The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-31
A SHIRT IN 8 10 MINUTES.
The Process OF Manufacture - 1t Is Car
ried On In These Days.

ried On In These Day..
In these days when shirt can be turned
out, buttonholes and all, at the rate OF ono
in every six and half minutes, there IL no
excuse for not having a second one TO your
name, and possibly could the heroine OF
Hoods Song OF the Shirt" look In upon
modern shirt factory she would be even
more discohsolate than the poet painted
her.
To satisfy his own curiosity, the reporter
visited factory and told the superinten-
dent that he would like to start at the be-
ginning and follow single shirt from the
cutter to the fnisher. The foreman turned
him over 70 the forewoman. who piloted
him safely among 800 machines and as
many girls, and eventually let him out into
the open air unhurt.
I'VE will begin here she said, walking
over to sixty-foot table. "On this we lay
the goods, layer upon layer, after which the
marker comes along and marks out the
shirts The second step is TO cut these
six y-foot strips into squares, each one OF
which contains whole shirt, and then
they are taken to the cutters table.
And passing to another part OF the room
she pointed to young man who was pull
Ing a slab Of cloth around q KNIFE, run oy
electricity, with all the nonchalanoe he
would have exhibited had it been pine
board -,
How many shirts cail you cut at dme?'
asked the visitor, seeing the young man
saving away as pile of goods several
inches thick. -
Usually 800. You see that all the diff
ferent parts OF the garment, such as col
Lar, cuffs, DC, are marked out on that
square he is at work on, and when he runs
the knife along every line he has cut each
part required, so that 1t can go direct TO the
mac hines.
The cutting was one Of the most Interest,"
ing sights In the factory In the centre
of the table was long, sharp knife, run at
great speed by electricity, and the cutter
was saving through 800 thicknesses OF
cloth rapidly, but with mathematical pre-
cisi0n In ten hours he can cut $50 dozen.
or 5000 shirts.
Selecting half dozen pieces Of black
silk which, she said, were an embryonic
shirt, the forewoman descended to the next
floor where the machines were situated
The first girls into whose hands they
pass must be expert seamstresses No.
/ took them and rapidly fashioned the
bosom, after which they were passed TO NO:
2 who fastened on the collar and sewed
in the back.
OF it, a third had made the sleeves and
fourth was sowing them in the proper places.
No, s grabbed the shirt and quickly scanned
I'D the sleeves and the two sides Of tho shirt
which, up to this time, had been flying open.
No. hemmed the bottom and put in the
gussets and then MOI finished the GUNS.
At this stage, the garment usually goes
to the inspector, who looks 1t over carefully
to sac that the work il well done, but this
being special case, it was given directly
to the button and buttonhole girls. The
latter turns machine that automati-
caly works the buttonhole first and cuts
1t afterward.
She makes 1880 buttonholes n day. or
twenty-eight minute. All the operator
has to do at this machine is to place the
garment in proper position and the ma
chine works around and when the circuit
is complete an automatic knife drops down
and cuts the hole.
Equally interesting is the next and last
machine, which sews on the buttons. There
were seven on this particular shirt and
when the last one was in its place the fore
woman announced that the garment was
finished and asked:
How long do you suppose 1t has taken
10 make this shirt?' and then. as she, and
not the interested spectator. had been keep
ing time, replied TO her own question, just
six and half minutes"