Fabric testing sits between the sample and bulk production, and its purpose is narrow but critical: to establish that the fabric behaves as the specification claims before the order is cut. A fabric problem discovered after cutting is not a defect to be corrected; it is a remake.
This page describes the checks we run on sportswear fabric before production — weight, shrinkage, colourfastness, pilling, stretch and appearance — and what a buyer should ask for in writing.
Quick answer: Six checks cover most of the risk. Weight in GSM against the specification. Shrinkage after a defined wash, which determines whether the delivered garment matches its size chart. Colourfastness to washing and to light, which decides whether the colour survives its use. Pilling and abrasion resistance, which decide how the garment looks after a month. Stretch and recovery, where elastane is present. And visual inspection for knitting faults and shade variation. Results should be recorded against the order, not against a memory of the sample.
The economics are simple. A fabric that shrinks 5 per cent instead of 2 produces a garment that is measurably undersized after the first wash. Catching that before cutting costs a fabric re-order; catching it afterwards costs the entire production run.
This is also why testing belongs in the specification rather than in a negotiation after a complaint. A buyer who names the checks and the acceptance criteria before production has a reference for the delivered goods, and a factory that tests to a stated criterion has something to test against.
| Check | What it establishes | Why it matters to the buyer |
|---|---|---|
| Weight (GSM) | Whether the specified quality was used | The most common quiet substitution |
| Shrinkage | Whether the size chart will still hold after washing | Drives fit complaints and returns |
| Colourfastness to washing | Whether the colour bleeds or fades | Matters most on light and saturated colours |
| Colourfastness to light | Whether UV exposure fades the garment | Critical for outdoor and high-sun use |
| Pilling and abrasion | How the surface behaves after wear | Determines appearance after a month of use |
| Stretch and recovery | Whether the garment returns to shape | Essential wherever elastane is specified |
Where an order carries a performance or protective claim, a seventh set of tests applies to the finish — water repellency, for example — and the claim and the test method should be named together. Those finishes and their degradation behaviour are covered in protective fabric clothing.
Testing happens before cutting, because a fabric problem found after production is a remake rather than an adjustment.
Shrinkage deserves separate attention because it is the result most likely to generate a complaint from a customer who believes the garment is the wrong size. A knit that moves 5 per cent in the length is a garment that will not match its own size chart after two washes.
Test the fabric to the wash temperature the care label specifies, not to a laboratory default.
Measure both warp and weft direction, since shrinkage is rarely symmetrical.
Record the result against the order and compare it with the tolerance agreed at specification.
Where a fabric approaches the tolerance limit, adjust the pattern rather than accepting the risk.
Repeat the check where a new dye lot or a different mill is introduced.
The practical outcome for a buyer is that the size chart on the order confirmation should be the chart of the delivered garment, not of the fabric before washing. That is what makes the size chart usable by an end wearer.
Colourfastness to washing and colourfastness to light are separate properties and are often conflated. A garment can hold its colour perfectly in the wash and fade within a season in strong sunlight, or the reverse.
Washing — covers bleeding onto adjacent fabrics and fading across repeated washes.
Light — covers UV fading, which is most severe for outdoor, marine and high-altitude use.
Rubbing — matters where a saturated colour meets a lighter one at a seam or pocket edge.
Perspiration — relevant for garments worn directly against the skin in hot conditions.
For a buyer, the useful instruction is to state which exposure the garment will meet. A club ordering kit for a summer outdoor season has a different priority from a corporate buyer ordering office wear, even if both garments use the same fabric.
Testing establishes that the fabric meets a specification. It does not establish that the specification was right. A buyer can receive a perfectly tested fabric that is genuinely too light for the garment's intended use, and no laboratory result will catch that.
Shrinkage and colourfastness are the two results that most often decide whether a delivered order matches its sample.
That gap is closed by the sample, worn and washed in realistic conditions, and by the brief. The design and specification process that precedes testing is described in designing custom sportswear, and the fabric criteria that the specification should name are set out in selecting sportswear fabrics.
Weight in GSM and knit consistency are checkable at goods-in, and they are the first place a substitution shows.
The fabric composition, weight and finish, in writing on the quotation.
The shrinkage result and the tolerance accepted, before cutting begins.
The colourfastness results relevant to how the garment will be worn.
The wash temperature the results were measured at, so it matches the care label.
A retained sample of the fabric, so a later dispute has a physical reference.
Where a claim is involved, the test method and the figure, not just the claim.
Six items, all of which fit on an order confirmation. Together they are the difference between a specification and an intention, and they are what allows a repeat order next season to be placed by reference rather than by description.
Weight against the specification, shrinkage after a defined wash, colourfastness to washing and to light, pilling and abrasion resistance, and stretch and recovery where elastane is present. Where the garment carries a protective finish, the finish is tested to a named method as well.
Because it determines whether the delivered garment still matches its own size chart after washing. A knit that moves more than the tolerance turns into a fit complaint and a return, even though nothing was manufactured incorrectly.
Usually only where your customer or your own policy requires independent verification, or where a certification claim depends on a test result. Routine physical testing of a normal order is part of the factory's process and should be included rather than charged separately.
Put the composition, weight and finish in writing on the order confirmation, ask for the shrinkage and colourfastness results before cutting, and keep a retained fabric sample. Weight and knit consistency are the first places a substitution shows.
Send the garment and the conditions it will be worn in, and we will specify the checks that matter for that use, report the results against your order, and retain a fabric sample for reference.
English
Español
Português
Français
Pусский
Deutsch
العربية
