HOW TO MAKE A HAWAIIAN SHIRT — UNTANGLE THE MAKING PROCESS
Have you ever thought of starting up a business that sells Hawaiian shirts? Or perhaps you feel so interested in how to make a Hawaiian shirt? Either way you have made a right decision coming to our place for an answer.
Our article today will help your untangle every detail involving the manufacturing process of a trendy yet traditional clothing item: Hawaiian shirts. Unlike any other T-shirt shape clothes, Hawaiian shirts are quite exclusive and mesmerizing.
Before getting to details of how Hawaiian shirt manufacturers create their products, let’s dig into some interesting facts of the shirt’s origin.
The origin
Just like the rich history of the fashion industry itself, Hawaiian shirts bear no difference. In the 1920s and 1930s, a large number of people flushed into the land of Hawaii bringing along with them designs and textiles, which set the groundwork for clothing manufacturers in the area.
During these times, only those Japanese tailors in Honolulu possessed the very first version’s designs of Aloha apparel. Later on, immigrants have figured out ways to collaborate Western-style with Japanese fabrics to create colorful Haiwaiian shirts. Such inventions have brought a new vibe to the fashion industry at that time.
In the late 1950s, Hawaiian apparel had reached a Golden Age when mainlanders returned home from the islands and brought with them Hawaiian shirts among other Hawaiian-themed things. In combination with unique printed patterns, materials such as silk and cotton had contributed to the popularization of the item.
However, the item gradually became less trendy due to new waves of fashion. The Aloha apparel began to be less favored until recent years when it has made such an impressive comeback. All thanks to the creative clothing designers at Hyperfavor, Levi’s, Urban Outfitters, etc.
While Hawaiian shirt print designs have developed throughout the years with a variety of unique designs, the producing process of the shirt remains the same. Let’s dive into specific parts of how to make a Hawaiian shirt in the next paragraphs.
How to make a Hawaiian shirt in steps
The making process can be divided into 5 main steps, involving many strict rules to deliver the finest piece into the market. While it may seem simple making a shirt with repeating patterns, each step requires such a high level of professionalism, experience, and accuracy.
Coming up with the designs
The very first step in the manufacturing process is to sketch design patterns which will be put on all over the shirt’s outer surface. Artists and designers take up their inspiration from all kinds of sources, from surrounding landscapes (beaches, trees, rocks, ..) to natural yet impressive animal patterns.
With the help of innovative technology, graphic artists now no longer have to make raw paper sketches. Sketches are now processed directly on the computer, with patterns refined on shirts for a sample look. The step is of prime importance since it decides how the design will turn out once printed out.
Picking up Hawaiian print fabrics
To meet up the demand of customers who prefer comfortable clothing pieces, manufacturers have provided different Hawaiian print material options. Popular materials that are favored include: cotton, silk, polyester, and rayon. You may find light materials in modern sketches while vintage designs often go with cotton or polyester materials.
Working out the cutouts
You may find all Hawaiian shirts having the same form. But in fact, each brand has their own implication for the piece. Before printing the design out, sizes of details such as collars, sleezes, buttons, .. must be carefully crafted for the cutouts.
The final versions of cutouts often cover parts of a shirt such as: the main body, pockets, collars and sleeves.
Finalizing prints and cutouts
When all preparations are ready, they will be finalized into clothing parts on the cutting table. In this step, layers of prints are stacked onto each other and a sheet of paper. Different sections of the shirt sample will be traced deliberately based on the prepared cutouts’ frames.
Using a specific clothing cutting knife, tailors will cut each layer into the exact pieces of the Hawaiian shirts. This step requires a high level of delicacy and accuracy since a derailed trace can ruin the whole design.
Sewing and putting together
Once having all pieces ready with perfectly cutouts in desired size and scales, they will be sent to their final destination: sewing factories. There batches of Hawaiian shirts will be produced for markets with production time depending on the fabric quantity and machines’ productivity.
The finished product will be of the finest version with more delicacy of details. It will also be ironed before being sent back to the manufacturers for quality check.
Quality-checked batches of Aloha shirts will be delivered to clothing warehouses, before getting proceeded into specific clothing stores where they are ready to be on sale. With different designs and materials to serve different customer sections, each piece will be sold at a distinct price.
