FABRIC INSPECTION: THE FOUR POINT SYSTEM

AIM To implement best practice for fabric inspection Fabric inspection focuses on fault/defect rate, shade, end to end & edge to middle shading, handle and appearance AMOUNT TO INSPECT Garment Manufacturer: minimum 10% per colour Fabric manufacturer: 100% inspection of finished goods, defects must be recorded for each roll

METHOD OF INSPECTION Select the rolls to inspect Both fabric manufacturer and garment manufacturers inspector to have an approved fabric submission form to compare bulk to Put the rolls on the inspection machine or viewing device. In order to assess shade continuity please refer to Best Practice for Shade Continuities Inspect for visual defects with the light on at a speed slow enough to find the defects. (The fabric must be checked at a slow rate in order to effectively find flaws). Sometimes you may have to turn the light off to see how a flaw will affect the appearance of a garment. Check for skewed, biased, and bowed fabric. o o Woven Fabrics:,maximum 3% Knitted Fabrics: maximum 5%

Mark any defects to the side with coloured tape or thread so that they can be easily found and noted Some garment makers will require faults to be marked with a sticker on the fault. This should be communicated in pre-production meetings Check that the roll contains the correct yardage as stated by the piece goods source Record any defects. Defects must be recorded for every roll and clearly identified on the roll ticket. Records must be kept.

THE FOUR POINT SYSTEM The length of the defect is used to determine the penalty point. 3 INCHES OR LESS 1 POINT 4 TO 6 INCHES 2 POINTS 7 TO 9 INCHES 3 POINTS OVER 9 INCHES 4 POINTS

SIZE OF FAULT POINTS

Acceptance Criteria and Calculation: o Garment manufacturer: 40 points per 100 yards is the acceptable defect rate number of Points per 100 yards = number of penalty points x 100 yards inspected

WOVEN - MAJOR DEFECTS Major woven fabric defects include but are not limited to: DEFECT Askewed or Bias Bowing Bull Mark EXPLANATION Filling yarns are not square with warp yarns Usually caused by finishing. Filling yarns lie in an arc across fabric width Caused by a slub or extra piece of yarn being woven into the fabric. This results in an open place in the fabric once the yarn is removed Caused by fibres being spun into the yarn of another stock. Results in fabric contamination Caused by an extra piece of filling yarn being jerked part way into the fabric by the shuttle. Fault will appear at the selvedge Caused by tying spools of yarn together Caused by a different fibre blend used on the warp frame. Results in a streak in the fabric Caused by bobbin of lightweight yarn or different fibre blend being used in filling. Results in distinct shade change Caused by a bent reed wire. Results in warp ends being held apart, exposing the filling yarn Caused by an extra piece of yarn that is woven into the fabric or thick places in the yarn Caused by a number of ruptured warp ends that have been repaired Caused by dirt or oil on the warp or filling yarns or on package dyed yarn Caused by the loom being stopped resulting in the yarns being stretched under tension, when the machine restarts the slack is woven into the fabric Caused by the filling yarn breaking and the loom continuing to run

Fly Jerk-in Knots Mixed End (yarn) Mixed Filling Open Reed Slub Smash Soiled Filling or End Stop Mark or Drawback

Thin Place or End Out

KNITTED MAJOR DEFECTS Major knitted fabric defects include but are not limited to: DEFECT Skewed or Bias Barre Birdseye Bowing Broken Colour Pattern Dropped Stitches End Out Hole Knots Missing Yarn Mixed Yarn EXPLANATION Courses are not square with wale lines Caused by mixing yarn on feed into machine. Fabric will appear to have horizontal streaks Caused by unintentional tucking from malfunctioning needle. Usually two small distorted stitches, side by side Usually caused by finishing. The course lines lie in an arc across fabric width Caused by coloured yarn out of place on frame Caused by broken or damaged needle, resulting in holes or missed stitches Caused by knitting machine continuing to run with a missing end on Warp Knits Caused by a broken needle Caused by tying cones of yarns together Caused by one end of yarn missing from feed & machine continuing to run Caused by wrong fibre yarn or wrong size yarn being placed on warp. Results in thick end or different colour if fibres have a different affinity for dye

Needle Line Press-off Runner Slub Straying End

Caused by bent needle forming distorted stitches, usually a vertical line Caused by all or some of the needles failing to function. Resulting in some or all of the fabric falling off the machine Caused by a broken needle and will appear as a vertical line in the fabric Caused by a thick or heavy place in the yarn or by fly getting onto the yarn feeds Caused when an end of yarn breaks and the loose end is knit into another area

DYEING, FINISHING & PRINTING MAJOR DEFECTS Major dyeing, finishing & printing fabric defects include but are not limited to:

DEFECT Back Fabric Seam Impression Bleeding Colour Out Colour Smear Crease Mark Crease Streak Dye Streak in Printing Mottled Printing Machine Stop Print Out Of Repair Water Spots

EXPLANATION Backing fabric is used to cushion fabric during printing. If there is a joining seam in the backing fabric, an impression will result on printed fabric Caused by non-fixed dye or ink Caused by colour running low in reservoir on printing machine Caused by colour being smeared during printing Caused by fabric folds in the finishing process resulting in crease marks Caused by creased fabric passing through squeeze rollers in dyeing on tubular knits Caused by a damaged doctor blade or blade not being cleaned properly resulting in a long streak on the fabric Caused by unevenly applying colour during printing Caused by printing machine stopping. Results in dye or ink being smudged along the width of fabric Caused by print rollers not being synchronised properly. Results in miss-registration Caused by wet fabric being left for too long before drying. Can result in colour migration leaving blotches