Fabric Inspection

Definition and Overview

Fabric inspection is the process of inspecting textile in roll form. While unrolling the textile, the front and back sides are checked, and abnormalities originating from weaving, knitting, dyeing, and finishing, as well as dirt, holes, and damage, are found and recorded.

It is performed when receiving the roll or before cutting, to clarify which parts can be used and which parts should be avoided. The inspection results form the basis not only for confirming textile quality, but also for examining yield, required yardage, and production planning.

Main Items to Check

The inspection items vary depending on the type of textile and product standards, but the appearance, dimensions, condition of the pattern and color, and abnormalities related to physical properties are checked. It is important to record the location of defects by roll so they can be avoided during cutting.

• Weaving defects, knitting defects, broken yarns, holes, dirt, and oil stains
• Uneven dyeing, color differences, and print misalignment or fading
• Textile width, length, selvedge condition, and grain distortion
• Skew, wrinkles, twisting, and uneven pile or fuzzy finish
• Pattern direction, pattern repeat, and misalignment affecting pattern matching

Relationship to Hand Feel, Function, and Appearance

Fabric inspection is not a finishing process that gives the textile its hand feel or function. However, it plays a role in identifying in advance issues that affect the product's appearance and texture, such as uneven color, sheen, uneven nap, and uneven coating.

Functions such as water repellency and stretch may not be fully judged by visual inspection alone. If necessary, compare the specification sheet, test results, and sample, and manage them separately from visual checks during fabric inspection.

Points to Note During Cutting and Sewing

Defects found during fabric inspection are shared with the cutting team through marks or records. If required yardage is set without allowing extra margin to avoid defects, it can lead to cutting shortages and poorer marker efficiency, so confirm the usable length for each roll.

Shrinkage, skew, and grain distortion affect the shape after cutting and after washing. In particular, for products that will be washed, patterned fabrics, pile or fuzzy materials, and stretch materials, stabilize the textile before cutting and, if necessary, consider straightening the grain or hot water treatment.

Even after inspection, before sewing, recheck color differences in cut components, left-right nap direction, and pattern direction. When the lot or roll changes, it is important to control the usage range to avoid color differences within the same product.

Differences from Similar Terms

Fabric inspection is the process of checking the quality and condition of the textile, and is different from needle detection. Needle detection is an inspection that detects broken needles and other metal fragments mixed into a product or process. Because the purpose and target are different, they should not be confused.

Fabric defects refer to the actual defective areas on the textile, such as damage and dirt. In contrast, fabric inspection is the work of finding, recording, and judging whether such defects and other conditions can be used or need to be handled during cutting.

Frequently Asked Questions