Follow each bed set, towel lot and curtain order from fabric to labelled carton.

A home textile order is a programme. A retailer asks for a bed set in four colours, each made of a fitted sheet, a flat sheet and pillowcases, and each with its own label, barcode and carton mark. A towel buyer cares about weight per dozen, pile and border. Detail rules.

The maker runs weaving or knitting, dyeing or printing, cutting, sewing and packing, sometimes in one compound and sometimes through outside units. The order closes only when every piece of the set is in the same carton. Not before.

Merchandisers receive a purchase order with design, size, colour and set composition, then book yarn or fabric against it. A lab dip or strike-off is sent to the buyer and approved before bulk dyeing or printing starts. The approval date is written on the order, though the strike-off, the buyer’s comments and the sample photographs usually stay in three different folders on three different desks.

Fabric is inspected on a roll machine, and defects are marked before cutting. Lays follow the set. Sewing lines produce hems, borders and closures, while towel lines handle looping, cutting and stitching of borders. Each section reports pieces made, sets completed and rejects.

Packing is the last and most exacting step. Pieces are folded, bagged with an insert, labelled with the retailer’s barcode and loaded in cartons marked for the shipping line. The buyer’s inspector may draw a sample and refuse the lot. Nothing ships until that is settled. Waiting costs.