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7 Apparel Industry Defects that Should be Avoided

January 17, 2017

Apparel Industry is hands down one of the most important and most widely used industries of the economy. Why? Simply because you wear clothes and footwear every single day. But with the amount of usage of this industry’s products, the need of their quality is even more inevitable. That is why a lot of organizations, have set standards to be met, in order to produce a quality finished product. How many times have you checked the shirt you were about to buy and found a missing stitch or an extra 3 cm thread? Defects in stitches, color, overall appearance of the item, and other faults harm the reputation of the particular factory that provides the product. However, those defects end up having a great impact on the industry in general too.

That is why we are going to present you the 7 major defects concerning Apparel Industry that must be avoided.

    1. Defected Stitches
      Sometimes we notice missing stitches on things we just recently bought or were close to buying. This is one of the most commonly met faults that a garment product can have. Sometimes, you wouldn’t be able to tell that there is a skipped stitching. However, on jeans or other clothing items that have different color stitches, the defect would be more visible.
      Problems like this can occur because of a rush or a bad working machine. If the factory workers hurry to complete the hand sewed item in a fast manner, such defects can become unavoidable. They can also cause the clothing piece to fall apart, in the worst case scenario, depending on what kind of item it is and what material it is made of. However, they can still be fixed if the factory is careful enough during the quality inspection stage of production before the product gets to the consumers.

 

    1. Untrimmed Threads
      This is one of the most commonly seen defects that are possible in the apparel industry. They are also one of the easiest ones to deal with. Even if you as a customer bought a piece with an excess 2 cm thread, “it’s not a big deal” you might think and cut it later yourself. However, any kind of defect is better when it is avoided. In the same manner, untrimmed threads can and should be detected during the QA process.
      Still, they don’t have the same impact and do not seem to make the same impression on a buyer depending on where they are exactly located. If the excess thread is on the inside of the clothing item, sometimes they will not be even paid attention to. But in any case, it is safe to thoroughly check every part of the item before you are sure it can be sent to the market.
      Being one of the most easily noticed and easily solved defects, the extra centimeter of a thread can give your appearance a “sloppy” look.

 

    1. Puckering Defects
      Met a lot, solved rarely. Puckered surrounding of stitches on the fabric are no rare occasion, unfortunately. They are also hard to fix because they require the entire stitching process to be done again. This in its turn can cause needle holes as left marks.
      Puckering defects can occur because of rough handling with the fabric, inattention towards the sewing process or because of the machine itself. Whichever the reason is, attention to detail and careful handling towards the fabric is probably the best way to avoid such defects from happening.

 

    1. Open Seams
      The problem with open seams is usually that a) it’s not eye appealing because it looks sloppy, 2) chances are all the seams will continue opening one at a time causing the item to fall apart.
      Sewing is a difficult process. Whether it is hand performed or done by a sewing machine, it still requires a very thorough attention to detail.

 

    1. Unsecured Seams 
      Unsecured seams might not always be noticed, especially when purchasing the clothing item. However, as some of the other above-mentioned flaws, this can also cause the item to fall apart later. It can lead to defects like open seams, which are in no way eye appealing and are a sign of poor quality.

 

    1. Joint Defects
      Joint defects, in their turn, are probably one of the major and more visible defects that can catch the eye. Joint defects are the mismatch of the fabric pieces that are attached by stitches. This is especially noticed if the colors of fabric differ. Joint out defects are a result of poor handling. Be that inattention to the sewing process or any other detail, the result is definitely not one to please.

 

  1. Button Defects
    This is again, one of those commonly seen faults. They are considered to be garment defects which include loose buttons or uneven button holes. It’s not a difficult process to cut open a millimeter of fabric to help the button slide into it. Neither it is difficult to secure the button stitches yourself. But the industry itself should be responsible for those types of minor flaws.

Apparel Industry with all of its aspects is one of the most important industries, especially nowadays. And quality is always supposed to be the priority in this sphere. No brand wants to sell a defected piece of garment and no consumer wants to buy one. These were some of the most commonly seen defects that occur during the manufacturing process and a close attention to those should be paid during the quality assurance practices.

Inspectorio SIGHT is an end-to-end quality control platform that digitizes and optimizes pre-production, inline, final, warehouse, and remote inspections across the global production chain. SIGHT leverages advanced data analytics and machine learning to assess risk and recommend predictive actions to drive continuous improvements. With a fully configurable platform, you can standardize and automate quality operations for increased visibility and collaboration across your supply chain. Shift your quality operations from reactive to preventive.

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