{"id":9129,"date":"2026-08-24T08:47:29","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T16:47:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fursone.com\/woven-fabric-defects-slubs-mispicks\/"},"modified":"2026-09-26T02:55:21","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T10:55:21","slug":"woven-fabric-defects-slubs-mispicks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fursone.com\/pl\/woven-fabric-defects-slubs-mispicks\/","title":{"rendered":"Woven Fabric Defects: Slubs, Mispicks & How to Prevent Them"},"content":{"rendered":"

Woven fabric defects \u2014 slubs, mispicks, floats, broken warps \u2014 are the quickest way a buyer loses money on a roll. Each has a different cause: a slub is a yarn fault, a mispick a weft fault, a float a tension fault. This guide names the common faults, shows how a 4-point grading scores them, and what a mill controls at the loom so the roll you approve is the roll you get.<\/p>\n

\"Textile
Quality control is a defensive layer: the mill grades a roll before it ships, but the defects were decided at the loom.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The woven fabric defects every buyer should be able to name<\/h2>\n

If you buy fabric you will hear these names. Know what each one means before you open a claim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Defect<\/th>\nType<\/th>\nCause<\/th>\nHow it looks<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Slub<\/td>\nYarn fault<\/td>\nUneven yarn thickness<\/td>\nA thick knot or bump across the weave<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mispick<\/td>\nWeft fault<\/td>\nWrong weft pick or yarn<\/td>\nA horizontal line breaking the pattern<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Float<\/td>\nTension fault<\/td>\nWarp or weft not interlaced<\/td>\nA yarn skipping over two or more<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Broken warp<\/td>\nWarp fault<\/td>\nWarp yarn snaps<\/td>\nA vertical slit or gap in the weave<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Shedding<\/td>\nPilling fault<\/td>\nFibre loss on the surface<\/td>\nFuzz and loose loops over the face<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The mix matters, not just the count. A roll with three slubs is a different problem from a roll with forty mispicks, because the second one means the weft yarn is inconsistent, not just unlucky.<\/p>\n

Slubs: a yarn fault that reads as a knot<\/h2>\n

A slub is a local thickening in the yarn itself, usually from a knot or a coarser drafting of the fibre during spinning. It shows as a raised bump that runs across the weave, and on a boucle or a tweed it is easy to mistake for the texture. The test is simple: run your hand over the surface. A slub breaks the plane of the cloth, while the loop on a boucle sits inside its own repeat. Longer gauge and a coarser slub count will grade below a 3 on a textile 6-point scale and should be flagged at inspection, because a slub concentrated in one panel will ruin a single jacket.<\/p>\n

Mispicks: the weft fault that breaks the pattern<\/h2>\n

A mispick happens when a weft yarn is the wrong size, the wrong colour, or simply dropped for one pick, so a single horizontal line breaks the weave or the colour band. On a plaid or a striped tweed a mispick is impossible to hide, and it is the single most common reason a patterned roll is rejected. The driver is weft yarn inconsistency, which is why a mill controls the weft package and the tension at the shuttle or the rapier. A float, by contrast, is a yarn that skips the interlacing, and it is usually a loom setting issue: the shed is too shallow or the tension too low, so the yarn lies on the surface instead of binding in.<\/p>\n

\"Detailed
Warp and weft tension are set at the loom, which is where a float or a break is decided.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What each fault costs, in points and in money<\/h2>\n

Most mills grade a roll on a 4-point system, where each defect gets 1 to 4 points by length or severity, and a roll is accepted or cut back when its total passes a threshold, commonly 40 points per 100 square yards. A 60-meter roll at 150 cm wide holding a 10-point average sits inside a buyable range; a roll at 30 points per 100 square yards is a claim. On a 300-metre custom order the difference is the difference between a usable and a rejected bulk, so the points matter more than the colour. A mill that ships a roll at a 20-point average can still be a poor supplier if the faults cluster, because one long slub or a run of mispicks across a single panel is worse than the same points spread thin.<\/p>\n

How to stop each fault at the loom<\/h2>\n

Stopping the fault is a question of four controls, and they are the same at a 300-loom mill as at a 10-loom workshop.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Warp preparation<\/strong> \u2014 a clean, well-wound warp cuts floats, because the shed closes evenly.<\/li>\n
  2. Weft consistency<\/strong> \u2014 a single sourced weft yarn cuts mispicks, because every pick matches.<\/li>\n
  3. Tension control<\/strong> \u2014 calibrated warp and weft tension cuts floats and breaks.<\/li>\n
  4. Yarn quality<\/strong> \u2014 a longer, cleaner spin cuts slubs, since the fault is born in the yarn, not the loom.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Related reading: how orders flow through a 300-loom Wenzhou tweed factory<\/a>, and how metallic yarns are woven on power looms<\/a>. The same mill, Fursone custom manufacturing<\/a>, runs a fashion sweater knit<\/a> and a performance knit<\/a> at a 300-metre MOQ with a 7-day sampling cycle, so a defect standard is agreed on a sample before bulk. Compare the two constructions further in boucle knit vs woven boucle<\/a>. External standard: the grading used here follows the textile 4-point system described in woven fabric defects<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n
    \n

    What is the most common woven fabric defect?<\/strong>
    Mispicks are the most common reason a patterned roll is rejected, because a single wrong weft pick breaks a plaid or stripe. Slubs and floats are close behind.<\/p>\n

    What is the difference between a slub and a mispick?<\/strong>
    A slub is a local yarn thickening that shows as a bump. A mispick is a wrong or dropped weft yarn that shows as a horizontal line breaking the weave.<\/p>\n

    How are woven fabric defects graded?<\/strong>
    Most mills use a 4-point system where each defect is scored 1 to 4 by length or severity, and a roll is accepted or cut back above a threshold, commonly 40 points per 100 square yards.<\/p>\n

    Can a defective roll be repaired?<\/strong>
    Singles and floats are hard to repair in a woven cloth; they are normally cut out or downgraded. Poor finishing can mask pilling but not a mispick.<\/p>\n

    How do I avoid buying a defective roll?<\/strong>
    Agree a points threshold first, check a sample rather than a swatch, and buy from a mill that grades every roll and stands behind a written standard.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    ▶ Watch: Tweed Fabric Trends<\/span><\/div>\n