ANECALC™ PLUS Help Guide

ANECALC™PLUS is a tool developed to assist in estimating the AVERAGE SEAM THICKNESS

amount of thread consumed in a sewn product. This information - At the top of each ANECALC™ spreadsheet is a cell where you
can then be used to calculate the Thread Cost per Garment and can change the average thickness of the seam in millimeters.
the estimated number of cones you will need for a quantity of This is based on the average seam thickness in the entire
sewn products you are planning on producing. It can also be used garment. In most cases, you will not have to change this if you
to calculate the number of cones required for line coverage for are using the correct spreadsheet for Light, Medium or Heavy
small production lots. weight fabric.

You do not need to have any special software on your computer SELECTING THE ISO STITCH TYPE
because ANECALC™ was developed using Microsoft Excel®
- Most stitches formed on Industrial Sewing Machines have been
spreadsheets.
assigned an ISO 4915 – Stitch Number. A chart with the most
commonly used ISO 4915 stitch numbers can be found on
Most ANECALC™ PLUS workbooks have sheets or Tabs at the
A&E’s website ([Link]) under the Technical
bottom that are used for the following:
Information Tab.
- INSTRUCTIONS tab on how to use the program.
- On some stitches, you must also select the stitch based on the
- WORKSHEET tab where you enter data to estimate the thread
needle spacing or seam width.
consumption, including a waste factor. This tab is also where you
(Ex. 504 -1/8” – 3 Thd Overedge).
input thread price to automatically calculate the estimated cost
- It is important to select the correct ISO 4915 stitch number
per garment; and an input for the number of units to be produced
because this will determine the amount of thread calculated to
that allows ANECALC™ PLUS to calculate the number of cones
make the seam.
of each SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) are needed. The last column
on the right is for entering the average production per machine
which will allow ANECALC™ PLUS to calculate the number of NUMBER OF ROWS OF STITCH
cones required for line coverage.
- This does NOT refer to the number of needles, BUT the number
- mm to Inches tab that helps you convert fractions of an inch to
of rows of ISO stitch you identified used to make the seam.
millimeters.
- For example, a 406 stitch is a two needle bottom coverstitch.
This two needle stitch type makes up one row of stitch. Rule:
STARTING A NEW ANECALC PLUS SPREAD SHEET whenever the needles are connected with thread on either the
top or bottom side of the seam, one row of stitch is being
- To begin a new ANECALC™ PLUS spreadsheet, you can either
produced.
use an existing Apparel Guidelines ANECALC™ PLUS
- On the other hand, when you twin needle topstitch a pocket
spreadsheet for a similar garment and modify it for the garment
with a 301 Lockstitch, then two independent rows of lockstitch
you are doing the analysis on; or you can decide to begin from
are being used.
scratch with a new Spreadsheet.
SPI
WHEN STARTING FROM SCRATCH
- SPI refers to Stitches Per Inch and is the measurement of the
- When you are starting from scratch with a new Spreadsheet, we
number of links of thread between needle holes in one inch.
suggest you first begin with an ANECALC™ PLUS worksheet.
- For example, a typical number of stitches per inch on denim
- For each sewing operation on the garment, list the name of the
would be 8 spi. See A&E’s technical bulletin on Selecting the
sewing operation, what ISO Stitch Type is being used, the rows
Proper Stitches Per Inch can be found on A&E’s website.
of that ISO Stitch there are, the Stitches Per Inch (SPI), and the
length of the seam. Once you have this information you can
LENGTH OF SEAM
begin to input the information into a Microsoft Excel®
ANECALC™ PLUS spreadsheet. - The length of seam is the measurement of the seam length
- It is important that you select the correct spreadsheet for the including seam margins but does not include chain-off.
weight of the fabric being used in the garment. There are three - A&E has ANECALC™ PLUS spreadsheets available in either
basic ANECALC PLUS™ PLUS spreadsheets: yards and inches or metres and centimeters. The selection of
Light Weight - 1 to 4 oz weight fabrics the proper sheet is normally dependent upon the thread being
Medium Weight – 5 – 8 oz weight fabrics wound on cones that have lengths measured in yards or in
Heavy Weight – 9 – 15 oz weight fabrics meters.
The Weight of fabric determines the ratio of Needle to Bottom - In the U.S., a typical cone of thread is wound on a 6,000 yard
thread on the Thread Consumption Table that is used to estimate put-up. In Europe or in Asia, a typical cone is wound on a
the amount of thread consumed. 5,000 metre put-up.

Many sewing operations have mirror components on each side of

the garment. A right and left cuff, a right and left pocket, etc. If
INSERTING A NEW ROW
the sewing operation includes sewing both of these parts, then
double the measurement for the seam length. - First, click in the row where you want to insert the new row.
Many sewing operations have mirror components on each side of
the garment. A right and left cuff, a right and left pocket, etc. If
INSERTING A NEW ROW
the sewing operation includes sewing both of these parts, then
double the measurement for the seam length. - First, click in the row where you want to insert the new row.

HIDING ROWS
- A typical ANECALC™ PLUS spreadsheet has enough rows for
35 operations but in many cases, you will not need all these
rows.
- If you want to Hide the Rows between the last operation and the
Totals at the bottom of the spreadsheet, Click in the left hand
margin and drag down the Row numbers until you are just
above the Totals.

- Next, right click and select Copy.

- Now right click again and select Insert Copied Cells.
- You will now have two identical rows one above the other.
- Next, right click on the Stitch Box in the new row you just added.

- Next right click your mouse and select HIDE.

- Then select Format Control from the pop-up menu.

- Change the Cell Link to the proper Row Number. In this case,
change the D17 to D16 and then click on OK.

- Now you can change the operation numbers and the

information in the New Row you just inserted.
- If you change the Stitch Type, make sure that you put the right
thread type under Needle, and either Bobbin or Looper.

INSERTING THREAD SIZE, TYPE & COLOR

- For ANECALC™ PLUS to be able to calculate the cost per CALCULATING THREAD COST PER GARMENT
garment, the Thread information for each operation must be
- To calculate the thread cost per garment, enter the thread put-
inserted next to the thread consumption calculation.
INSERTING THREAD SIZE, TYPE & COLOR
- For ANECALC™ PLUS to be able to calculate the cost per CALCULATING THREAD COST PER GARMENT
garment, the Thread information for each operation must be
- To calculate the thread cost per garment, enter the thread put-
inserted next to the thread consumption calculation.
up and price per cone.
- Rule: There must be a thread description placed in the
- For ANECALC™ PLUS spreadsheets that calculate the Thread
appropriate column for the Needle, Bobbin and Looper thread
Consumption in meters, then the thread price should be in
positions where there is thread consumed.
Thread Price Per Meter.
- We strongly recommend that you copy and paste all thread
- Any currency can be used on ANECALC™ PLUS.
descriptions into the worksheet. Any variation on the way the
thread type and size are listed will be looked at by ANECALC™
PLUS as separate SKU’s. (Example: T-27 Perma Spun and T27
Perma Spun will be counted as 2 separate SKU’s).
- For ease, some ANECALC™ PLUS spreadsheet for common
garments that generally use only one or two thread types will
allow you to type in the Thread description once and
ANECALC™ PLUS will fill in the appropriate locations.

CALCULATING NUMBER OF CONES NEEDED

- To calculate the Number of cones required, type in the
production requirement in the Program Size cell. ANECALC™
PLUS will calculate the number of cones needed for the thread
in the sewn products.
- If very small lots of production are to be produced, then more
thread may have to be ordered to have the proper coverage on
the sewing floor. By coverage, we mean the minimum number
of cones needed to thread up the machines on a production
line to run the work efficiently without delay.
- ANECALC™ PLUS can calculate the number of cones that will
be need only if the average production output per machine per
CALCULATING TOTAL THREAD CONSUMPTION BY SKU operation is enter in the right-hand column. You must also
enter the Line Output Per Day so ANECALC™ PLUS can
- For ANECALC™ PLUS to be able to calculate the Total Thread calculate the number of sewing machine required and the
Consumption by SKU (stock keeping unit), you will need to copy number of cones required for each sewing operation.
and paste each different SKU in the box in the lower left-hand
corner of the spreadsheet. ANECALC™ PLUS will then go
through the entire spreadsheet and add up the totals for each
SKU.
- Rule: If you see numbers below the locations where you have
copied and pasted an SKU, then this indicates that you left out
an SKU in the top part of the spreadsheet under Needle, Bobbin
or Looper thread.
- Rule: The total amount of thread under the SKU Summary must
be equal to the Total amount of thread found under the
worksheet. If they are not the same, then you have missed
copying and pasting an SKU in the SKU Summary portion of the
spreadsheet.
- By changing the Program Size, you can see the impact this has
on the Total Thread Cost for Line Coverage compared to the
Total Thread Cost for the Garment being sewn.
- Obviously, larger production lots will not cost much more than
the thread in the garments, depending on the cones sizes.
However, for small lot sizes, the thread cost can double or
triple because many more cones are required to thread up the
sewing line.
ANECALC

PHOTO OF GARMENT
American & Efird Thread Consumption Calculator - MEDIUM WEIGHT FABRICS ANECALC PLUS
Fill in the information highlighted in 'blue' Avg. Seam Thickness 1.9 mm
Company Name:

ANECALC Plus was designed to not only calculate the amount of thread consumed

in a sewn product, but the number of cones required to thread up the production line.

Garment Description: If the retail program size is small, then the thread cost will be higher for proper line coverage.

PRODUC-
ROWS SEAM NEEDLE NEEDLE BOBBIN BOBBIN LOOPER LOOPER TOTAL
TION
OUTPUT
Oper ISO OF LENGTH THD IN THREAD THREAD THREAD THREAD /COVER MTRS/ PER
MACHINE
PER DAY
# NAME OF OPERATION STITCH TYPE STITCH SPI CM MTRS. MTRS. MTRS. THREAD OPER.

1 Stitch #? 301 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

2 Stitch #? 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

3 Stitch #? 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

4 301 Lockstitch 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

5 Stitch #? 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

6 Stitch #? 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

7 Stitch #? 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

8 Stitch #? 301 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

9 Stitch #? 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

10 Stitch #? 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

11 Stitch #? 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

12 Stitch #? 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

13 Stitch #? 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

14 Stitch #? 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

15 Stitch #? 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

16 Stitch #? 301 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

17 Stitch #? 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

18 Stitch #? 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

Page 6 of 9
American & Efird Thread Consumption Calculator - MEDIUM WEIGHT FABRICS ANECALC PLUS
19 Stitch #? 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

20 Stitch #? 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

21 Stitch #? 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

22 Stitch #? 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

23 Stitch #? 301 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

24 Stitch #? 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

25 Stitch #? 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

26 Stitch #? 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

27 Stitch #? 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

28 Stitch #? 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

29 Stitch #? 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

30 Stitch #? 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

31 Stitch #? 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

32 Stitch #? 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

33 Stitch #? 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

34 Stitch #? 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

35 Stitch #? 0.00 t-60 Perma Spun 0.00 0.00 0.00

SUBTOTALS 0.00 0.00 0.00 TOTAL 0.00

RETAIL PROGRAM SIZE: 2000

Waste Factor 10% 0.00 Total Mtrs. / Garment w Waste
PRODUCTON LINE
OUTPUT PER DAY: 1200

Cones / Program
Cones / Program for Line Coverage Thread
Thread
Copy & Paste Thread Size TOTAL CONE PRICE Cost for
CUR- Cones/ Cost
Cones/ Program Cones/ Program Coverage
& Type from above METRES SIZE /CONE RENCY Program

1 0.00 0.0 0 $ - 0 $ -
2 0.00 0.0 0 $ - 0 $ -
3 0.00 0.0 0 $ - 0 $ -
4 0.00 0.0 0 $ - 0 $ -
5 0.00 0.0 0 $ - 0 $ -
6 0.00 0.0 0 $ - 0 $ -

Page 7 of 9
American & Efird Thread Consumption Calculator - MEDIUM WEIGHT FABRICS ANECALC PLUS
7 0.00 0.0 0 $ - 0 $ -
8 0.00 0.0 0 $ - $ -
9 0.00 0.0 0 $ - $ -
10 0.00 0.0 0 $ - $ -
0.0 0
0.00 0.0 0 $ - 0 $ -
For Line
Total Mts. / Garment w Waste Per Program Coverag
e
Cost/Garment = $ - ost/Garment = $ -

Page 8 of 9
 Inches Metric
fraction decimal mm
0.125 3.18
3/16 0.188 4.76
1/4 0.250 6.35
3/8 0.375 9.52
1/2 0.500 12.70
5/8 0.625 15.88
3/4 0.750 19.05
1 1.000 25.40