How dress shirts are made

Shirt collars and cuffs used to be separate pieces, attached with studs so they could be washed on their own.

stations: 7
things upstream: 43
raw sources: 12
steps from the ground: 8

The short version

A dress shirt is cut from a fine woven cotton cloth in about a dozen pieces: two front panels, a back, two sleeves, a collar, cuffs and a placket. Fusible interlining is bonded to the collar and cuffs in a fusing machine. Operators sew the pieces, then buttons and buttonholes are added, threads are trimmed, and the shirt is ironed and folded.

Spin fine cotton yarn

Cotton fibers are combed and twisted into thin, even yarn. Dress-shirt cloth needs smooth yarn, because every lump would show as a rough patch on the surface.

Goes in
Cotton yarn
Weave the poplin cloth

Looms interlace the yarn over and under in a tight pattern. Dress-shirt weaves are fine and flat, so the cloth drapes cleanly and takes a crisp crease.
Dye and finish the cloth

White cloth is bleached, and colored or striped cloth is dyed or woven from dyed yarn. A finishing treatment can be added so the shirt wrinkles less after washing.
Cut the shirt pieces

Cloth is checked and sorted into shade lots, then laid in layers on a flat table and cut around marked patterns. Stripes and checks have to line up across the seams, so those pieces are cut with extra care.
Fuse the collar stiffening

Fusible interlining is cut to the shape of the collar and cuffs and bonded to them in a fusing machine. This is why a good collar stands up and holds its points.

Goes in
Adhesive
Stitch the shirt together

Sewing operators join the yoke, sleeves and sides, attach the collar and cuffs, and hem the bottom. The placket down the front is folded and stitched to carry the buttonholes.

Goes in
Sewing thread
Add buttons and iron

A machine cuts the buttonholes on the collar, cuffs and placket, and another sews on the buttons. Loose thread ends are trimmed, stains are removed, and the shirt is ironed, folded and bagged.

Goes in
Button

End of the lineDress shirt

Worth repeating

Early dress shirts had detachable collars and cuffs, held on with studs or buttons so the parts that got dirty could be changed without washing the whole shirt.
Factories sort cloth into bands of matching shade and cut each band separately, so no shirt ends up with slightly different colors in its panels.