Common Defects Found in Textile Fabrics

Textile fabrics are the primary raw material for garment manufacturing. To produce a quality garment, we need to use defect free fabrics. In this post, major fabric defects are listed with primary source of defects.

Denim Fabric

Fabrics are manufactured in looms, mills and knitting factories. Defects may be generated in fabrics during fabric manufacturing, fabric processing and fabric handling. Though fabric manufacturers check fabrics prior to shipping fabrics to garment makers, they are not sure that 100 per cent fabrics would be defect-free. 

To ensure that no defective materials send to stitching section and other processes, garment manufacturers check fabrics thoroughly after purchasing fabric and prior to using fabrics in cutting and garment sampling.

It is good to have knowledge about fabric defects. So I have shared common fabrics defects and the source of such fabric defects.

Fabric Defects	Source of Defects
Slubs, Slubby Weft, Colored flecks, Knots, Broken filaments	Due to flaws in yarns or filaments.
Missing end, Oily or Soiled ends, Floats, Weft Crack, Weft Bar, Oily Weft, Box Marks, Slough Off, Broken ends woven in bunch, Stitches, Snarls, Gout, Broken Pattern, Oily and strains, Holes, Cuts, Local distortion, Selvedge defect, Lashing –in, Untrimmed loose threads, Double ends, Reed mark	These defects occur during weaving process. Some defects are related to loom, cleanliness of the loom and work areas, improper handling of loom and raw materials.
Bleaching spots, Water mark, Dyestuff Stain, White spots, Patchy or streaky uneven dyeing, Dye Bar, Shading & listing printing, Misprint or absence of prints, Defects caused by hanging thread, Doctors line, Blurred or Dark patch, Bowing piling and raising defects, Piling and milling, Mill rigs, Uneven milling Broken embroidery design	All these defects are related to processing defects such as fabric dyeing, machine embroidery and screen printing.

In an earlier article, common fabric faults found in garments are discussed. 

Also see: 4 point fabric inspection system