In-process inspection occurs throughout the garment manufacturing process from beginning to shipping and can catch 65-80% of faults. It has benefits like reducing customer surprises from bad quality and decreasing labor costs from fewer repairs. In-process inspection examines processes like spreading, patternmaking, cutting, sewing, seaming, assembly, and finishing for defects that can be corrected to improve quality.

1. In-Process Inspection
From the starting point of garment manufacturing up to garments ready to shipment, the inspection
done is called in process inspection. At least 65 to 80% faults can be checked and controlled
through in process inspection.
Benefits of in process inspection:
 Reduction of major ‘surprises’ from the customers due to bad quality.
 Decrease in labor cost due to decrease in repair rates.
In process inspection includes:
Spreading inspection:
1. Not enough plies to cover the quantity of garments required.
2. Narrow fabric or wide fabric; alignment of one side should be accurate.
3. Plies all are not facing in the correct direction i.e. not all the plies are spread face down,
face up, or face to face as required.
4. Mismatching of checks i.e. plies not spread accurately one above another for cutting.
5. Spreading tension to each ply should be uniform and optimum.
6. Splicing or bowing.
7. Overlapping should be in proper length and width.

2. Pattern and markermaking inspection:
1. Pattern parts missing: correct number of parts for all sizes not included by the marker
maker.
2. Mixed parts: parts are not correctly labeled in marker, so a marriage of wrong size parts.
3. Patterns not facing the correct direction or napped fabrics.
4. Patterns not facing the same direction on a one way fabric.
5. Patterns not aligned with respect to grain line of fabric.
6. Line deflections poor leading to inaccurate cutting.
7. Inadequate marking: either the marker did not use outside edge of the pattern or the
pattern was moved or swung after partial marking to squeeze the pattern into a smaller
space in the interest of fabric economy.
8. Adequate marking: a combination of points 7 and 8 results in components being sewn
together with puckering or pleating.
9. Marker too wide: garment parts at the edge of the lay are cut with bits missing.
10. Not enough knife clearance freedom.
11. Mismatched check and strips
12. Notches and drill makes omitted, indistinct or misplaced.
Cutting inspection or cutting defects:
1. Frayed edge: the amount of fraying depends on fabric finish and construction, improper
cutting tools or blunt knives.
2. Fuzzy: ragged or serrated edges; may come due to faulty knives edges such as burrs, chips
or dullness.
3. Ply to ply fusion: single ply whose cut yarn ends are fused to form a hard brittle rim on
the cut edge.
4. Pattern precision: misshape of the patterns perimeter as cut also top, bottom and middle
plies part should be checked against the patterns.
5. Notches: notch size should not be too large.
6. Drilling: the drill holes should be in optimum size and no fusion problem along the plies.
Sewing inspection: In sewing section, the in process inspection is divided into three defects
by Lowe and Low Coke as sewing defects:

3. Sewing defects:
 Needle damage: evidenced by holes, picked threads, ruptured threads or damage to the
fabric.
caused by wrong size or types of needle, blunt needle, needle heat, machine feed difficulty.
 Skipped stitches.
 Thread breaks.
 Broken stitches.
 Seam grin.
 Seam pucker.
 Pleated seams.
 Wrong stitch density.
 Uneven stitch density.
 Staggered stitch.
 Improperly formed stitches.
Seam defects:
 Mismatched of adjacent part.
 Wrong seam or stitch type used.
 Wrong shade of thread used.
Assembly defects:
 Finished components not correct to size or shape or not symmetrical.
 Finished garments not to size due to from incorrect patterns, inaccurate marking or cutting,
shrinkage and stretching fabric, incorrect seam width.
 Parts, components, closures or features omitted, caused by bad work flow, parts omitted in
cutting, careless operator.
 Components of features wrongly positioned or misaligned arising from incorrect marking
or sewing not following the mark.
 Interlining incorrectly positioned, twisted, too full, too light, cockling.
 Lining too full, too tight, showing below the bottom of the garments, twisted, incorrectly
pleated and so on.
 Garments parts cockling, pleated, twisted, showing bubbles and fullness.
 Garment parts shaded due to being mixed after cutting.
 Parts- in one way fabric in wrong direction.
 Mismatching trimmings.

4. Finishing inspection:
1. Spots/burn/melt at the time of ironing.
2. Broken button, zipper and so on.
3. Flattened nap or surface.
4. Change in color.
5. Crease not correctly formed.
6. Garments not thoroughly dried.
7. Stretching in fabric during pressing.
8. Pocket and collar incorrectly aligned at the time of pressing and ironing.
9. Lining showing pleats, creases, wrinkles, shines, etc.
10. Shrinkage due to heat and moisture.
11. Incorrectly folding.
12. Mismatched trimmings.
13. Incorrectly packing.