Fabric Inspection:
Inspection is an important aspect followed prior to garment manufacturing to avoid rejects due to fabric quality and facing with unexpected loss in manufacturing. After manufacturing of grey fabric on loom, it is inspected using an inspection table. During this inspection, defects such as knots, broken and loose warp ends, broken weft ends are removed. In case of holes, either it is mended or the fabric is cut off depending on the position of the hole and its severity. Fabric inspection is done for fault/defect rate, fabric construction, fabric weight, shrinkage, end to end or edge to edge shading, color, hand feel, length/width, print defect and appearance. Fabric inspection ensures to minimize the rejection of cut panels or rejected garments due to fabric faults. Cutting inspected and approved fabric ensures not only finished garment quality but also reduces rejects, improves efficiency and timely deliveries.
Fabric inspection involves three possible steps:
- Perching,
- Burling and
- Mending.
Perching is a visual inspection and the name derives from the frame, called a perch, of frosted glass with lights behind and above it. The fabric passes through the perch and is inspected. Flaws, stains or spots, yam knots and other imperfections are marked. Burling is the removal of yam knots or other imperfections from the fabric. The faults are then mended and any knots in the material are then pushed to the back. Mending is the actual repairing of imperfections. Knotting should be done carefully and thoroughly so that the repair or holes are not visible.
In the finished fabric inspection, the checker shall flag or put a sticker where mending is required.
Fabric Defects:
Fabric faults are responsible for major defects found by the garment industry. Due to the increasing demand for quality fabrics, high quality requirements are today greater since customer has become more aware of “Non-quality” problems. Generally fabric defects are found during fabric inspection. Here some major defects in fabric are discussed with causes and remedies.
Major Defects in Fabric are given below:
Askewed or Bias: Condition where filling yarns are not square with warp yarns on woven fabrics or where ctheirses are not square with wale lines on knits.
Back Fabric Seam Impression: Backing fabric is often used to cushion fabric being printed. If there is a joining seam in the backing fabric, an impression will result on printed fabric.
Barrenness on Fabric: Occurs in circular knit. Caused by mixing yarn on feed into machine. Fabric will appear to have horizontal streaks.
Birdseye: Caused by unintentional tucking from malfunctioning needle. Usually two small distorted stitches, side by side. This term should not be confused with birdseye fabric which is in fact created intentionally.
Bowing: Usually caused by finishing. Woven filling yarns lien in an arc across fabric width: in knits the ctheirse lines lie in an arc across width of goods. Critical on stripes or patterns and not as critical on solid color fabrics.
Broken Color Pattern: Usually caused by colored yarn out of place on frame.
Color Contamination: A transfer of color from one fabric to another. All bleeding and color migration should be considered defective.
Color Out: The result of color running low in reservoir on printing machine.
Color Smear: The result of color being smeared during printing.
Crease Mark: Differs from crease streak in that streak will probably appear for an entire roll. Crease mark appears where creases are caused by fabric folds in the finishing process. On napped fabric, final pressing may not be able to restore fabric or original condition. Often discoloration is a problem.
Crease Streak: Occurs in tubular knits. Results from creased fabric passing through squeeze rollers in the dyeing process.
Drop Stitches: Results from malfunctioning needle or jack. Will appear as holes or missing stitches.
Dye Streak in Printing: Results from a damaged doctor blade or a blade not cleaned properly. Usually a long streak until the operator notices the problem.
End Out: Occurs in Warp knit. Results from knitting machine continuing to run with missing end.
Hole in Fabric: Caused by broken needle.
Jerk-in: Caused by an extra piece of filling yarn being jerked part way into the fabric by the shuttle. The defect will appear at the selvage.
Knots: Caused by tying spools of yarn together.
Missing Yarn: Occurs in warp knit. Results from wrong fiber yarn (or wrong size yarn) placed on warp. Fabric could appear as thick end or different color if fibers have different affinity for dye.
Mixed End (yarn): Yarn of a different fiber blend used on the warp frame, resulting in a streak in the fabric.
Mottled: Color applied unevenly during printing.
Needle Line: Caused by bent needle forming distorted stitches. Usually a vertical line.
Open Reed: Results from a bent reed wire causing warp ends to be held apart, exposing the filling yarn. Will be conspicuous on fabrics that use different colored yarns on warp and shuttle.
Pin Holes: Holes along selvage caused by pins holding fabric while it processes through stenter frame.
Press-Off: Results when all or some of the needles on circular knitting fail to function and fabric either falls off the machine or design is completely disrupted or destroyed. Many knitting needles are broken and have to be replaced when bad press-off occurs. Bad press-offs usually start a new roll of fabric.
Printing Machine Stop: Dye or ink smudged along width of fabric as a result of the printing machine stopping.
Print Out of Repair: Caused by print rollers not being synchronized properly. This results in various colors of the design not being printed in the proper position.
Puckered Selvage: Usually caused by selvage being stretched in finishing or by uneven wetting out in sanforization process.
Runner: Caused by broken needle. The runner will appear as vertical line. Most machines have a stopping device to stop the machine when a needle breaks.
Sanforize Pucker: Results from uneven wetting out on sanforize; usually caused by defective spray heads. Fabric will appear wavy or puckering when spread on cutting table. Difficult to detect while inspecting on inspection machine with fabric under roller tension.
Scrimp: The result of fabric being folded or creased when passing through stenter frames.
Slub (woven fabric): Usually caused by an extra piece of yarn that is woven into fabric. It can also be caused by thick places in the yarn. Often is caused by fly waste being spun in yarn in the spinning process.
Slub (Knit fabric): Usually caused by a thick or heavy place in yarn, or by ling getting onto yarn feeds.
Smash: Caused by a number of ruptured warp ends that have been repaired.
Snag: A pulled thread in the fabric. All snags should be considered defective.
Soiled Filling or End: Dirty, oily looking spots on the warp or filling yarns, or on packaged-dyed yarn.
Stop Mark: When the loom is stopped, the yarn elongates under tension; when the loom starts again, the slack is woven into the fabric. This is more common in polyester and polyester blends than in all-cotton.
Straying End: Warp Knit. Caused when an end of yarn breaks and the loose end strays and is knit irregularly into another area.
Thin Place: Often caused by the filling yarn breaking and the loom continuing to run until the operator notices the problem.
Water Spots: Usually caused by wet fabric being allowed to remain too long before drying: color migrates leaving blotchy spots.
If anyone wants to produce high quality garments, you need high quality piece goods. When a sewing factory receives fabric from the mill, it is difficult to conduct a full 100% inspection of the fabric. Apparel Search recommends a minimum 10% inspection of all piece goods prior to spreading the fabric. Many factories attempt to inspect the fabric during the spreading, but this is probably unrealistic to depend on the spreader to control the fabric quality evaluation. The fabric should be inspected prior to the fabric reaching the cutting tables.
You may also like:
- Different Types of Fabric Faults and Their Causes and Remedies
- Greige Fabric Inspection | Greige Fabric Defects, Causes and Their Remedies
- List of Fabric Defects in Circular Knitting Machine
- List of Fabric Faults Created During Dyeing and Their Remedies
- Bowing and Skewing Defects of Fabric
Image courtesy: Cottonworks.com
Founder & Editor of Textile Learner. He is a Textile Consultant, Blogger & Entrepreneur. Mr. Kiron is working as a textile consultant in several local and international companies. He is also a contributor of Wikipedia.
