Jacquard is a design fabric: its pattern shows properly only at the right width. Here is the dyeing and finishing route for each fibre, from greige jacquard to the cutting table.
At a glance
184Parts in our records
230Median required GSM
29%Within GSM tolerance
67%CVC jacquard heat set
Jacquard knits build a pattern by selecting which needles knit, tuck or miss on each course. The pattern can come from different yarns, from structure alone, or from yarn-dyed colours. Because the design shows correctly only at a certain width, jacquard is often heat set to fix that width.
| Type in our records | Parts |
|---|---|
| Jacquard Rib | 31 |
| Jacquard Jersey | 22 |
| Y/D Double Jacquard | 10 |
| Yd Double Jacquard | 9 |
| Y/D Jacquard Jersey | 8 |
| Purl Jacquard Rib | 7 |
| Jacquard Quilted Rib | 7 |
| Pointal Jacquard Rib | 6 |
By fibre: what our records show
| Fibre or blend | Parts | Median required GSM | Within ±5% GSM | More than 5% light | Median length shrinkage | Median width shrinkage | Heat set |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVC / PC | 78 | 270 | 40% | 48% | 5% | 3% | 67% |
| 100% cotton | 64 | 220 | 8% | 90% | 9% | 4% | 19% |
| Cotton-elastane | 18 | 205 | 53% | 35% | 5% | 2% | 94% |
Cotton jacquard is very hard to hold to GSM: only 8% of parts finish within tolerance.
Fixing the design width
- Jacquard is a design fabric, and the buyer usually gives a swatch.
- We look at the swatch and set the width plus or minus, with overfeed or underfeed, so the design matches. Then we heat set it to fix that width.
Because the width is set to match the buyer’s design, the GSM follows the design setting rather than the order tolerance. That is one reason so little cotton jacquard finishes within GSM tolerance.
The sequence before the dyeing machine
Every chart below follows the same sequence before dyeing. Steps a fabric does not need simply drop out; they are drawn dashed.
- Greige inspection, then batching. A fabric that stays a tube is turned inside out here.
- If it needs heat setting, singeing or mercerising: slitting first. None of these is ever done on a tube.
- If it needs heat setting: heat setting in open width.
- If it needs singeing: singeing in open width, after checking the flame cannot damage the fabric.
- If it is mercerised: mercerising, then drying.
- If the fabric was opened: back sewing, to make it a tube again with the face side inside (the loop side, for terry).
- Loading into the dyeing machine, then scouring, bleaching and dyeing, single part or double part as the fibre needs.
Flowcharts by fibre
CVC / PC jacquard knit
In our records: 78 parts, 40% within GSM tolerance, median length shrinkage 5%, heat set 67%. Full process: CVC / PC dyeing process.
Dyeing and finishing: CVC / PC jacquard knit
100% cotton jacquard knit
In our records: 64 parts, 8% within GSM tolerance, median length shrinkage 9%, heat set 19%. Full process: 100% cotton dyeing process.
Dyeing and finishing: 100% cotton jacquard knit
Cotton-elastane jacquard knit
In our records: 18 parts, 53% within GSM tolerance, median length shrinkage 5%, heat set 94%. Full process: Cotton-elastane dyeing process.
Dyeing and finishing: Cotton-elastane jacquard knit
Common faults and buyer complaints
- The common jacquard faults are shrinkage failure and the design not showing properly.
Shrinkage failure. Check shrinkage after washing before delivery, and compact to the result.
Design not showing properly. The width is off from the buyer’s swatch. Set the width and overfeed against the swatch at heat setting, and hold the same width on the stenter.
Textile engineer with 14+ years in dyeing and fabric development. He writes every guide on Dyeing Solution from real production work. Full profile