Fabric inspection

The main raw material used in the manufacture of garment is fabrics. About 60% or more of the value
of a garment can be attributed to the fabric. In order to the maximize profit the fabric should be used
efficiently.

In deciding the quality of fabric to be purchased, many factors are considered. Some of them are;

1. Fabric defect
2. Width of fabric
3. Length of fabric piece

When ordering fabrics, these factors should be specified and when the fabric is received, the fabric
should be checked in order to see whether the above specifications are met.

While inspection fabric for grading, various other function can be performed which would help to
reduce wastage and improve production efficiency. Some of these functions are as follows;

Function Advantage

1. Measurement of width Saving of waste by batching according to width and cutting using
special markers to suit width
2. Observation of color If roll to roll variation is observed, batching according to shade and
variation cutting batch wise can reduce wastage

If color variation is observed, use of special markers with component

of one unit confine to one area can reduce the wastage.
3. Marking of defects Use of sticker to identify defects, useful to identify defects during
laying and in sewing, the sewing operator can remove/replace the
defective piece during sewing thus saving time and wastage of
material.
4. Record length of pieces If the exact length is known, the yield can be predicted. This would
enable acquiring of extra material, pre-planning production and
packing.

Fabric defects
Defect in fabrics can be classified into two types

1. Latent defect These defect can’t be observe visually. They can be identified only by
physical and other types of testing procedure.
E.g. Strength, shrinkage, color fastness

2. Patent defect These defects can be observed visually and can be quantified using a
grading system.
Fabric inspection is mainly performed to ascertain the extent of Patent (visual) defect in a fabric.
Defects in woven fabrics

Defect may Defects Cause

occur in
Yarn Thin yarn Due to thin place in yarn ( yarn of irregular diameter)
Thick yarn Due to thick place in yarn ( yarn of irregular diameter)
1.
Slubs Due to slubs in yarn

Weaving Double ends Two end in place of one

defects. Missing end One end missing
Slack end Due to tension variation in ends
(warp)
Wrong draw Due to incorrect drawing of ends through heddle’s wires
Reed mark Due to unequal spacing of ends cause by damaged reed.
(Weft) Double picks Two pick in place of one
2. Missing pick One pick missing
Thick place High density of pick
Thin place Low density of pick
Crakes Open area not filled by weft

3 General Gouts Fluff of foreign matter woven into fabric

Holes Torn or perforated areas
Stain Due to contamination or soiling
Oil/grease marks Due to oil or grease

floats Areas where warp and weft float over each other without
interlacing

Why fabric inspection

 Producer likes to know the quality of their fabric they ordered.
 Buyers want to assure the product quality he/she ordered.

Most fabrics are sold either as first quality or second quality depending upon the type and number of the defect
presents. The grading system used by the textile industry designates penalty points for each imperfection in the
fabric. After a roll of fabric is examined, the total penalty points are ascertained and the quality is then
determined. When fabric passes the inspection then it is graded first quality otherwise second quality.

Sampling
 10 % check will give buyer some ideas of their product quality
 25 % check may be necessary for new supplier
 3 % check may be enough for a proven recorded supplier
 100 % check may be required for high quality garment, high priced, and small qty of fabric.

Inspection standard or grading system

1. Ten Point System : Oldest and most used in woven finished fabric
2. Four Point System : Widely adopted and mostly used in knitted fabric as well as woven fabric
3. 6 point
4. Granativally’78 system
 Ten point system

 The earliest inspection system and is designed to identify defects and to assign each defect a
value based on severity of defects.
 Published in 1995 by textile distribution instate and national federation of textile.
 Standard for examination of finished goods (woven mainly)
 Penalties to be assigned for imperfection of warp and weft defects
 Grading is assigned to apply to every imperfection according to size, regardless of type.
 For print cloth, any piece of gray which contain less then 50% more penalty points than yards
may be passed for printed fabric.

Penalty points

Warp defects. Weft defects.

 10 – 36 inches 10 points  Full width 10 points
 5 – 10 inches 5 points  5 inches to half width 5 points
 1 – 5 inches 3 points  1 – 5 inches 3 points
 Up to 1 inch 1 point  Up to 1 inch 1 point

 First quality goods:

A piece is graded as “first quality” if the total quality points do not exceed the total yards of the
piece. E.g. 100 yards piece got the penalized of 70.

 “ Second Quality”
A piece is graded a “second quality” if the total penalty point exceed the total yard of the piece.

Note
 No one should be panelized more than 10 points.
 Any warp or weft defect occurring repeatedly through the entire piece makes it “ second
Quality”
 A combination of both warp and weft defects then occurring in one yard should not be
penalized more than 10 points.
 Defect within 1” of salvage not considered.
 Acceptance level – less then 100 points/100yds

Four point system

 It was published in 1959 by the National Association of Shirt Pajama Sports wear
Manufacturer.
 It got the biggest support for American Society fir Quality Control.
 It was endorsed by Federal government for military and American apparel Manufacturers
Association
 Four point system for Knitted fabric
 Grading of fabric quality according to penalty point
 Penalty points based on the length of defect measure in inch.
 Fabric inspection only on one side of fabric and is based on fabric width of 64-66 inch(knit)
 Four penalty points per linear yard up to 64/66 inch in width
 The quality shall be expressed in the number of penalty points per 100 sq. yard lengh.

Penalty point

Up to 3 inches = 1 point
3 to 6 inch = 2 point
6 to 9 inch = 3 point
Abive9 inch = 4 point

Notes: No one yard should be penalized more than 4 point

Defects within ½ inch of salvage not considered
Acceptance level less than 40 point per 100sq.yd.

Point calculation

All textiles are evaluated on a square yards computation. The formula used to determine the point
count level of a roll of fabric is as follows.

1. Points per 100 squire yard.

(Total point scored X 3600)/ ( Cutable fabric width in inch X yds examined)
The total penalty points shall be divided by the product of the yardage inspected multiplied by
the cutable width in inches. The results contained shall be multiplied by 3,000 to calculate
points per 100 square yards.

2. Shipment points = (Total Linear Yard points X 3600)/ (Total inspected yards X Cutable width
in inches)
 Inspection condition and equipments

Inspected results would depend on the condition under which the inspection is performed. It is
essential to indicate these conditions preparing a report.

1) Light Top light

the light recommended is two fluorescence tubes, 40w, parallel to each other,
perpendicular to the direction of the fabric, about 4 feet above the surface.

Back light
Defuse light.

2) Speed a speed of 15-20 yards per minute is normally sued, but should be decided on
the type of fabric, nature of defects and the end use.

Types of inspection sheet

1. ( sheet 1) for normal inspection

2. (sheet2) Special sheet to show distribution of defects within the roll

3. (Sheet 3) special sheet to show location of defect within each yard.

Defect such as color variation, skewness, bowing are not considered in awarding penalty points.

Sheet: 1
 FABRIC INSPECTION REPORT
(Four Point System)

Consignment: Date:

Total Length:

Roll # Roll # Roll #

Defects Length: Width: Length: Width: Length: width:
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

No. of defects
Allocated Penalty Points
Total Penalty Points
Penalty Point / 100 sq. yd.
Grade