Quality control is very important in garment factories. When quality inspectors check a batch of trousers, they must examine every piece carefully. Their main job is to find the defective pieces and remove them from the lot. If a buyer finds a major defect, the factory risks having the entire shipment rejected. This causes big problems and financial losses for the company. Therefore, checkers must have the ability to identify defects and separate defective garments from good ones.
To do this job well, inspectors need a thorough knowledge of all defect types. They must check the fabric for holes, the sewing for broken stitches, trims like zippers or buttons, and the final pressing. The reference list below shows the most common trouser defects found on the production floor. Checkers can use this guide for quick reference, but they must always stay alert for other unexpected defects.
| Component and Materials |
Possible Defects |
| Materials/fabric |
- Fabric holes
- Slubs
- Colour Shade variation
- Misprints, out-of-register prints, undesired color spots
- Cut, visible notch mark tears or visible surface repairs
- Bow or skew exceeding 1.5 percent
- Double picks
- Pilling on fabrics (trouser parts)
|
| Cleanliness |
- Soil, Spots, stains or Dust
- Attached thread clusters
|
| Pressing |
- Burn or scorch marks
- Glaring shine marks
- Press marks from camps
- Pressing is not done when specified
- Products packaged moist after steam pressing
- Improper pressing
- Seams not lined up when specified for center leg crease
- Loops twisted after pressing
- Uneven creases after press
|
| Seams and Stitching |
- Twisted, roped, or puckered seams
- Open or broken stitches
- Raw edges where covered edges are specified
- Seams not back stitched or bar tacked when specified
- Irregular or uneven top stitching
- Seam grin-through, seam slippage
- Pinching or any part of product caught in seam or stitches
- Any exposed drill holes
- Length of legs off by more than 3/8 inch
- Stitch count not conforming to specifications
- Stitch or seam type not conforming to specifications
- Label is not correctly attached, position and layout
- Sewn on design attached at incorrect place and sewn not according to specs
- Double needle stitch on crotch seam is missing
- Use of monofilament thread, other seams than where specified
|
| Button holes |
- Size is not within specs
- Ragged edges
- Uncut button hole
- Out of alignment or improper button spacing
- Stitch depth too narrow or wide
|
| Button/Button Sewing |
- Button not securely attached
- Butler-missing
- Broken or damaged button
- Out of alignment or improper spacing
- Button not matches to specs
- Lack of support materials on fragile fabric
- Buttons that crack, chip, discolor, rust, bleed, melt or otherwise cause consumer dissatisfaction when care label is followed
|
| Waistband |
- Uneven in width
- Excessive fullness, puckering or twisting
- Closure misaligned
- Belt loops are crooked
|
| Belt Loops |
- Not fully secure
- Extend above waistband
- Missing tacks
- Color shade not to specs
- Thread shade not to specs
- Raw edges showing
|
| Front and back |
- Uneven at bottom hem
- Under facing showing
- Pockets conspicuously uneven
- Darts uneven in length
- Darts poorly shaped
- Spot shirring not even right and left sides
|
| Hems |
- Twisted, roped, puckered, pleated, or excessively visible from exterior
- Uneven in width
- Uneven length of product unless specified
|
| Pockets |
- Not uniform in size and shape
- Misaligned horizontally or vertically
- Crooked
- Missing bar tack, back tack or rivet where specified
- Bar tack or rivet not as specified
- Sewn-in pleats or puckers
|
| Zippers |
- Any malfunction in operation
- Tape does not match color specs
- Wavy zipper
- Exposed zipper that distracts from product's appearance
- Irregular or uneven stitching on zipper
- Crooked or uneven zipper
- Bar tack missing or incorrectly located at bottom or base of zipper
|
| Gripper |
- Misaligned
- Missing or incorrect
- Defective in operation
|
| Fly area |
- Width is not uniform
- Bottom stopper does not securely clinched
- Top of zipper not caught in band
- Either side of fly extends past other side by excessive amount.
|
| Labels |
- Labels are not correct, text and/or layout
- Located at an incorrect location
- Insecurely attached to the garment
|
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