When picking your uniforms, it is important to know how to check the quality of a garment.
Here’s a Beginner’s Guide curated by Uniform, on how to check the quality of a garment before making your final uniform investment:
1. Check the Fabric
If you want to check the durability of the fabrics of uniform, hold it towards the light and stretch. It will give you enough idea of the quality. You need to keep stretching the fabric three or four times to its full extent. Try to note the lines and other details on the surface of the cloth. You can also pay special attention to the yarns, and if they are spun tightly, the uniform fabric is of good quality.
2. Check the Buttons and Zippers
Buttons and zippers are some of the first things to go in a garments. Your uniforms’ zippers should be kept in place with a tight stitch as should the buttons and the buttonholes. Make sure the zippers are running smoothly as well.
3. Do the pull and scrunch tests
High-quality fabric, when stretched lightly and quickly, should not show any discoloration or lose its shape. When scrunched up for a few seconds, the fabric should fall back into place without any obvious wrinkling when released.
4. Check Seams and Hems
Seams are an essential part of any cloth, especially uniforms. A seam is a line where usually two pieces of fabric from the opposite direction are sewn together in uniform. Seams directly affect the overall quality of the uniform. These seams provide the details about the quality of the material/fabric used to manufacture uniform. Look out for poorly done stitching and gaps between seams when you gently try to pull them apart. Also, look out for the treatment on the hems, because they should also be tightly-stitched. Watch out for loose threads as well as uniformity in the colour of the thread and the fabric.
5. Check the Label
The garment’s label should indicate the most basic information about the material and proper laundering techniques. An informative label is an indication of attention to detail that low-quality and poorly-made garments usually do not have.
6. Check for discoloration
High-quality garments should not bleed or fade over a few laundry cycles or after exposure to water or perspiration.