Cut and sew

Sewn goods, built to the stitch.

JCH Design & Manufacturing runs cut-and-sew manufacturing for US brands: handbags, bags, pouches and tactical soft goods, specified stitch by stitch and inspected.

High-grade leather handbags and totes, zip pouches and cases, outdoor backpacks, tactical and range bags, orchard picking bags, and military soft goods built to spec. Jack runs a sewn program the way he runs a tool: an approved sample, a pattern, a spec for every seam, then the line, checked while it runs.

A cut-and-sew line in Taiwan: sewing stations down both sides of a center aisle, with bins of cut parts — A cut-and-sew line Jack works with in Taiwan: stations down both sides of the aisle, cut parts staged in the bins.

What Jack has made

Handbags to range bags to picking bags.

The material is approved first, the pattern is proved on a sample, and the stitch, seam and hardware are written down before the line starts. The same discipline runs through every category below.

Sewing operators assembling bags at their stations — **Leather handbags and totes.** Full-grain or pebble leather, lined, metal hardware. Cut, stitched, edge-painted, hardware set.

A round zip case with a fitted interior — **Zip pouches and cases.** Leather, PU or nylon with branded-grade zippers. Box pouches, linings, wrist straps and key clips.

A tan tactical duffel bag with MOLLE webbing panels — **Tactical and range bags.** 1000D nylon, MOLLE webbing grids, foam padding, heavy zippers, compartments sewn to fit.

An open zip tool case with fitted compartments — **Fitted equipment cases.** Padded compartments and elastic retention sewn to hold every part in its place.

A green orchard picking bag with a steel frame — **Harvest and orchard picking bags.** Cordura or canvas on a steel frame, with a bottom-dump skirt.

Military and tactical

Where the spec is the contract.

Jack has run sewn programs for military and tactical buyers: soft goods and pouches built to spec. On that work nothing is left to judgment: thread, stitches per inch, webbing strength, bar-tack placement and hardware are all specified, and every lot is inspected against the spec before it ships. The same rigor carries over to the consumer bags he builds. It is the practical answer to the golden sample problem.

A sewn tactical pouch with webbing and elastic retention loops — Tactical soft goods: webbing, elastic retention and bar-tacked stress points.

A large sewing floor with rows of machines and operators — A full sewing floor: rows of machines running one program.

A cutting floor with stacked cut panels and foam — The cutting floor: panels and padding cut to the lay before sewing.

From the roll

The fabric is approved before it is cut.

Coated and laminated fabrics, webbing, thread and hardware are sourced, matched to the approved sample and tested before the cutting table sees them. A bag is only as good as the roll it was cut from. Where a buyer names a textile standard, the OEKO-TEX and lab test reports come from the partners that hold them.

A fabric coating line with a large roll — Fabric coming off a coating line.

Rolls of finished fabric stacked in a mill — Finished rolls, labeled by lot.

A fabric laminating machine — A laminating line joining fabric layers.

How a sewn part moves

Pattern to carton, one line.

On the line

Stations, templates and staged parts.

Cut parts are staged in bins at each station, repeat seams run on programmable pattern sewers with a steel template holding the part, and straps and webbing are cut to length before they reach the machine. More soft-goods frames are on the factory photos page.

Rows of industrial sewing machines with green bins of cut parts on a sewing floor in Taiwan — The sewing floor: machine rows, with cut parts in the bins beside each station.

A programmable pattern sewing machine stitching black webbing held in a steel template — A programmable pattern sewer: the template holds the part, the program sets the stitch path.

Crates of cut black webbing and strap parts beside a sewing station — Webbing and straps cut to length and staged at the station.

On every sewn part

What Jack checks.

The same checklist as in-line inspection on the sewing floor, lot by lot.

Stitches per inchCounted against the spec, seam by seam, not eyeballed.
Bar-tacks and stress pointsHandles, straps and webbing ends reinforced where the load goes.
Thread and seam allowanceThe approved thread weight and color, and a seam allowance that will not pull out.
Hardware and zippersPull-tested, and matched to the approved sample in finish and color.
Edges and finishBound, folded or painted edges clean, with no loose threads.
Color and materialEvery lot matched to the approved sample before it is packed.

A worker netting a wall of master cartons inside a shipping container at a factory in Taiwan — A container loaded at a factory in Taiwan: master cartons stacked to the roof and netted.

Packed and loaded

Cartoned, netted and sealed at origin.

Finished goods are counted into master cartons marked with the program, the carton count and the origin, then loaded at the factory. The load is stacked tight and netted so it arrives the way it left, and the container is checked before it is closed. The retail side is covered too: retail packaging for the finished bag.

Have a bag or sewn part to make?

Send a photo, a sample or a sketch. Jack reads it himself and tells you plainly what the pattern, the materials and the line involve.

Ask for time with Jack