Quality is the standard with which a fashion brand builds its reputation. The quality of a garment is measured by its look, fit, comfort, durability, and usability. This can only be achieved if your design is matched by good quality raw materials from your supplier to the standardised best practices of your clothing manufacturer. As we’ve discussed quality assurance (QA), quality should be incorporated from the design to after-sales service.
For those planning to start a fashion brand or are in the early stages of their own, here’s a quality control checklist you can use. We listed down the problems by category and also gave practical solutions on how to avoid each. 
Weak fabric can easily tear and degrade. The fabric can be tested using fabric tensile strength tests. You should be more particular though if the garment you are producing is activewear which requires more fabric strength. A good designer would choose fabrics with adequate weight and fibre strength to make sure your products are long-lasting. Isn’t that what you’re looking for when you’re buying clothes?
Sometimes, you buy a piece of clothing just because of the colour. Sometimes though, you get disappointed after only one wash, the piece already fades! You’ll never buy from that same brand again. Don’t be that brand. Colourfastness refers to a fabric’s ability to retain its colour even after being exposed to water, detergent, and light. Testing for colourfastness on multiple wash cycles ensures that the dyes used on fabrics don’t bleed, fade, or stain other garments when washed.
A common issue in garments is fabric shrinkage. This can happen when fabric is exposed to water or heat. This is very common though. You will have to set tolerances on how much shrinkage is acceptable for your fashion brand. Therefore, you should conduct shrinkage tests like prewashing during the production stage. Some fashion brands include a shrinkage range in the fabric care label of their garments. Every fabric reacts differently, and maintaining a consistent sizing for your target market ensures continued patronage.
Pilling is the formation of small, fuzzy-looking balls on the surface of fabric. It happens after friction or wear. Pilling is particularly common with synthetic fibre or fabric blends. It can cause garments to look worn out after only a few uses. You can avoid this by choosing fabrics that resist pilling in the first place. Most customers prefer to maintain a garment’s look as long as they can. Another technique to avoid this (if you have to use fabrics prone to pilling) is doing abrasion tests to check the quality of your supplier's fabric.
Fabric weight consistency helps ensure that the garments are uniform in texture and performance. An inconsistent fabric weight affects the overall fit and drape of a garment. Inconsistency makes some parts heavier or lighter than others. Customers would not appreciate garments that feel unbalanced and poorly made. This can be addressed by sampling and experimenting with different weights before mass production.
Uneven stitching is one of the most common quality control issues during production. It is caused by improper machine tension or inexperienced sewing operators. A quality control officer is usually employed to keep a close eye on the quality of the garments during production. Regular in-line quality checks during production can help catch and correct uneven stitching before it leads to larger issues in the final product.
We want garments that can withstand everyday wear and tear without worrying about splitting or tearing at the seams. Improper stitch strength or incorrect thread tension often leads to weak seams. You or your manufacturer can conduct stress tests throughout the production process to help identify potential weak points. Using high-quality threads and appropriate stitch density also improves seam strength.
Loose threads are easy to spot and unsightly. Customers see this as a big indicator of poor craftsmanship. It may not look like a big issue to a few but this would cause further damage over time. Any loose thread should be trimmed and made sure the stitching is secure. We cannot overemphasize the importance of hiring and training skilled sewers plus the proper guidance of a quality control officer.
Puckering occurs when the fabric bunches up along seams, making the garment look poorly made. It can distort the garment’s intended shape causing discomfort to the customer. Puckering is often caused by uneven stitching techniques, lack of design foresight, incorrect sewing machine tension, or the use of an unsuitable thread. Good design and proper stitching techniques solve this problem. Sampling should help minimise this problem before mass production. Regular machine calibration and maintenance go a long way to prevent puckering too.
Poorly finished hems can result in uneven edges, rolling fabric, or fraying. This diminishes the overall quality of the garment. Sewing techniques like serging or double-fold hemming can help secure edges better. Proper choice of sewing techniques also ensures the garment stays intact with normal wear and washing. High-quality finishing not only makes the garment look better but also adds to the overall durability of your products. A good clothing manufacturer will advise the best stitching techniques to make your products better.
Tech packs help guide garment measurements align perfectly as intended. Like we always say, ill-fitting and inconsistent sizing turn off regular customers. Proper sampling (check our sampling guide here) helps prevent sizing issues. Fashion brands and clothing manufacturers should use precise measurement tools. Having a dedicated garment technician oversee measurements throughout production helps ensure consistency and accuracy across all garments.
Grading is the process of adjusting a garment pattern to fit a range of sizes. It ensures consistent fit accuracy among all sizes of your fashion brand. Additionally, clear guidelines for grading within the technical packs help manufacturers understand how to scale patterns correctly. Proper sampling with your fit models makes sure that grading is consistent before final production.
Aside from ensuring a good fit and sizing, comfort should also be considered. Models help determine if each garment size feels comfortable. Testing on models of varying body shapes and sizes allows for any necessary pattern adjustments to ensure comfort and mobility.
For garments with patterns, ensuring proper alignment across seams helps maintain a professional appearance. Proper planning during fabric cutting is key to achieving perfect pattern alignment. This process requires careful attention and expertise. Patterns need to match up exactly, especially at key areas like side seams, shoulders, and pocket placements. Regular checks during production help ensure that pattern alignment issues are addressed before garments are finalised.
Inconsistent colours between production batches and patterns can cause noticeable colour shifts on garments. To avoid this, brands request lab dips from fabric suppliers and approve colour standards before production. Colour inconsistency can be mitigated by regularly conducting visual inspections.
Print placement and print alignment are a little bit tricky when it comes to clothing. Prototyping during sampling should be practised. Subtle changes in the placement make the prints look better, depending on the size of your products. Your manufacturing partner should pay special attention to the angles of floral patterns, stripes, or logos. Regular checks during cutting and assembly ensure that print alignment issues are caught early in production.
Speaking of prints, fabric printing also plays a major role in customer perception. Poor-quality prints fade, crack, or peel over time. High-quality printing techniques should be used depending on the fabric type. A fabric test on print quality should also be done like stress and multiple wash tests.
Buttons in garments are like watches for men, or accessories for women. Buttons often act as focal points on garments. These are the first things you notice outside a garment’s design. Loosely sewn or poorly aligned buttons easily pop off during wear. Each button should be tightly fastened with durable thread with correctly sized button holes. Well-placed buttons also flatter the wearer’s body type. This can be verified and adjusted during fit sampling.
With regular wear and tear, buttons can be easily fixed by anyone. It’s a different case for zippers. A malfunctioning zipper will render a garment useless to most customers. Use only high-quality zippers. Your clothing manufacturer should regularly check that zippers glide smoothly without getting stuck. Zippers should align properly along the garment’s seams. To avoid problems with zippers testing on various conditions like getting worn, walking, running, or sitting is done.
Placement and secure attachment of embellishments such as embroidery, beads, or appliqués, help achieve a polished final product. Embellishments should be positioned according to the design specifications on a tech pack. These should be securely fastened to withstand wear and washing. Loose embellishments can fall off easily, leaving visible gaps on the garment. In addition to visual inspections, stress tests can help verify the durability of embellishments, ensuring they remain in place during regular use.
Loose trims, such as lace, fringe, or ribbons, can unravel easily. Trims should be carefully inspected for loose ends, fraying, or signs of improper attachment. Properly secured trims add a professional and polished touch to the garment.
Common sleeve issues include uneven attachments, puckering at the armhole, or tightness during movement. An improperly attached sleeve drastically affects overall fit and comfort. Conducting fit tests on models or mannequins helps identify and correct sleeve-related issues before production.
Uneven hemlines are obvious and unsightly. Things like this occur due to fabric shrinkage or poor cutting during the production process. Uneven hemlines cause garments to sit awkwardly on the body, affecting the overall fit. Common techniques like hemming and serging ensure hemlines are straight. Of course, premium fabric selection and cutting should also be coordinated with your clothing manufacturer.
This one is obvious but seam alignment is important, especially for garments having multiple panels or intricate patterns. Misaligned seams make garments look unbalanced. This is where your due diligence with a clothing manufacturer goes. Only hire experienced manufacturers according to your design needs.
This goes without saying but broken stitches are a no-go. It’s not as easy to spot as other garment construction issues but the real problem lies in the structural integrity. These defects can weaken seams, leading to potential tears or unravelling after minimal wear. You should be very particular in areas of high stress such as shoulders, waist, and armholes. Unlike other problems, broken stitches can easily be fixed if spotted. This boils down to your sewer’s integrity and the quality control specialist’s strict checking.
Customers might ignore them but incorrectly placed labels like brand, care, and size indicators should still fail QC on our book. Labels must be securely sewn or heat-pressed into the garment at the designated locations specified in the tech pack. Proper label placement ensures customers can easily find sizing information and care instructions. And though misplaced labels are easy to spot, it’s still better to place them correctly in the first production. Some misplaced labels are also not worth the fix.
Outside a garment’s appearance, the packaging acts as an extension of your branding. It reflects your fashion brand’s aesthetics and values. A socially conscious brand should use little to no plastics as packaging materials. High-end fashion brands only use premium materials for their boxes. Even their filler feels premium. Therefore, every packaging should be free from any defects and help the garment reach the customer in perfect condition.
This is not an exhaustive list. It should only serve as a guide. The basics of quality assurance are the same, but every fashion brand is different. Use this list, adjust it, and make your own. Make it a point to incorporate continuous improvement in your processes. Good quality garments can only come from good quality control.
