Our Process

Our Process

The life-cycle of all of our creations starts the same way: every collection is conceptually coordinated before we even touch a needle and thread. Mariel and Audrey will form an idea of the designs, colors, and fabrics included in each collection. For pre-order, the specific colors, sizes, and designs are chosen by the customer. Once the specifics of quantity and sizes are determined, the production process is ready to begin.

Our process is multistep; each garment passes through each hand of our team before being shipped to you. We take great care in ensuring that quality and craftsmanship is woven into every fiber of our products.

FROM BOLT TO GARMENT

Preparing the Fabric

Our plant-based fabric arrives at the Fusion Threads Collective Studio on large six foot rolls wrapped in plastic. With up to 50 yards of fabric on each roll, these bags end up looking like body bags dropped off by UPS. The fabric is measured and cut off the roll to be pre washed. All fabric is washed prior to cutting out the pattern pieces to remove any gunk picked up from the looms. Black and undyed fabric is washed with a plant-based, eco-friendly, low-fragrance detergent and machine dried to remove any final shrinking. If the fabric is to be dyed, we prewash the fabric using an unscented, professional textile detergent.

NATURE INSPIRED DYES

Dying the Fabric

Part of what makes the Fusion Threads style unique is our mottled water color dye. Audrey uses a technique called low water immersion using non-toxic, procion MX fiber reactive dyes. This technique uses less water than traditional garment dying and imparts a one of a kind pattern on each piece of fabric. After dying, the fabric is washed and machine dried to remove any free dye and shrinkage of the fabric. Due to the bonding of the dye particles with the fibers of the fabric, our dyes are color-fast and will not run, bleed, or stain.

ZERO-WASTE EFFICIENCY

Cutting the Pattern Pieces

Every pattern used in our collections are hand-designed by Mariel and Audrey. Each pattern piece is individually hand-cut by Mariel from the fabric for accuracy. Mariel batch cuts as much as possible in each round, making the most of every inch of fabric. Preorder collections allow us to only cut what is sold. We are now stocking sizes XS-XXL in our ready-to-ship collections while pre-order offers a chance for those who fall outside of this range to order custom-fit clothing. Scrap fabric is divided and sorted by its size and color. Larger remnants are sold by the pound while smaller pieces are given away to other makers and crafters, so that no fabric goes to waste.

THE GOLDEN THREAD

Sewing the Garments

After the pieces are cut from the fabric, Mariel passes this along to the seamstresses who will assemble the garment on our various machines. We have eight sewing machines in our arsenal, two industrial sergers, two industrial straight stitch machines, a domestic cover-stitch machine, two domestic sergers, and one domestic machine for specialty stitches. Each garment will be passed between our skilled seamstresses multiple times during the production process, imparting love and intention. We use gold thread in our dyed garments to symbolize the luxury of natural fibers.

CONSISTENCY IN CRAFTSMANSHIP

Quality Control

Before the finished pieces are photographed and listed on the website, each garment is individually inspected for quality. Loose threads are snipped away, seams are double checked, sizes and inventory are confirmed. A special hang tag is attached to each garment with information about the color, size, and fabric blend. If we find any fabric imperfections or defects from the manufacturing process, we pull those garments aside to be repaired and listed at a discount on the Fusion Rack. We take pride in the quality of products that we produce. Our garments are designed to move with you through life for many wears, allowing you to show up authentically every day.