Garment inspection and quality control for teamwear

Fabric and trim inspection

Knitting and dyeing are done by our partner mills, so the first check happens at our door. Each fabric lot is checked for weight in gsm, usable width, shade against your approved color, and visible faults such as holes, slubs and dye streaks before it reaches the cutting table. The knits we work with, and their weights, are listed in our activewear fabric library.

Zippers, elastic, drawcords, labels and hang tags are counted and checked against your order sheet at the same stage, because a wrong label found after sewing costs far more to fix than one found in the box.

Print and decoration checks

Sublimated panels are checked against your approved proof for color, for alignment across seams and for ghosting before they are cut. Screen prints are checked for coverage and cure, embroidery for stitch density, thread color and puckering, and tackle twill for edge stitching and placement. Logo and number positions are measured from the collar or waist seam against the placement on your proof.

Seam and measurement checks

Sewn pieces are checked for open seams, skipped stitches, puckering, twisted side seams and loose threads as each bundle leaves the line. Finished garments are then measured at every point on your spec sheet: chest, body length, sleeve, waist, inseam and rise, depending on the style.

Knit fabric stretches, so we agree a tolerance for each measurement point when you approve one of our clothing samples, rather than promise zero variance. Those tolerances are what the measurement check works to.

Final inspection before packing: AQL 2.5

Once production is finished, a random sample is pulled from the lot and inspected to AQL 2.5 for major defects and AQL 4.0 for minor defects. The sample size and the accept and reject numbers come from the standard AQL sampling tables and depend on the size of the lot.

• Major defect: a fault likely to cause a return or make the piece unsellable, such as a wrong color, a hole, an open seam, a misplaced print or a measurement outside tolerance.
• Minor defect: a fault that does not affect use or sale, such as a short loose thread or a small mark that cleans off.

Pieces are then counted into cartons against the packing list and the carton marks are checked. One honest note on the method: AQL is a sampling plan, not a 100% check. A lot that passes at AQL 2.5 can still hold a small share of defective pieces, which is why defects reported after delivery are replaced or credited.

Each stage above is one step in our cut and sew production sequence. The quality system behind them is certified to ISO 9001:2015; copies of that certificate and the others we hold are listed under our certifications.