Inline vs Final Inspection for Sports Bra Orders
A final inspection on its own is a report, not a control. By the time a carton is packed, the defects that matter most in a medium impact bra are already inside several hundred units: the elastic tension that drifted across the shift, the cut-out that sat 4 millimetres low on one bundle, the pad pocket that rotated on the larger sizes. Inline inspection catches those while they are still cheap. Final inspection confirms what you are about to ship. Buyers need both, and they need them to measure different things.
What Inline Inspection Catches
Inline inspection runs during cutting and sewing, typically at 10 to 20 percent of production for the first check and then at intervals. For a bra, the useful checks are stitch density in stitches per inch, elastic tension consistency measured on cut lengths, cut-out alignment against the pattern notch, pad pocket placement, and hook tape position relative to the band edge.
These are process defects. They are usually systematic rather than random, which means one inline finding can prevent several hundred faulty pieces. That is the entire economic argument for paying for it.
What Final Inspection Catches
Final inspection runs on packed or pack-ready goods against an acceptance sampling plan. The common reference is ISO 2859-1, also published as ANSI/ASQ Z1.4, with general inspection level II and an acceptable quality limit, most often AQL 2.5 for major defects and AQL 4.0 for minor defects on apparel.
Final inspection is good at counting: measurement deviations, visible stitching faults, soiling, label errors, packing errors. It is poor at finding a tension problem that affects every piece equally, because sampling does not detect a uniform shift.
Building the Defect Classification
Write the list before production, not at the inspection. Critical defects, which are unsafe or non-compliant: broken or sharp hook hardware, a needle fragment, missing country of origin where required, or a care label that contradicts the actual composition.
Major defects, which the consumer would notice or which affect function: skipped or broken stitch in a load-bearing seam, elastic that has lost recovery, cut-out misplaced by more than 5 millimetres, hook rows that do not align, band twisted at the closure, pad pocket opening on the wrong side.
Minor defects, which are cosmetic and below an agreed threshold: a measurement within tolerance but at the limit, slight shade variation between panels from the same dye lot, a thread end over 5 millimetres.
Measurement Sampling
Do not rely on the AQL sample alone for measurements. Instruct the inspector to measure at least 10 pieces per size, spread across the production dates, against the graded spec. Record actual values rather than pass or fail, because the distribution tells you whether the process is drifting even when every piece passes.
For a racerback with a back cut-out, always measure the cut-out position and the underband stretched length, since those two points move first.
When to Add a Third Party
Third-party inspection typically costs USD 200 to 350 per inspector-day. It pays for itself on a first order with a new factory, on any order above roughly USD 50,000, and whenever the factory and the buyer disagree about defect severity. For repeat orders with a factory that has a documented inline process and stable results, factory final inspection plus your own top-of-production sample review is usually sufficient.
Records to Keep
Keep the inspection report, the measurement sheets, photographs of any defect found, and the corrective action note. When the same defect appears on the second order, that file is what converts a discussion into a specification change.
