10 questions
Fabrics and care
Fabric decides how a garment looks, drapes, wears and washes. Approve a sample in the production fabric, and ask for shrinkage and colourfastness checks when your customers will wash the garment.
Which fabrics are best for women’s dresses?
It depends on the occasion and season. Jacquard satin and satin give sheen for occasion wear, crepe and textured polyester hold shape, viscose and cupro drape softly and cotton blends are easy to care for. Choose by drape, opacity, price point and how the garment is washed.
What fabric composition and GSM should I choose?
Composition decides hand-feel, care and shrinkage. GSM is weight in grams per square metre: lighter for summer and linings, heavier for winter and outerwear. Dress fabrics often sit in a range of roughly 100 to 250 g/m², but the right figure depends on the fabric and the style.
What is viscose and is it sustainable?
Viscose is a regenerated cellulose fibre made from wood pulp. Its footprint depends on how the pulp is sourced and how the fibre is made. Certified pulp and closed-loop processing reduce impact, so ask the supplier for documentation instead of assuming.
Which fabrics wrinkle less for travel or modest wear?
Textured polyester and polyester crepe resist creasing well, and blends with a little elastane recover better. Linen and viscose crease more easily. Quilted and heavier fabrics hold their shape.
What fabrics suit hot climates like the Gulf?
Light, breathable fabrics such as cotton blends, viscose, cupro and modal. For modest wear, check opacity and add a lining where the fabric is sheer, so coverage does not cost comfort.
How do you handle fabric shrinkage and colourfastness?
Ask for shrinkage and colourfastness testing when customers will machine wash the garment. Colourfastness is commonly tested to the ISO 105 series, and washing tests show how much a fabric shrinks. Agree the acceptable result before production.
What is the minimum fabric order for a custom colour or print?
Mills set minimums per colour or design, often by roll or lot, so a custom colour or print has a higher fabric minimum than a stock colour. We state the fabric minimum in the quote.
What do pilling, seam slippage and snagging mean?
Pilling is small balls of fibre forming on the surface. Seam slippage is yarns pulling away at the seam in loosely woven fabric. Snagging is pulled threads or loops. They depend on fabric construction and are checked by testing.
How do you ensure colour consistency between fabric lots?
Some lot-to-lot variation is normal. A style should be cut from one lot, pieces of a set from the same lot, and a new lot compared with the approved colour before cutting.
What care label symbols should I use?
Care labels use standardised symbols for washing, bleaching, drying, ironing and professional care, based on the GINETEX system and ISO 3758. Your destination may also require care text in its language.
General information, not legal or customs advice. Rules change and differ by country: confirm the details that apply to your shipment with your customs broker or importer.