These handouts were prepared by Violet Davis-Maurice and distributed to participants at FashionTT's Fashion UPDGRADE! Workshop. Topics covered include: Criteria for Assessing Materials to be Used in Apparel and Sewn Products Assessment of Quality in Finished Garments Selection of Fabrics for Specific End Use Applying Fabric Selection Guidelines Fabric Properties Sample Fabric Specification Sheet Meeting Design Requirements

1. Handouts Prepared by Violet
Davis-Maurice
27th
February, 2016

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CRITERIA FOR ASSESSING MATERIALS TO BE USED IN
APPAREL AND SEWN PRODUCTS
Fabric
 Should be suitable for the type of garment and the style
 Should be suitable in weight and texture
 Should have no obvious flaws
 If printed the print should be appropriate for the garment/article
Thread
 Should be a suitable match for the fabric-colour and fibre type
 Avoid transparent thread
Lining
 Should be similarly assessed to fabric
Fastenings Zips
 Correct colour, type, weight
 Should use a suitable method of application for the position
Buttons
 Must be well chosen for colour, style, size shape
Buttonholes
 Should be the correct size for the buttons
 Should be in the correct positions
 Should be strong especially at the ends
Other fastenings (Velcro, press studs, hooks and eyes)
 Should be suitable in size and type
 Should be correctly positioned (well aligned)
 Should be well secured
Belt
 Should be suitable in size
 Should be an appropriate style

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 Should have matching coloured eyelets
 Should be compatible to the garment in regards to washing Ironing etc (or
be separately labelled)
ASSESSMENT OF QUALITY IN FINISHED GARMENTS
Stitches
 Should be correct type for the fabric
 Should be uniform in size
 Should be well secured at the ends
Seams
 Should be flat on outside of the garment with no puckering
 Should be even width
 Seam allowance should be generous not skimped
 Should be appropriately neatened
 Should be suitable for the type of fabric used and the garment style
Hems
 Should be suitable type for the fabric and the style of the garment
 Should be inconspicuous on the right side
 Should be a suitable depth
 Should have a smooth flat lower edge there should be no sign of puckering
Openings
 Should be suitable for the style of garment
 Should be an adequate length
 Should be strong particularly at the end where most strain occurs.
Darts
 Should be the correct length
 Be correctly positioned
 Should be well pressed

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Pockets
 Can be functional for decoration only
 If functional should be in the correct position
 Should be strongly made and lined if possible
Collars
 Should be set on evenly and centrally
 Under collar must not show
 Should be cut on the correct grain
Sleeves
 Must hang correctly
 Should be appropriate length and width in keeping either style and design
requirements
 Should have well neatened armhole
Labels
 Should be secured and attached in an appropriate position for the type of
garment
SELECTION OF FABRICS FOR SPECIFIC END USE
Selecting a fabric that is best suited for a particular use involves knowledge of fabric
behaviour and an understanding of textile properties in finished fabric.
Selecting for Aesthetics.
Selection of fabric for particular uses is usually initially made on the basis of
appearance. Colour, luster touch and drape must first be correct and appealing for
the product before any further considerations can be made. Having accepted these
first criteria of taste and fashion, the choices for selection then becomes a matter
based on the performance properties of the fabric. This can be accomplished by
using specific guidelines. These guidelines can be equally useful to a fashion

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designer creating a line, a store buyer or merchandiser placing purchase orders, an
interior designer decorating a home or to a consumer shopping for a new outfit.
Examination of the fabric for defects is also important. Many of these are easily seen.
The following are examples of these imperfections.
1 Missing Yarns
2 Uneven yarns- thick or thin areas on the fabric
3 Bowing or skewing- stripe is not straight across the fabric and does not
match up at the selvedges
4 Missed yarn or missed knit- error in the design
5 Unevenness in colour – colour shading or colour streaking occurring on
the fabric
6 Off balance- parts of a printed fabric, pattern does not fit properly on the
fabric
7 Uneven finish- fabric does not have the same degree of finish throughout.
Selecting for Suitability
The important guideline determining suitability of a fabric for a particular use is
how must it perform? Obviously fabric for a formal gown worn on infrequent
occasions will have different performance expectation than a fabric for a blouse or
shirt that is worn frequently and is laundered or dry cleaned often. Likewise the
fabric for a man’s work overall that will be laundered at home and worn again with
little or no ironing will need to have different expectations than the fabric for a suit
that will be worn infrequently and dry cleaned. Once having determined the fabric’s
ultimate use and performance expectations certain definitive knowledge based
judgments can be applied.
Selecting for Durability and Serviceability
How durable do textile products need to be? Most fabrics in clothing are not worn
to a point where a garment has to be discarded because it is worn out. For the most
part clothes are discarded because they are no longer in style or because the
consumer wants something new. What is expected however is that the textile
product remains in reasonably good appearance and not show undue signs of wear,
of fading, or shrinking or stretching out of shape during its expected useful life. It
should be remembered that there is a clear need to define how and where a fabric
will be used.

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Many textile products however require maximum durability (i.e. high strength, high
abrasion resistance, excellent colour retention and high seam strength). These
products are items subject to high stress during wear and in many instances are
purely utilitarian rather than fashion or style related. Such items include most utility
work and uniform clothes, active sportswear, camping gear, children’s playwear and
many home fabrics whose expected life may be a few years.
APPLYING FABRIC SELECTION GUIDELINES
A fabric should be examined based on its properties to determine its suitability for
its particular end use. There are various guidelines that should be applied to
selecting the appropriate fabric and these are as follows
Fibre Content
The main key to optimum fabric selection lies in a thorough understanding of fiber
properties. Fibre the initial building block governs physical and chemical properties
of the ultimate fabric. Properties can be modified, as for example crease resistant
finishes for cotton; but a fibre that is completely unsuitable for a particular use will
nevertheless fail, if not initially then during use. Fibre properties should be
considered in fabric selection decisions. Fabrics of acetate for example may be
strongly considered when softness and excellent drapability are needed but would
be undesirable where high strength and abrasion resistance are required.
When considering fibre properties, blends or mixtures (and their performance) as
well as 100% one fibre content should be taken into account. Many fibre
modifications of man-made fibres are produced that offer improved fabric
performance for certain uses. Some natural fibre fabrics made from premium grades
of fibre such as Pima cotton or Merino wool may be desirable if the end use of the
fabric warrants the additional cost.
Yarn Properties
In addition to the properties inherent in the fibre, the type of yarn made from these
fibres has considerable effect on the aesthetics and the performance of a fabric.
Appearance differences between spun and filament yarns are obvious. The end use
of the fabric must be considered in making an optimum selection say in choosing
combed or carded yarns, single or plied yarns or woolen or worsted yarns.

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Pilling Propensity
Yarn configuration bears importantly on the likelihood of pill formation in those
fibres that are subject to that occurrence. Yarns that have high amount s of fibres
protruding are likely to pill while filament yarns or highly twisted yarns are less
likely to create a pilling problem.
Abrasion Resistance
Yarns that are not uniform in thickness either because of poor spinning quality or
by design as in novelty yarns will have lower resistance to abrasion than uniform
yarns. Active sportswear, children’s playwear, upholstery, and fabrics used for
seating require excellent resistance to abrasion. Yarns in the fabric should be
examined carefully to check for the uniformity of yarn thickness. Holding the fabric
up to light can help in this examination.
Strength and Softness
Yarn strength and yarn softness in spun yarns are interrelated and are primarily
governed by the amount of twist in the yarn. Low twist yarns will be more flexible
and drapable and are usually satisfactory for casual and leisure wear or window
fabrics. By contrast fabrics with high twist yarns should be selected for higher
strength fabric uses such as active sportswear, children’s wear and upholstery. The
high twist yarns will tend to be less flexible and hence less drapable however.
Filament yarns are stronger that spun yarns of the same thickness and fibre content,
but flexibility and drapability are dependent on the size of the individual filaments
making up the yarn. Caution for yarn distortion and seam slippage need to be
observed however depending on the use of the fabric.
FABRIC PROPERTIES
The fabric structure and the properties created by the structure need to be
considered in the selection process. This must be done with the understanding that
there is an interrelationship with the fibre and yarn properties.
Fabric Structure –Woven
Ends and picks per inch/cm are a definite indicator of fabric quality. In most end
uses a higher ends and picks per inch/cm would be preferable to a lower count for
end use where durability is important. Children’s wear, active sportswear and

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similar applications are examples. Some applications require the lightest possible
fabric consistent with the desired serviceability, blouses and shirts for example. Yarn
and seam slippage and fabric strength are of particular concern in lightweight fabric
Fabric Structures- Knitted
One of knitted fabrics most important properties is the ability of these materials to
mould easily to body shapes and thus contribute to wearer comfort. The ability to
recover from stretching and to retain shape is equally important. Note however that
some fabrics that stretch too easily have a tendency to have poor recovery also which
is an undesirable property.
Yarn and Seam slippage
Slippage occurs because of the smoothness and low friction of the filaments,
conversely the propensity toward yarn ad seam slippage if reduced if the yarn
friction is increased. Plain weave fabrics which have high interlacing are less likely
to slip than a satin weave fabric with long floats.
Fabric Strength
Three major types of strength are tensile or breaking strength, tearing strength and
bursting strength used for knits. Of the three tearing strength has the more direct
relationship to fabric performance. In general the tear strength will tend be lower if
the yarns in a fabric cannot easily move or shift. Other Fabric properties that may
be considered are wrinkling, drapability and air permeability.
Finish Properties
Various finishing procedures often affect fabrics in ways that need to be considered
in fabric selection decisions.
Resin finishes. These include durable press, which reduces both strength and
abrasion resistance of fabrics.
Napped finish. Fabric with a napped finish particularly outerwear fabrics has greatly
reduced abrasion resistance.

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SAMPLE FABRIC SPECIFICATION SHEET
Fibre Content 100% Polyester
Weight 260±5 gm²(min)
Fabric Count 50X50 (even count)
Bursting Strength 267N (60 lbf) min
Pilling Resistance 4-5 (min)
Abrasion Resistance 4-5 (min)
Dimensional Stability (each direction)
Pressing and Finishing 2%max shrinkage 0% growth
After 5 washes 3% max
Colourfastness
Laundering
Colour Change Class 4 minimum
Staining Class 3-4 min
Crocking
Dry Class 4 min
Wet Class 3 min
Perspiration
Colour Change Class 4 min
Staining Class 3 min
MEETING DESIGN REQUIREMENTS
The International Standards Organization (ISO) defines quality as – “The totality
of features and characteristics that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or
implied needs”.
Quality is also referred to as “fitness for use”, “fitness for purpose” or “customer
satisfaction”.
Expressed another way, quality may be defined as:

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The degree of conformance of all the relevant features to the customer’s needs and
expectations at a price he is prepared to pay.
Within the terms of a contract, needs are specified i.e. specific needs or stated needs.
Implied needs must, however, be identified and defined. Market surveys may be
used as a source of reliable information for the identification of needs.
A Specification is defined as:
A concise statement of a set of requirements to be satisfied by a product, a material or
a process indicating, whenever appropriate, the procedure by means of which it may
be determined whether the requirements given are satisfied.
When a customer makes the decision to purchase a garment or other sewn product
he/she has certain needs that there is an attempt to satisfy, whether these are
verbalised or not.
A good designer/manufacturer should be able to translate these needs into a
suitable design that would fulfill the requirements of customer in terms of suitability
of design and all the other criteria, ease of care, suitability for purpose, value for
money, suitability for figure type etc.
The purchaser of textiles and textile products is likely to expect his need to be
satisfied in the following areas:
(i) Colour fastness;
(ii) Correct quantities, colours and dimensions;
(iii) Correct orientation of design;
(iv) Suitability for his purpose e.g. weight, design, fibre type etc
(v) Information on care

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The following tables indicate some aspects of the customer’s implied needs.
AESTHETIC APPEAL
FOCUS APPLICATIONS
Cleanliness All parts.
Fabric defects All exposed parts.
Matching - colour, type Thread, zipper and other notionsfindings
Neatness Belts, buttonholes, collar facings, fly fronts,
front stands, pockets, seams of linings, top
stitching.
Shading All panels or components parts.
Stretch Pocket edges.
Symmetry Buttons, checks, stripes, collar and lapels, cuffs,
darts, hooks and bars, pleats, tucks and folds,
pockets, one way designs/patterns on fabrics,
Belts and loops, collars
Trimmings Wherever used on garment.
Undesirable visible parts Facings, pocket linings
PERFORMANCE
FOCUS APPLICATIONS
Adequacy for function Seam type, stitch length and tension, thread
type.
Colour fastness Braids, laces, motifs, threads, and zippers.
Secure attachment Buckles, hooks and bars, lining (at seams),
loops, pockets (upper corners reinforced).

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FINISH
GARMENT PARTS QUALITIES
Bartacks Uniformly positioned, all sewn with the same
thread unless otherwise dictated by design.
Button holes No strands of fabric, no frayed ends.
Collars Flat finish, no facings visible at seam edge.
Edges Overlocked - not raw, cleanly cut.
Facings Flat finish.
Flies and fly fronts Flat finish.
Hems and trimmings Clean finish.
Turn-ups shall lie flat, with joins seam-on-seam
except when these are diagonal.
On transparent fabrics, first turning shall not be
visible.
Interlinings Not visible from outside or inside.
Linings Not visible from outside.
Pleats, tucks, folds Constructed on the true grain of the fabric.
Pressing Shall be smooth or produce sharp creases where
required.
Shall not produce (a) distortion of the finished
shape, or (b) glazing of the fabric surface, or (c)
embossing at the seams, pockets, lapels or (d)
pressed-in creases.
Seams Open seams where necessary (dictated by
design)
Underarm seams and side seams should meet
where required. Shoulder seams should be
correctly positioned unless they are designed to
be forward seams.
Thread Colour matched to fabric unless contrast is
specified.
.
Slits Shall be level at the top.
Straight-edged and correctly folded

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Zippers Shall be colour matched and not visible except
when intended for decorative effect.
The length shall match the opening.
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN COMPONENT PARTS OF
FINISHED GARMENTS
FOCUS ACCEPTABLE QUALITY
Size Loops shall comfortably accommodate the
belts.
Buttonholes shall be suited to the button size.
Cuffs and plackets shall fit the sleeves.
Shrinkage Differences in shrinkage are undesirable in
components which are attached on to the
other. Thus body fabric shall have similar
shrinkage properties as braids, laces, motifs,
interlinings and linings.