Textile quality control standards ensure materials meet design and manufacturing specifications. Color measurement, critical control points, and industry bodies help to analyze products for durability, aesthetics, and environmental impact. Testing procedures include flame resistance, impact resistance, UV resistance, physical properties, and abrasion.
Today, the demand for apparel, home furnishings, and upholstery has created a need for fabric quality control standards. These are intended to ensure that all materials meet design and manufacturing specifications. For example, quality control techniques using a spectrophotometer can measure fabric color, while crucial control points can provide a product synopsis regarding raw materials, fabric life and stitch strength. The quality control of textiles can also be governed by an industry body, which can set standards for measurements such as physical properties and abrasion.
Textile products are often analyzed to determine how well they are designed, whether they are acceptable for their intended purpose, and whether they meet the needs of the target market. This usually requires consideration of criteria such as product design specifications, target market and aftercare requirements. Additional criteria may also be considered, including the suitability of seams and fastenings, the aesthetic appearance of the product and potential impacts on the environment. Analysis of this information can begin with a detailed sketch of the product.
Color measurement techniques routinely provide the next step in quality control of fabrics. That’s because colors often need to be repeatable to mass-produce clothing or upholstery. Many times, an instrument known as a spectrophotometer is used to measure reflected and transmitted color in a fabric. In turn, operators are provided with numerical values that correlate with the color of the fabric. This allows manufacturers to determine whether changes need to be made to the dyeing process, how well a fabric will withstand exposure to the elements, and what formula is needed to repeat the color for future production.
Critical Control Points (CCPs) often provide a product synopsis to ensure indicators meet their intended performance. When producing fabrics, this system can test and monitor accuracy from the design stage right through to the manufacturing processes. For example, the prototype, which is a design sample of the intended product, can be checked for material and component behavior, as well as analyzed for assembly processes, cost, and fitness for purpose. Raw materials are also common CCPs, with which operators can test width, weight and fiber content. Depending on a product’s intended end use, the fabric may also be tested for durability, wrinkle resistance, and shrinkage.
During production, CCP checks are often performed for the strength of stitches and seams to ensure they meet manufacturing specifications. Seam allowances can also be tested for comparison to expected tolerance. The final product, which often reflects the fruits of textile quality control, can be inspected for size, fit and aesthetics.
Quality control testing procedures may also be governed by an industry-related body. In the United States, for example, this body is known as the Association for Contract Textiles (ACT). Government bodies like ACT often set standards for textile quality control that help consumers make informed decisions. Common measurements that ensure fabrics perform according to industry standards are: flame resistance to determine a fabric’s resistance to burning; impact resistance to measure the color sustainability of a fabric; resistance to ultraviolet light to measure resistance to fading; physical properties indicating potential for pilling and tearing; and abrasion to determine any surface wear that may occur from rubbing. Information about these test results can in turn be printed on product labels.
Flame resistance can be tested with a vertical test, whereby the fabric is placed on a backing and exposed to an open flame for a specified period of time. After the flame has been removed, the length of the test sample’s carbons can be measured against local or national standards to establish a classification. To determine color fastness, the fabric can be rubbed with pressure-controlled white cotton fabric squares a specific number of times. The amount of color transferred to the white test squares can then be matched against a control card and a rating established.
Resistance to ultraviolet light is another important aspect of quality control of fabrics. For this measurement, the fabric can be exposed to light that simulates the sun’s rays. After specific passages of time, the fabric sample can then be compared to a gray scale to assess the degree of fading. Physical properties can be measured with a small brush, breaking strength or seam creep test. Abrasion can be checked by placing a fabric on a flat surface and rubbing it in a figure-of-eight motion with a woolen cloth.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
