Measuring defects - Fabric grading systems: 10-point, Graniteville "78" and Dallas

A point system gives each defect points by its length, adds up the points and compares the total with a limit. Cotton Incorporated's grading guide says the method used must be agreed upon by all parties, and points to standards bodies such as ASTM for the standard method ¹. The ASTM method is ASTM D5430-26, Standard Test Methods for Visually Inspecting and Grading Fabrics ³.

The 4-point system scores a defect from 1 to 4 points by its length, with no more than 4 points in any one linear yard or metre ¹. Our four-point guide covers it in full, with the formula for points per 100 square yards.

A trade article dates it to 1959, when the National Association of Shirt Pajama Sportswear Manufacturers published it ².

The 10-point system scores a defect by its length and by its direction, warp or filling. In Cotton Incorporated's table, a warp defect up to 1 inch scores 1 point, 1 to 5 inches 2 points, 5 to 10 inches 5 points and 10 to 36 inches 10 points. A filling defect scores 1 point up to 1 inch and 3 points from 1 to 5 inches, then 5 and 10 points for longer defects ¹.

A trade article gives the same bands with 3 points for a warp defect of 1 to 5 inches, and puts the filling break at half the fabric width: 5 points from 5 inches to half the width, 10 points beyond ². Follow the table in your buyer's manual.

The same article judges quality against the yards inspected: fabric under 50 inches wide is first quality when its total points are less than the yards inspected ².

On its history, the article says the 10-point system was approved in 1955 by the Textile Distributors Institute and the National Federation of Textile, and calls it the earliest inspection system ².

Cotton Incorporated's guide also sets out a system that sorts defects into major and minor. A major defect is one severe enough, if exposed, to make an end item a second. A minor one may or may not cause a second, depending on where it falls in the end item and whether it is lost in cutting ¹.

A major scores 1 point for each 9 inches or part of 9 inches, and a minor scores a quarter point. Since a yard holds four 9-inch steps, this system caps the score at 4 points per square yard, where the 4-point system caps each linear yard or metre. In metric, 25 centimetres takes the place of 9 inches ¹.

A trade article dates the Graniteville "78" system to 1975. It scores defects in 9-inch bands: up to 9 inches is 1 point, 9 to 18 inches 2, 18 to 27 inches 3 and 27 to 36 inches 4 ².

It also splits defects into major, obvious enough to make the goods second quality, and minor, which may or may not make a garment a second depending on where it falls. It rests on the idea that defects shorter than 9 inches are normally removed when garments are cut, gives less weight to short defects such as slubs, and suggests viewing the fabric from 9 feet instead of the usual 3 feet ².

The same article says a Dallas system was published in the 1970s, made for knits. A garment with any defect was a second, and fabric was a second at more than one defect per ten linear yards, counted to the nearest ten yards ².

Use the system your contract with the buyer names. Cotton Incorporated's guide says the purchaser and the supplier must agree on the list of defects used in grading and on their severity ¹. The 10-point, Graniteville "78" and Dallas histories here come from one trade article, a secondary source ².

ConductVision Textile is designed to flag each defect with its place on the roll, its size, its points and a still image. Your inspector names the defect and confirms or dismisses it.

It is built for mills that grade rolls by points, as in the 4-point system, against a buyer's limit.