Sewing Faults

Prepared By
Taslima Ahmed Tamanna
Lecturer, TE Dept., BUFT
Sewing problems & remedies
1. Problems of stitch formation
Slipped/skipped stitch
Staggered stitch
Unbalanced stitch
Variable stitch density
Needle thread breakage
Frequent bobbin thread breakage
2. Problems of fabric distortion known as “pucker”
3. Problems of damage to fabric along the stitch line.
 Drop stitch/Skipped stitch on knit garments

Drop stitch/Skipped stitch : Irregular stitching along the seam.

Causes: It appears due to improper

handling of cut pieces or machine
usage.

Remedies:
1. Examine the setting and timing between needle and hook or looped.
2. Placing of needle properly.
3. The tension of thread should be adjusted.
4. Needle size & thread size must be adjusted.
5. The pressure of pressure foot must be adjusted accurately.
 Slipped stitch/Skipped stitch/Drop stitch:
Causes & Remedies
1. Thread loop failure due to incorrect
needle size or thread size.
Change the needle or thread.
2. Thread loop failure due to incorrect
setting of thread control mechanism.
Reset to standard thread control
mechanism.
3. Failure of hook, looper or needle to enter
into thread loop set in correct time.
a) Check setting and timing of hook or
looper with needle.
b) Replace the needle position correctly.
c) Use needle of deep scarf.
4. Needle deflection or bent needle.
a) Use a reinforced needle.
b) Replace the needle.
c) Reset the needle guard.
5. Incorrect & very unequal tension in the needle thread or
bobbin thread.
Re-adjust the thread tension by using tension meter.
6. Poor ability of thread to form loop.
Change the thread. Use the filament based core-spun thread
or filament polyester thread.
7. If flagging of fabric is occurred during sewing.
a) Adjust the pressure of pressure foot properly.
b) Adjust needle hole size of throat plate & needle size.
8. Small loop size of needle thread.
Adjust needle size & thread size.
 Wavy/Staggered stitch
Wavy/staggered stitch: Stitches are not straight.

Causes: It appears due to improper handling

of cut pieces, faulty feed mechanism, needle
deflection or wrong needle etc.

Remedies:
1. Needle to be changed
2. Needle size and thread size should be
changed
3. Feed mechanism to be changed
Detail of Causes & Remedies
1. Needle vibration or deflecting.
a) Increased needle size.
b) Change to reinforced needle.
c) Use tappered needle.
2. Incorrect needle point or blunt needle point.
Change the needle.
3. Incorrect matching of needle size & thread size.
Change the needle size or thread size.
4. Faulty movement of feed dogs.
Correct the feed dog motion.
5. Incorrect controlling of fabric into feed
mechanism
a) Reset pressure of pressure foot.
b) Change feed mechanism.
Unbalanced stitches
 Seam Puckering

Seam Puckering: refers to the gathering of a seam either just after sewing or after
laundering causing an unacceptable seam appearance.

Causes: This problem arises due to uneven

stretching on to plies of fabric during sewing
, improper thread tension , wrong sewing
thread selection , dimensional instability of
the plies of fabric etc.

Remedies:
1. Machine feed mechanism must be better quality
2. Sewing thread must be selected properly
3. Thread tension must be kept in limit
 Open seam or broken seam

Open seam or broken seam: Portion of the garment that has not been covered by
sewing thread.

Causes:
This happens due to improper handling of
the parts of garments , improper setting and
timing between needle and looper or hook
etc.

Remedies:
1. Proper setting and timing between needle and looped or hook.
2. Proper handling of the parts of garments
 Broken Stitch

Broken Stitch: Non-continuous sewing thread.

Causes: It appears due to improper

trimming or machine usage.

Remedies:
1. Proper machine usage
2. proper trimming
 Uncut/ loose thread

Uncut/ loose thread: Extra thread or loose thread on seam line.

Causes: It appears due to improper

trimming or finishing.

Remedies:
1. Garments finishing should be checked properly.
 Holes

Holes: Broken holes in the fabric where you are able to see through the fabric to the
other side.

Cause:
Holes can come from fabric or it could be
caused by the production side, either by
improper trimming or broken needle
puncturing the fabric.

Remedy:
Better inspection of fabric and cut piece. Ensure that fabric and cut pieces that are
not up to standard are not put into line and production is wasted. Replace not
standard cut pieces with usable ones before input.
 Shading Variations within different parts

Shading Variations within different parts: Seams appear to be lighter or darker than
the other seams surrounding it.

Causes: It arises due to improper cutting,

bundling and numbering.

Remedies: After cutting the garment parts must be kept in proper bundle with
number.
 Seams not aligned at crossing of seams
Seams not aligned at crossing of seams: Seams are not lined up at intersection of
seams.

Cause: Defects generally come

about either from improper
handling of the cut piece.

Remedy: When these defects starts to appear at close to 2% or 5 pieces, the

production must be informed and the operator must re-trained in the proper usage
of the machine.
 Others

Others: Misaligned buttons and holes ,unfinished buttonhole, missing buttons, wrong
placement of labels, hang tag, wrong folding or poor folding , improper packing into
cartons – all these defects come from finishing section.