Pointelle is an open-work knit full of small eyelet holes, mostly made with elastane. Here is the dyeing and finishing route for each fibre, from greige pointelle to the cutting table.
At a glance
110Parts in our records
220Median required GSM
25%Within GSM tolerance
98%Lycra pointelle heat set
Pointelle has small eyelet holes made by transferring stitches, usually on a rib or interlock base. It is used for ladies’ tops and baby wear. The holes are the design, so the fabric has to keep its shape and width through dyeing and finishing.
| Type in our records | Parts |
|---|---|
| Pointal Rib | 52 |
| Ly Pointal Rib | 22 |
| L/Pointal Rib | 11 |
| Design Pointal Rib | 6 |
| Pointal Mesh | 6 |
| Ly Design Pointal Rib | 3 |
| Ly-D/Pointal Rib | 2 |
| Pointelle Rib | 2 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cotton-elastane | 43 | 220 | 19% | 74% | 6% | 3% | 98% |
| CVC / PC | 32 | 220 | 29% | 68% | 4% | 5% | 88% |
| 100% cotton | 21 | 200 | 14% | 86% | 8% | 3% | 0% |
Pointelle is light and open, and it is hard to hold to GSM: only 19% of cotton-elastane pointelle finishes within tolerance.
What makes pointelle different
- Pointelle is knitted with a needle gap, a kind of special needle setting that leaves small holes as the design.
- When it has Lycra, it is heat set so the dimensional stability is right and the design stays correct.
- Pointelle is normally crease sensitive, and crease marks come out more on it. Load and run it carefully.
Why pointelle GSM is hard to hold
- When pointelle relaxes it shrinks a lot, and the GSM goes up.
- So GSM is controlled mainly in knitting, through the yarn tension and stitch length. With Lycra, a tight knit helps hold it.
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
Cotton-elastane pointelle
In our records: 43 parts, 19% within GSM tolerance, median length shrinkage 6%, heat set 98%. Full process: Cotton-elastane dyeing process.
Dyeing and finishing: Cotton-elastane pointelle
CVC / PC pointelle
In our records: 32 parts, 29% within GSM tolerance, median length shrinkage 4%, heat set 88%. Full process: CVC / PC dyeing process.
Dyeing and finishing: CVC / PC pointelle
100% cotton pointelle
In our records: 21 parts, 14% within GSM tolerance, median length shrinkage 8%, heat set 0%. Full process: 100% cotton dyeing process.
Dyeing and finishing: 100% cotton pointelle
Common faults and buyer complaints
- The common pointelle faults are shade variation, and the design holes closing up so the design is lost. These problems are bigger on pointelle than on most fabrics.
Shade variation. Check every batch against the approved shade before the fabric leaves dyeing.
Design holes closing. Heat set Lycra pointelle so the holes are fixed open, and do not overfeed or compact so hard that the holes close.
Textile engineer with 14+ years in dyeing and fabric development. He writes every guide on Dyeing Solution from real production work. Full profile