The invention aims to improve the manufacture of flexible goods, such as garments, through the temporary modification of the physical properties of the components to be assembled, facilitating their handling and manipulation later on in the manufacturing process. Attributes that can be affected by this process are the stiffness of the material, the presence of mechanical or physical markings, the density of the material, the air or fluid permeability of the material, the responsiveness of the material to magnetic fields, or the adhesive nature of the material.