COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF DIFFERENT FASHION DRAPING TECHNIQUES ON THE FABRIC UTILIZATION IN THE APPAREL MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY

Abstract

Draping technique and fabric selection are two of the most influential yet under-quantified variables governing fabric utilization in apparel manufacturing. This study used CLO3D 3D virtual prototyping software to comparatively evaluate the effect of three draping techniques — gathers (by hand, by thread, by elastic), pleats (inverted, cluster, box) and tucks (pin, blind, space) — on fabric efficiency and fabric loss across four dress categories (day wear, party wear, evening wear and experimental wear) and three fabrics (silk, cotton and polyester). Digital 2D patterns and markers were generated for thirty-six garment samples on a standardized female avatar (FV2-02-Feifei-Aforesize), and marker efficiency was recorded as the ratio of pattern area to marker area for a fixed 58-inch marker width. Fabric efficiency ranged from 53.31% (space tuck, party wear) to 97.40% (gathers by hand, experimental wear), with pleats — particularly the inverted pleat — showing the most consistent efficiency across dress styles (85.43–89.67%), while tuck techniques showed the widest variability (53.31–90.04%). Two-way analysis of variance indicated that draping technique, dress style, and their interaction were all significant sources of variation in both fabric efficiency and fabric wastage. These findings suggest that draping-technique selection at the design stage has a measurable, and in several cases larger, effect on material efficiency than fabric type alone, and that CLO3D-based virtual marker trialing can identify high-waste technique/style combinations before physical sampling begins, supporting more sustainable and cost-effective apparel production decisions.