Quality control

The inspection report reaches you before the goods do

Greige is checked before dyeing, the dyeing and finishing stage is followed while the cloth is in process, and rolls are inspected to the scope agreed for the order. Quality is our responsibility under our own QC system, and the findings go to you before shipment.

The flow

Four gates, in this order

Each gate exists to catch what the next stage cannot fix. Sampling cycles are typical and subject to confirmation.

  1. Greige inspection

    Greige is checked before it goes any further: weave and density against the confirmed construction, width, selvedge condition and obvious faults. Dyeing cannot repair a weaving fault, so this is the cheapest place to catch one.

  2. Dyeing and finishing follow-up

    The piece is followed while it is still in process. Shade is checked against the approved lab dip under the light source agreed for the order, and handfeel and finish are checked against the sealed sample as the lot moves through washing, setting and finishing.

  3. Finished-roll inspection

    Finished rolls are inspected to the standard and inspection scope agreed for the order: the four-point system over a 100-yard lot by default, or the standard written into your order if you specify one. Where defect positions are recorded, they are recorded by length, so your cutting room can plan around them.

  4. Report before shipment

    Findings, and anything that needs your confirmation, are shared with you before the goods leave the warehouse. Nothing is packed away and presented as a clean lot after the fact.

On the roll

What is checked, one roll at a time

Seven things decide whether a roll is shipped, cut around, or held back.

Construction
Weave, yarn count and density against the confirmed specification — not against a photograph.
Shade
Roll to roll within the lot, and end to end within a roll, against the approved lab dip under the agreed light source.
Width
Usable width measured away from the selvedge, plus the condition of the selvedge itself.
Weft straightness
Skew and bow measured as a percentage of usable width. Both show up as a twisted panel once the garment is cut.
Handfeel and finish
Face, softness and any applied finish against the sealed approval sample.
Colourfastness and shrinkage
Batch test data where your standard requires it. The report carries the name of the party that issued it, so the document speaks for itself.
Count and packing
Metres or kilograms, pieces per roll, roll tickets, and packing to the instruction on the order.
Defect definitions

The categories we record and report

Definitions matter more than the count. These are the eight categories written onto an inspection report, and what each one means in practice.

Defect categories and how each is judged
CodeCategoryWhat it isHow it is judged
SHADEShade variationRolls from one dye lot, or the two ends of a single roll, that do not match each other.Judged against the approved lab dip under the light source agreed for the order.
WEFTWeft barsA band where the picks sit too close together or too far apart.Recorded by band length and by how often it repeats in 100 yards.
SKEWSkew and bowThe weft runs diagonally, or bows, instead of square to the selvedge.Measured as a percentage of usable width.
SLUBSlubs and thick placesYarn irregularities sitting proud of the surface.Judged by size and by how visible they are on the face of the cloth.
HOLEHoles and breaksA broken end or pick, or an open place in the structure.Any hole is a cut-out. None are counted as passable.
MARKStains and marksLocalised marks from weaving, dyeing or handling.Judged by size, contrast against the ground colour, and whether a marker can cut around it.
WIDTHWidth deviationUsable width outside the tolerance on the confirmed specification.Measured across the roll, away from the selvedge.
HANDLEHandfeel deviationThe face or the finish is not the one you approved.Judged against the sealed sample, not against memory or a photograph.

Defect positions are given by length from the roll end, so a cutting room can plan around them instead of finding them at the table.

Responsibility

One system owns the quality question

Not the loom, not the dyehouse, not the finisher. Responsibility sits with our own QC system, and the paperwork follows from that.

Responsibility
Quality is our responsibility under our own QC system. Findings are not passed back up the chain as somebody else’s problem.
Report contents
The standard applied, the metres inspected, defect points per 100 yards where the four-point system applies, and the position of each recorded defect where positions are recorded.
Photographs
Where a photograph helps the decision, the defect is photographed as found, on the roll, before packing.
Timing
Findings and any required corrective action reach you before the goods leave the warehouse, while a remedy is still cheap to arrange.
Retention
A sealed sample from the approved lot is kept, and it is the reference used in any later discussion.
We do not name a testing laboratory on this page. Where a batch test is required, the report is issued by the party that ran it, carries that name, and comes to you with the batch — we do not present a document we cannot attribute.
After sales

If something is wrong, this is the path

Two published targets — feedback inside 1 working day, a written plan inside 7 working days — and the remedies we can offer.

First response
Within 1 working day of written feedback, with a named person on it.
Assessment
A completed assessment and an initial plan within 7 working days once the key information and necessary samples are in hand.
Assessment
Against the sealed approval sample, the shipment inspection report and the photographs from your side.
Written plan
Within 7 working days: what we found, what we accept, and what we propose to do.
Remedies
Make-up fabric, re-running the affected piece, an equivalent deduction, or a price adjustment.
Cap
A settlement is capped at the contract value of the verified affected fabric, with no duplicate compensation for the same loss. The cap is a limit, not a starting position.

To make a claim easy to handle

  • Hold the roll, its ticket and the packing list with the goods
  • Send the article code, the shipment reference and the metre position
  • Photograph the defect where it sits on the roll, not only as a crop
  • Say whether the cloth has already been cut, and how much

Claims are handled against the sealed approval sample and the shipment inspection report, so keeping the roll makes the answer faster for both sides.

Send a spec, a question or a claim

A person reads this. Our target for a first manual response is within 1 working hour on business days.
Next step

Send the standard you inspect against

If your buyer uses a specific defect list, AQL level or four-point variant, send it with the enquiry. We will confirm whether the article can be run to it before sampling starts.

Lead times, minimums and sampling cycles are confirmed per order.