In this paper, a two-stage genetic approach has been proposed for nesting of different irregular shaped parts in a single irregular sheet with the objective of minimising the wastage of sheet material. In the first stage, the genetic algorithm gives out the best sequence of parts to be considered for nesting process and in the second stage, the genetic algorithm places each part in the best position on the sheet with the bottom left strategy. The application of the proposed approach is illustrated by considering both irregular parts and irregular sheets comprising line features.