A fabric defects list names the faults inspectors mark on a roll: yarn faults, weaving faults, dyeing and printing faults, and finishing faults. Which ones you reject depends on their size, where they fall and how many there are per length, not on their name alone.
Below are the common defects, what causes them and how to treat them. The scoring method itself is covered in the four-point fabric inspection system.
Which defects come from the yarn?
These start in spinning or in yarn handling.
- Slubs are thick lumps in the yarn, caused by fibre bunching during spinning.
- Thick and thin places are uneven yarn that shows as streaks across the fabric.
- Knots and neps are small tangles of fibre or short fibres twisted together.
- Contamination is foreign fibre, such as polypropylene strands from packing, which dye differently and show up as marks.
Which defects come from weaving?
Weaving faults come from the loom setup or yarn breakage.
- Broken ends are missing warp threads, giving a visible line along the length.
- Missing picks or double picks are gaps or doubled weft threads across the width.
- Holes and cuts come from loom damage or from handling.
- Reed marks are lines caused by a damaged or poorly set reed.
- Weft bars are repeating bands across the fabric caused by differences in weft yarn.
- Floats are threads that skip over others in the weave.
Which defects come from dyeing, printing and finishing?
These show up after processing, so they are often found only at final inspection.
- Shade bars, shade variation and uneven dyeing, which are covered in avoiding shade variation between rolls.
- Stains, oil marks and dye spots from machinery or handling.
- Crease marks and rope marks from fabric folded or rolled under tension.
- Skew and bowing, where the weft is not square to the warp.
- Print faults such as misregistration, colour smudges and missing colour.
When should you reject?
Reject by the rule agreed in the contract. A common approach is to give defects points by size and to set an acceptable score per 100 square yards, as in how many defect points per 100 square yards is acceptable.
Some faults should be treated as critical whatever the score: holes, stains that will not wash out, contamination and heavy shade bars. Agree this in the specification before production, and have the inspector check the first rolls, not only the last.
How should you describe defects to the supplier?
Use the same names the inspector uses, and attach photographs. A defect report that says only bad fabric invites argument. A report that says three broken ends of 4 cm each on roll 12, at 18 metres, can be checked.
Ask the mill for its own defect map for each roll, and compare it with your inspection. If the mill already marks defects, its map should match yours, and large differences point to a problem with its own checking.
Next step
We inspect fabric against your agreed standard and report defects with photographs before payment is released. To set up an inspection, book a free sourcing review.