Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd. is a professional underwear sourcing & supply-chain management company based in Xiamen, Fujian Province, in the Xiamen–Quanzhou–Jinjiang knitwear cluster of south-east China. Founded by Will Lin, who has worked in the apparel trade since 2004, the company has been exporting since 2009 and was incorporated in Xiamen in 2013. It runs its own liaison office in Jinjiang and works with a network of BSCI & OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified partner factories to serve retailers and brands across Europe, the US and Australia.
The weight of the fabric is an important factor for textile underwear companies to gain a foothold in the market. Whether the weight is stable and up to standard is a matter of great concern to customers. However, many textile underwear buyers say that they often encounter the situation of insufficient weight of textile knitted underwear fabrics. In order to avoid this situation, let’s take a look at the 8 factors that affect the insufficient weight of textile knitted underwear fabrics.
Before talking about the 8 factors that affect the weight of textile fabrics, let’s popularize the knowledge about fabric weight. The weight of fabric is generally expressed in grams per square meter of fabric. Gram weight is an important technical indicator of knitted fabrics. The “gram weight” of textiles refers to the weight unit of grams as the measurement standard under a standard measurement unit. For example, the weight of 1 square meter of knitted fabric is 200 grams, expressed as: 200G/M2 and so on. It is a unit of weight.
Gram Weight – knitted fabric
Since knitted fabrics are woven in a looping manner, the texture of the fabric is difficult to describe in terms of yarn count, tightness, etc. Only gram weight is the easiest and most reasonable standard to grasp. Therefore, the measurement method based on gram weight is widely used for knitted fabrics. For example, we often say: 180g/square meter jersey is usually woven with 20 or 21 count yarn, but if 18, 16, 24, and other count yarns are used, the weaving will be thinner or tighter. Some can also be woven into 180 g/m2 jersey, so it is usually said: 21 counts 180 grams, or 20 counts 180 grams.
The higher the yarn count, the finer the yarn, the thinner the cloth woven with such yarn, and the softer and more comfortable the cloth will be. However, cloth with a high count requires high quality raw materials (cotton), and also requires higher requirements on yarn mills and textile weaving factories, so the cost of the cloth is relatively high. Knitted fabric is a relatively flexible product. As long as it reaches the specified weight, many methods can be used: the thickness of the yarn used during weaving, the number of stitches, the weight can also be adjusted during bleaching and dyeing, and can also be adjusted during finishing, and even the weight of underwear can also be adjusted by shrinking or stretching. Therefore, some customers of knitted underwear products will further clarify: yarn count and number of stitches. Generally speaking, the heavier the knitted underwear product is, the thicker the fabric texture will be.
Next, let’s learn about the 8 factors that affect the insufficient weight of textile knitted underwear fabrics:
- When purchasing raw yarn, the yarn is too thin. For example, the actual measurement of 40-count yarn is only 41-count yarn.
- Insufficient moisture return rate. Fabrics that have been dyed and processed lose a lot of moisture during drying, and the specifications of the fabric refer to the gram weight at the standard moisture regain. Therefore, when the weather is dry and the dried cloth does not regain enough moisture, the weight will be insufficient. Especially for natural fibers such as cotton, linen, silk and wool, the deviation will be very large.
- The raw yarn is greatly worn during the weaving process, which will cause excessive hairiness to fall off, resulting in thinner yarn count and lower weight.
- Re-dying during the dyeing process will result in large yarn losses and thinning of the yarn count.
- During the singeing process, the excessive firepower of the singeing will cause the cloth surface to be too dry, and the yarn will be damaged during desizing and become thinner.
- Damage to yarn caused by caustic soda during mercerization.
- Damage to the cloth surface caused by scratching and sanding.
- Finally, the density does not meet the process requirements. Not produced according to specifications, with insufficient weft and warp density.
After understanding the 8 factors that affect the insufficient gram weight of textile knitted underwear fabrics, how can we avoid the problem of insufficient gram weight of knitted underwear fabrics? First, we need to check the quality of the gray fabric. Generally, the gram weight of the gray fabric can meet the requirements. However, the weight of some semi-finished gray fabrics does not meet the predetermined requirements, resulting in insufficient weight of the finished fabrics. Secondly, the gray fabric with spandex must be pre-shaped in advance, which can stabilize the weight of the finished product. Thirdly, attention must be paid to temperature control during washing, drying and shaping after dyeing. Finally, quality inspection, rolling and packaging are required. During storage, the weight of the fabric must also be checked proportionally, and it can only be shipped out after reaching the standard.
· Xiamen Unitex Trade Co., Ltd. — OEM & ODM underwear sourcing partner