Quality Verification
Technical assessment of unbleached linen fabric occurs immediately after loom discharge and prior to any wet processing steps. This grey cloth audit examines the integrity of the base construction against documented mill specifications for density, width and weight. Examiners isolate defects such as broken picks, oil stains or reed marks that arise during mechanical manipulation of the warp and weft.
Fabric grade refers specifically to this assessment of the raw textile structure rather than the quality of the base flax fibre itself. Final documentation of these results remains in the mill register for comparison against incoming raw material batch reports to confirm production consistency.
Inspection Protocol
Operational procedures require technicians to unroll the fabric across an illuminated table to identify visual irregularities. They measure the warp density by counting yarns within a set span and verify the weft orientation using a calibrated square. This grey cloth audit records every instance of thick yarns or knots that escape standard loom monitoring equipment.
When a roll fails the established criteria, the defect type determines whether the material returns to a repair station or suffers immediate rejection. Buyers often demand a copy of this internal verification sheet before authorizing the shipment of bulky inventory to finishing plants. The mill holds accountability for every deviation from the agreed textile geometry because the grey cloth audit provides the baseline measurement for all future chemical bleaching and dyeing operations.
Acceptance Boundary
Commercial contracts define the limit of allowable imperfections per hundred metres of fabric. A grey cloth audit stops applying once the material enters the scouring or boiling vat because chemical finishing alters the physical characteristics of the textile. Textile mills maintain these records to identify recurring mechanical failures in the weaving equipment that cause systemic faults across different production runs.
Disagreement occurs between buyers and manufacturers when the subjective classification of a fabric fault shifts between mill standards and purchase requirements. Independent verification settles such disputes by applying the same count to the disputed sections. The audit establishes a physical record of the textile state at the point of departure from the weaving hall.