Often inspectors are given the responsibility of inspecting finished garments without adequate training in fabric defects and their causes. The ultimate solution, of course, is to provide actual examples or photographs of both major and minor defects. This section provides a list of defects and explanations and simplifies the language and the judgments used in making visual fabric evaluations. The Quality Control Manager can provide this list to inspectors as a practical tool for achieving uniform inspection decisions.

Major and Minor Defects

The following definitions are central to fabric inspection:

Major Defect: A defect that, if conspicuous on the finished product, would cause the item to be a second. (A "second" is a garment with a conspicuous defect that affects the salability or serviceability of the item.

Minor Defects: A defect that would not cause the product to be termed a second either because of severity or location. When inspecting piece goods prior to cutting, it is necessary to rate questionable defects as major, since the inspector will not know where the defect may occur on the item.

Read Full Article

Originally published in New Cloth Market: June 2009