Requirements of a Good Spread

Spreading quality flows into every operation that follows, cutting, assembly, finishing, and the final fit, so the spread has to meet a defined set of requirements. Operators monitor many factors at once. This is the consolidated checklist a high-quality spread must satisfy. (For the detailed how-to on each, see the companion article, Quality in Fabric Spreading.)

The requirement checklist

A high-quality spread is characterised by:

1. Shade sorting - batch rolls by true shade (colorist or spectrophotometer); separate different shades in a lay with tissue or wax paper so bundles sort cleanly.
2. Fabric defect handling - identify flaws and decide: make-through, cut out at the lay (splice), or sort-and-recut.
3. Tension control - spread as tension-free as possible; a tight spread contracts and ends up shorter than the marker (critical for knits and spandex).
4. Slack tension - avoid the opposite fault too; slackness causes wrinkles and misalignment. Fabric should lie flat, neither stretched nor loose.
5. Flatness - every ply must lie smooth and flat, no ridges, folds, or bubbles, or cut parts will be inaccurate.
6. Ply alignment - each ply at least the marker's length and width; keep one edge accurately aligned to the marker when widths vary.
7. Static electricity - man-made fibers build static that makes plies cling; reduce by re-threading through the guide bars and managing humidity.
8. Ply direction - spread so the pattern direction set in the marker is maintained (all face up, all face down, or face to face as the fabric demands).
9. Matching fabric design - for checks, stripes, and large repeats, spread so the design will align across sewn pieces.