Ward & Kennedy supplies businesses nationwide with traditionally die-cut and high-precision digitally cut fabrics. From everyday clothing to luxury bags and everything in between, you can trust Ward & Kennedy’s nearly 100-year history for fast turnaround times and dedicated service and support.
Fabrics are flexible materials made by weaving, knitting, or bonding fibers together, using natural fibers like cotton and wool, synthetic fibers like polyester and nylon, or blends of both. They're used across apparel, upholstery, automotive interiors, home goods, and technical textile industries for everything from clothing construction to industrial applications.
Common products made from fabrics include:
Fabric's weave, weight, and fiber content directly affect how it performs during die cutting, from blade pressure to edge quality and fray resistance.
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Weave type (woven, knit, non-woven) | Determines how much the fabric shifts or stretches under the blade during cutting |
| Fiber content | Impacts heat sensitivity and how cleanly the edge cuts without fraying |
| Weight (GSM) | Heavier fabrics require more cutting pressure and sharper dies for clean edges |
| Stretch & elasticity | Affects pattern accuracy, since stretchy fabrics can distort during cutting |
| Fray resistance | Determines whether cut edges need sealing, binding, or additional finishing |
| Layering capacity | Fabric is often cut in stacked layers, so consistency across layers affects cut precision |
slices completely through the material, and both digital cutters and traditional dies can perform it depending on thickness and volume.
Perforation creates a line of small cuts for easy hand separation, achievable by both die cutting and digital cutting.
Digital cutting is well suited to fabrics with patterns that change frequently or require complex, curved shapes, since it needs no tooling and can move from one pattern to the next without downtime. This makes it a strong fit for prototyping new garment styles, testing fit, or producing made-to-order and small-batch items. Laser cutting in particular is useful for synthetic fabrics, since it seals the cut edge and reduces fraying during sampling.
Die cutting remains the better option for production runs involving repeated shapes, such as patches, labels, footwear components, and upholstery pieces. It requires an upfront tooling cost to build the custom die, but that investment pays off through faster cutting speeds and lower per-unit costs once a pattern is finalized and moving to volume manufacturing.
At our facility in Milwaukee, WI, our team of designers and fabricators can help bring your vision to life. Whether you have existing design files or assistance with their creation, we’re here every step of the way.
Along with fabrics, we die cut materials like:
Ward & Kennedy has been designing, fabricating, and supplying industries all over the world since we were founded in 1928. Whether you’re in our Wisconsin backyard or located across the world in Asia, we can supply your die cut materials.
Along with fabricating parts for businesses across America, we supply them with the necessary tools, supplies, and gear to keep them running at full capacity. We stock abrasives, adhesives, PPE, and more from major brands like 3M, Dynablade, Superior Glove, Wendt and Mirka.
