The nine things that move a fabric price
Most of them are yours to move, and none of them would appear in a price index even if one existed. Mechanisms, not percentages: how much each is worth depends on the mill, the loom, the run length and the shade, and a number here would be a guess wearing a decimal point.
One line each. Open any of them for the mechanism in full.
- The count
- The finer cloth is usually dearer, but by less than the yarn price gap suggests. Ask for both constructions costed.
Why, in full
A finer yarn costs more per kilogram, and a cloth of finer yarn needs fewer kilograms to cover the same area. The two pull against each other, so the finished cloth is usually dearer but by less than the yarn price difference suggests. Ask for both constructions costed rather than assuming.
- Ends and picks
- The fastest lever a mill reaches for when asked to hit a price. Two quotations are only comparable at the same ends and picks.
Why, in full
The fastest lever in the cloth and the one a mill reaches for when asked to hit a price. Dropping picks takes out yarn and loom time at once, and the cloth still meets the counts it was quoted on. Two quotations are only comparable at the same ends and picks, and if one of them is short, that is where the price went.
- Width
- A wider loom only saves you money if your marker actually uses the extra width.
Why, in full
A wider loom spreads the same setup over more square metres, but it only helps you if your marker actually uses the extra width. Buying 63 inch cloth for a pattern laid at 57 is buying offcut and paying freight on it.
- The weave
- A weave change is a cost change before it is a look change.
Why, in full
Plain needs the most picks to cover; twill and satin cover with fewer because the yarn floats. So a weave change is a cost change before it is a look change, and a twill quoted at plain weave density is a cloth nobody asked for.
- The blend
- Two fibres mean two dyeings. Ask for the blend costed as a finished cloth, never as a fibre mix.
Why, in full
A polyester cotton blend is not the average of two fibre prices. It needs two dyeings, in two dye classes, which adds a processing stage that can be larger than the fibre saving. Ask for the blend costed as a finished cloth, never as a fibre mix.
- The shade
- A quotation given before the shade is fixed is provisional whether it says so or not.
Why, in full
Depth of shade is a real cost: more dye, a longer cycle, more rinsing, and a higher risk of a reject. A pale and a deep navy of exactly the same cloth are different prices, and a quotation given before the shade is fixed is provisional whether it says so or not.
- Run length
- Ask for the price at your quantity and at the next quantity up. The step tells you where the batch boundary is.
Why, in full
Dyeing is batched, so a short run pays for the same machine setup as a long one. Ask for the price at your quantity and at the next quantity up. The step between them is usually visible, and it tells you where the batch boundary is.
- Greige against finished
- A price and a weight that do not say which one they mean are not yet a price and a weight.
Why, in full
You buy greige metres and you sell finished metres, and the cloth loses width and length in between. A price and a weight that do not say which one they mean are not yet a price and a weight.
- Weight, through freight
- The container charges by space and by weight, not by value. Heavy cloth on a long lane is a different calculation.
Why, in full
The container charges by space and by weight, not by value. Heavy cloth on a long lane carries far more freight per metre than a shirting does, so a denim comparison between two origins is a different calculation from a poplin comparison between the same two.
