Two shades of navy in one garment
The fabric store did its job. Rolls were checked on the inspection frame with the four-point system, a shade band was cut from each roll, and two rolls were marked as a slightly lighter lot. It is all on a sheet clipped to a board by the frame. The cutting room took the next six rolls off the rack, laid them up in one lay, and cut. At the sewing line, operators noticed sleeves that did not quite match the body.
The shrinkage test on one dye lot was also still waiting to be washed. It came back high after the order was sewn.
The results never travel
Inspection is done properly in many factories. The gap is that the result stays where it was produced. Rolls on the rack look the same, and the person spreading them has no easy way to know which shade group each one is in or whether it has passed.
- Four-point scores, shade groups and faults are recorded on paper at the frame.
- Roll tickets carry the supplier's number, not your inspection result.
- Shrinkage and colour fastness tests are sent out or done later, and the results arrive after the fabric is released.
- Rolls are pulled for cutting in rack order rather than by shade group.
- Faults marked on the roll are not listed for the spreader, so they are found mid-lay.
What the gap costs
Shade variation within a garment is one of the defects brands reject whole lots for. Once panels from two shades are sewn together, the fix is recutting panels, which needs fabric that may no longer exist in the right shade. Shrinkage found after sewing is worse: it can mean the whole order measures out of tolerance after washing. Fabric claims to the mill are harder to make when you cannot show which roll was which, and by the time the problem is found, the rolls are cut.
Meanwhile the store team feels ignored, because they did the inspection and it made no difference.
Roll records that follow the fabric
- Each roll gets your own barcode label at goods in, linked to the supplier's roll number, dye lot and delivery.
- At the inspection frame, the inspector records faults with position and points, the total score, and the shade group, on a tablet rather than a sheet. The roll's pass or fail follows your own acceptance rules.
- Lab or in-house test results for shrinkage and other checks are recorded against the dye lot, and a dye lot stays on hold until the tests you require are in.
- When the cutting room plans a lay, the system offers rolls from one shade group only, excludes rolls that failed or are on hold, and shows the length available.
- The spreader sees each roll's recorded faults and positions before spreading, so they can plan cut-outs rather than discover them.
- Every lay keeps a record of which rolls went into it, so a problem found later can be traced to the roll and the mill.
| Inspection result | Where it ends up now | Where it ends up with roll records |
|---|---|---|
| Shade group | Sheet by the frame | Used to group rolls into lays |
| Four-point score | Sheet by the frame | Pass, fail or hold on the roll |
| Shrinkage test | Arrives after cutting | Dye lot held until the result is in |
| Fault positions | Chalk on the roll | Listed for the spreader |
A cutting room that trusts the rack
Spreaders take rolls that the system has already grouped, rather than hoping. Untested lots cannot be cut by accident. When a mill claim is needed, you have roll-level inspection records and the lays each roll went into, which makes it a factual conversation. And the store team's work finally changes what happens downstream.
Recognise any of these?
- Shade differences show up at sewing or final inspection.
- Inspection results are on paper by the frame.
- Rolls are cut before shrinkage results come back.
- Spreaders find faults halfway through a lay.
- You struggle to prove which rolls a fabric claim relates to.