Preparation for Cutting: Securing the Marker to the Lay

Between the last spread ply and the first cut, several steps lock the lay in and make it cuttable. The heart of it is fastening the marker to the lay so it can't shift, because a marker that moves during cutting ruins every part beneath it. Here are the preparation steps and the seven fastening methods.

Preparation steps

a. Park the spreading machine

After spreading, re-count the plies against the cutting ticket, then park the spreader (and remove catchers) far enough back to give the cutter room. Where space is tight, the spreader may sit further down the table and move back as the marker's start is cut and cleared.

b. Facilitate shrinkage (knits)

For knit lays, cut the lay into blocks at natural splice sections and leave overnight to relax. Cutting between parts across the width releases tension in the plies nearest the table.

c. Recheck the marker

Place the marker on the spread, align the control selvedge to the control side and the beginning line to the spread's start, then confirm the fabric reaches the marker's end and every ply is wide enough.

d. Fasten the marker

Keep the marker from shifting during cutting using one of the methods below.