Two Days Corporate Training on “Quality Assurance for Embroidery and Printing”

IIS (Deemed to be University), Jaipur

Department of Fashion and Textiles

Two Days Corporate Training on

“Quality Assurance for Embroidery and Printing”

Company: Vasansi, A Unit of Saree Kendra, Jaipur

Date:  16^th January & 17^th January, 2020

Department of Fashion & Textiles organized two days skill training programme on “Quality Assurance in Embroidery and Printing” for laying foundation for quality and efficiency for the work done through embroidery and hand printing. The main objective of the workshop is to maintain the quality of embroidered and printed fabrics and use of ergonomics in the printing unit for the betterment of the health of the employee. The training was organised to upgrade the skills of the industry worker. The training was given with the help of interactive lectures, presentations and demonstrations. There were 36 employees in the embroidery and printing unit of Vasansi. Dr. Sunetra Datt and Ms. Amandeep Kaur were the training coordinators.

The training began with the introduction which oriented the importance of selection of raw material, common quality defects, finishing of products and importance of ergonomics for the trainees. Employees were also briefed about the importance of quality maintenance, importance of finishing ergonomics for preventing injuries and risk to reduce the body stress.

Day- 1

Session- I      

The first session was delivered by Ms. Amandeep Kaur. She explained the types of embroidery defects and suggested remedies for its rectification. She emphasized the importance of a neat finish of the product during embroidering or even after its completion. She explained that by being vigilant some defects can be rectified. She explained the various defects which may occur because of uneven stitch lengths or by inserting the needle at the same place multiple times which damages the fabrics, incorrect way of using backing, incorrect use of thread and needle or by pulling the stitches hard or using frayed threads. Some of the basic embroidery defects are accrued during the embroidery like fabric damage or needle holes, fabric gapping, missed trims, improper placement of embroidery design, poor registration of design, bunching at the corners, thick embroidery, poor stitch density and poor hooping etc.

She explained that Hoop/adda should not be stretched too much; otherwise, it will damage the fabric. Hoop marks should always be ironed after completion of embroidery work.  Thickness of the thread should be selected as per the base embroidery fabric to avoid fabric damage. Threads should also be selected according to the designs. She also discussed the use of pointed small and sharp scissors to cut the trims and extra loops. The leftover threads can be trimmed or glued at the wrong side of the completed embroidery product. The main objective of this session was to explain that the quality of embroidery near perfection in the final product is essential for the overall look of the garment/product. She explained that all such defects should be rectified neatly and carefully without causing any damage either to the fabric or the embroidery work. The embroiderer should be careful while handling the fabric, needle, frame and thread. She also explained the role of patience and hard work for doing any type of embroidery.

Session - II

In the next session Ms. Aman deep briefed the employees about the selection of raw material for embroidery in which she explained how to select raw material for embroidery like threads, needles, frame, adda, fabric and design.

 She explained that the commonly used fabrics for hand embroidery are linen, satin, cotton, silk, crepes, georgette, chiffon, velvet, terri-cot, polyester, etc. The selection of the size of the needle is done based on the weight or thickness of the material. She also explained the method to get required fineness of the embroidery and the kind of thread to be used, e.g., if silk thread is being used on chiffon or silk-like soft material, a very fine and high numbered needle would be required. The factors to keep in mind while selecting a thread are like colour, texture, length, thickness and suitability to the final effect of the embroidery pattern were also discussed.

 She also explained the importance of embroidery frame required to hold and stretch the fabric to a desired firmness and tightness for doing embroidery. She briefly explained the right use of frame size for getting good finishing. For hand embroidery it is always advisable to use a right frame while doing embroidery to give the embroidery pattern a beautiful, neat and finished look. She also explained about adda. For hand embroidery, adda is used like for ari work and zardozi. It is a wooden adjustable frame with four wooden bars on which fabric is stretched for embroidery. The fabric is attached to the adda mainly for doing aari work. Before starting this embroidery, fabric should be carefully attached on adda.

Session- III

Third session focused on the importance of selection of materials and methods as it determines the quality of the final product. Base materials, different raw materials, various techniques to carry out stitches and many other aspects of finishing are important from the point of view of quality. Finishing of the embroidered products is one of an important aspect of the quality of embroidered finishing process.  She explained that after completion of embroidery work, the finishing needs to be done to improve the quality of the work and give high quality services to the clients. The finishing process is much more than just folding the embroidered product or garment, and removing the backing. She also took a session on importance of quality assurance of embroidered patterns and explained how embroidered can maintain the quality during the work. She highlighted that the quality of embroidery depends not only on the workmanship, but also the quality of the fabric, threads, the intricacy of the design, the closeness of the stitches, and the colour combinations. 

Day 2

The second day of the training begins with the session conducted by Dr. Sunetra Datt. She emphasised the role of raw material used in block printing industry and finishing of the printed material in achieving good quality. In the last session she was explained the importance of ergonomics in the block printing unit.

Session- I

In this session role of selection of raw material to achieve quality products was explained was explained by Dr. Sunetra Datt.  She explained the tools of the block printing and ensures the quality of tools before using it in the printing. The main tools required for block printing are wooden blocks, printing paste, fabric, printing table, squeeze etc. Before starting printing it should be ensured that the fabric is washed and pre- processed appropriately, colour selection should be according to the given design specification, select the appropriate blocks, edges of blocks must be sharpened and prepare the printing paste tray appropriately, placements of blocks should be according to the design and prescribed area to achieve quality printing.

Session - II

 This session was followed by an overview of finishing of the printed fabrics. She explained the importance of three basic stages of finishing: washing and drying, stabilizing, and pressing. 

She also explained that how drying of fabric helps in fixation of colour. It is then rolled in wads of newspapers to prevent the dye from adhering to other layers and steamed in boilers constructed for the purpose. She highlighted the importance of proper handling of fabric while printing and post- printing to avoid transfer of colours to other areas and printer also ensure that the shape/size/pattern/design is not distorted while printing. She emphasized that final finishing of the printed material should be checked that there is no shade difference in the colours used.

Session - III

In the last session Dr. Datt explained that India has a rich heritage of hand work and handicrafts like hand block textile printing, blue pottery etc. Since the workers engaged in this industry are faced with different musculoskeletal disorders. Use of hand block tools in printing requires exertion of significant hand force along with shoulder, hand wrist had to awkward postures.

She explained that the risk factors for hand/wrist problems have been developed due to unnatural postures and repetitive forceful exertion. By using equipments properly musculoskeletal disorders can be reduced and productivity can be increased. She also explained various correct body postures during the block printing to avoid musculoskeletal disorders.

The training was appreciated by the manager as well as participated trainee. They learned the importance of quality assurance for embroidered as well as printed products. They also learned the process to maintain quality from selection of raw material to finishing of the products. They expressed their gratitude to the university and trainers who had provided the informative and useful sessions. They further suggested that such endeavours and excellent side events that could be carried out in future between the university and vasansi.

Dr. Radha Kashyap

Head, Dept. of Fashion & Textiles