The technology is body scanning.

A 3D body scanner uses light or laser to capture the shape of the body in a few seconds and extracts hundreds of measurements automatically. The data can be used for made-to-measure patterns, mass customisation and sizing surveys.

Boarding is a finishing process that shapes hosiery on forms, and cataloguing is the listing of products. A bilateral treaty is a trade agreement between two countries, not a measuring method.

Answer: D

Stitch length is regulated by the stitch regulator.

The stitch regulator (stitch length control) sets how far the feed dog moves the fabric between needle penetrations. A longer movement gives a longer stitch, used for basting and gathering; a shorter one gives small, strong stitches.

The feed dog moves the fabric but does not set the length itself, the presser foot holds the fabric down against the feed dog, and the shuttle race is the track in which the shuttle or bobbin case moves.

Answer: B

A V-shaped neckline is best finished with a fitted facing.

A fitted (shaped) facing is cut to the exact shape of the neckline, so it keeps the sharp point of the V without stretching, and it can be clipped at the point and turned to the inside to give a neat, crisp edge.

A bias strip stretches and tends to round off the point of the V. Self-finishing suits straight edges, and a frill is a decorative trimming rather than a way of finishing a shaped neckline.

Answer: A

The answer is craze.

In fashion terminology a craze is a fad marked by intense crowd excitement or emotion: it spreads very quickly and dies just as fast.

A fad is a short-lived fashion followed by a limited group, without the strong crowd emotion of a craze. A trend is the general direction in which fashion is moving, and a classic is a style that stays in acceptance for a long time, so neither describes sudden excitement.

Answer: B

Such ruffles are called a cascade.

A cascade is made from a circle or spiral of fabric cut so that, when the inner edge is attached, it falls in soft, rippling folds down a neckline, skirt seam or opening.

A jabot is a decorative frill attached at the neck of a shirt or blouse, often of lace. A cowl is a draped neckline formed from bias-cut fabric, and bias refers to the diagonal grain of the fabric, not to a ruffle.

Answer: C

The garment industry term is spec sheet.

A specification sheet (tech pack page) gives the manufacturer every detail needed to produce a style: a flat sketch, measurements for each size, fabrics, trims, stitches and construction details. It is the basic communication document between designers, buyers and factories.

Colour charts, measurement charts and grade cards are general terms used in many fields, but 'spec sheet' is the term peculiar to garment production.

Answer: A

This is the back length.

In taking body measurements for drafting a bodice, the back length (back waist length) is measured vertically down the back from the top, at the shoulder and neck point, to the natural waistline. It sets the length of the back bodice pattern.

Sleeve length runs from the shoulder point to the wrist, side length from below the armpit to the waist, and 'across' measurements (across back, across chest) are horizontal widths, not lengths to the waist.

Answer: D

The attachment is the feed dog.

The feed dogs are toothed metal bars under the presser foot that rise through the needle plate, grip the fabric, move it back by one stitch length and drop again, so the fabric advances evenly after each stitch.

The shuttle (or bobbin case) carries the lower thread, and the stitch regulator sets how far the feed dogs move, controlling stitch length but not doing the feeding. 'Needleboard' is not the part that moves fabric forward.

Answer: C

The key calls this structural design.

In home science texts, structural design is the design created by the size, form, colour and texture of an object itself, the lines, colours, forms and shapes that make up its basic structure. In clothing it comes from the cut and construction of the garment.

Decorative design is enrichment applied to the surface of that structure, such as embroidery, prints or trimmings. Classic and trendy refer to how long a style stays in fashion, not to how the design is composed.

Answer: B

A style with the longest duration in the fashion cycle is a classic.

A classic, such as the white shirt, the trench coat or the cardigan, rises in acceptance and then stays in use for many years with only minor changes, so its cycle is very long.

A fad is the opposite: a short-lived style that rises and falls quickly. Mass fashion describes styles produced and worn widely at a given time, and a trend is a direction in which fashion is moving, both shorter-lived than a classic.