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- Crease marks in knit dyeing: causes, machine settings and how to prevent them Why crease marks form in knit dyeing and how a working dye house prevents them: heat setting heavy…
All defects & troubleshooting guides
Why do black T-shirts fade and turn brown?
A cotton black is a mix of blue, red and yellow dyes, and the blue part often fades first. Why black T-shirts…
Listing and Side-Centre-Side Shade Variation in Knit Dyeing: Causes and Remedies
Why knit fabric comes out darker at the edges, along fold lines or at one end of the batch, how to measure…
Dye spots and stains on knit fabric: causes, quick tests and remedies
Dark specks, light dots, greasy halos, white dust, tar and rust marks each have a typical look and a simple bench test.…
Barré in knit fabric: causes, how to identify it and what the dye house can (and cannot) fix
Why horizontal stripes repeat down circular knit fabric, how to trace them to a yarn lot or feeder, which dyes reveal or…
Lot-to-lot shade variation in knit dyeing: why batches don’t match and how to control it
Why two lots dyed to the same approved shade, or a body and its rib, come out different: how to confirm it,…
Uneven and patchy dyeing in knit fabric: causes, checks and remedies
How to confirm patchy, cloudy or streaky shades on cotton, polyester-elastane and CVC knits, trace the real cause, correct a faulty batch…
Why knit fabric fails fibre content analysis: 8 real cases from 67 lab reports
8 real knit batches that failed fibre content analysis: fibre left off the declaration, blend ratio drift after scouring, and how to…
Why knit fabric fails the bursting strength test: 6 real cases from 81 lab reports
6 real knit batches that failed bursting strength: light GSM, yarn strength, cotton-filament combinations, enzyme and singeing, and the remedy for each…
Why knit fabric fails staining in wash, perspiration and water fastness: 9 real cases
9 real knit batches that failed staining in wash, perspiration or water fastness: multifibre results, causes and the wash-off and reduction clearing…
Why knit fabric fails the spirality test: 3 real cases from 84 lab reports
3 real knit batches that failed spirality after washing: yarn twist torque, finishing width changes, and the remedy for each case.
About Defects & Troubleshooting
Most dyeing faults have a short list of usual causes. Crease marks come from heavy or tight fabric, overloading and too much heat. Uneven dyeing usually goes back to pretreatment, dosing or heating rate. Poor fastness on dark shades usually goes back to the wash-off. Knowing the usual causes saves hours of guessing on the floor.
Each guide here starts with what the fault looks like, then the causes, then the machine settings, temperatures and process changes that prevent it, and finally what can still be done once a batch has come out faulty. The faults are grouped by type: shade, fastness, dimensional and surface.
Questions about defects & troubleshooting
What are the most common knit dyeing defects?
Crease marks, uneven dyeing and shade variation, poor wash or rubbing fastness, dye spots, and shrinkage or GSM problems. Most of them can be prevented with the right pretreatment, machine settings and wash-off.
Can a faulty dyed batch be corrected?
Often, yes. Shade problems can be corrected by adding dye or by stripping and re-dyeing, and crease marks can sometimes be reduced by a re-run or re-heat setting. Prevention is always cheaper than correction.
What causes crease marks in knit dyeing?
Heavy or tightly knitted fabric that is not heat set, fabric left in rope form too long, overloading the machine, fabric wider than the nozzle allows, and temperatures above 80°C that make the fabric balloon.