In this guide 6 sections
Yarn and cloth drift apart because issue and receipt sit in different books, each weaver has a different wastage habit, and shortage is settled by argument. A lot wise ledger ties beam, yarn weight and cloth meters to one lot, so each weaver’s account closes against meters received.
Where the gap opens between yarn out and cloth in
A master weaver in Ichalkaranji sends warp beams and weft cones to a dozen powerloom owners. Cloth comes back as folded pieces, weeks later. The difference between what went out and what came in is rarely zero.
Some of it is honest. Sizing loss, selvedge, knots, cut ends and fents all take yarn. Some of it is slack. Yarn is issued on one day, a second beam on another, and the receipts land under whichever lot the munim remembers.
That is why the argument never ends. Without a shared record, each side trusts a notebook. The notebook kept by a weaver with six looms in a shed behind the market never matches the trader’s own.
How separate books per weaver multiply the drift
Most traders keep one page per weaver for yarn issued and another for cloth received. The two pages are not linked by lot. A weaver who holds three beams at once has three jobs sharing one running balance.
Mixed counts make it worse. A 40s weft and a 60s weft might both be recorded as cotton yarn in kilograms. When the cloth for one lot is short, no one can say which yarn it was meant to use.
Rates cause their own mess. Weaving charge per meter changes with design, reed and pick. If the charge is noted separately, payment is computed from memory.
- Yarn issue and cloth receipt on different pages
- No lot number linking beam to pieces
- Count and quality merged under one heading
- Weaving rate kept outside the account
- Wastage settled verbally at payment time
What a lot wise ledger records for each weaver
Give every job a lot number the moment yarn leaves the godown. The lot carries the weaver, the loom, the design, the beam number, the count and the target meters. Everything that follows posts against that number.
The issue side holds yarn weight and cone count. The receipt side holds piece number, meters, grey weight and grade. Add a wastage allowance for the quality, set once, so the ledger can compare expected cloth with actual cloth.
- Lot number, weaver, loom and design
- Beam number, warp count and weft count
- Yarn issued by weight and by cone
- Pieces received with meters, weight and grade
- Allowed wastage and actual wastage
- Weaving rate and amount due
Settling a weaver against meters received
At the end of a lot the screen shows yarn issued, yarn expected to be consumed for the meters received, and the gap. A short gap inside the allowance closes the lot. A wide gap opens a conversation with numbers on the table.
Shortage then has a rule. Charge it at an agreed rate, carry it forward or write it off with a note. Whichever you choose, the ledger shows who decided and when.
Weavers benefit too. Their statement lists every beam, every piece and every deduction. A dispute over a short piece is settled by reading the lot, not by recalling a talk from three weeks ago. Disputes shrink.
Starting with one weaver and one season’s lots
Do not migrate every old book. Pick three weavers who give you the most trouble and open their balances as of today, yarn still lying with them and cloth still due. Weavers in Solapur and Ichalkaranji who already trust you will accept a printed statement faster than a new rule.
Number the next ten lots from the ledger, not from the notebook. Review each closing statement with the weaver. After a month you will know which allowance numbers are fair.
Then bring in the rest of your weavers, one at a time, and keep the old notebook closed. Print each closing statement and ask the weaver to sign it.
Weaver lot settlement sheet
Print it per lot on one side of a page. The top block lists lot number, weaver, loom, design, beam and counts. The middle table has yarn issued by date and weight on the left and pieces received with meters, weight and grade on the right. The bottom block shows allowed wastage, actual wastage, shortage and the weaving amount due.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
How much yarn wastage is normal for a powerloom weaver?
It depends on the count, the quality and the loom. Set an allowance per quality from your own past lots, then review it every few months. The ledger will show where real wastage sits.
Why does one weaver always run short?
Check the lot records before blaming anyone. Short cloth can come from mixed counts, missed receipts or a second beam booked to the wrong lot. If those are clean, the pattern is a fair conversation.
Do we need a different ledger for warp and weft?
Keep them as separate lines inside the same lot. Warp arrives as a beam and weft as cones, and each has its own count and weight. One lot number ties them together.
Can the ledger handle weavers paid per meter?
Yes. Store the rate against the lot and let the payment be computed from accepted meters. Deductions for shortage or rejected pieces appear as separate lines on the same statement.