Technical Guide · Greige Conversion

From Greige to Finished: How Width, Weight and Length Change

Width, weight and length all change between loom state and finished fabric. Greige — also written grey fabric, grey goods or loom-state — narrows in wet processing, its GSM moves in both directions, and metres are lost to processing, inspection cut-outs and roll ends. There are no standard percentages: the changes are properties of a construction, fibre and route, so the conversion is controlled by approving a sample before production, not by quoting a range.

Updated 13 August 2026

What changes between greige and finished fabric?

The three dimensions that change between loom state and finished fabric — what moves each, and how the change is controlled
Dimension	What happens	What drives it	How it is controlled
Width	The cloth relaxes and contracts in wet processing, then is set on the stenter — the finished width is a different number from the loom-state width	Construction density, fibre, weave, and the finishing route and stenter settings	A finished width written on the order, held to the agreed ±3 inch band, and matched against the approved pre-production sample
Weight (GSM)	Moves in both directions: desizing and scouring remove added mass, while width and length contraction concentrate the remaining mass into fewer square metres	How much size the greige carries, how far the cloth contracts, and any finish added at the end	A finished GSM written on the order, held to the agreed ±5 band, measured on conditioned cloth against the approved sample
Length	Finished deliverable metres are fewer than greige metres bought — lost to process contraction, inspection cut-outs and roll ends	The route (how many wet stages), the inspection standard applied, and roll make-up	The order states the finished metres required and the processor plans the greige quantity back from the approved sample — the conversion is theirs to own

Every row of that table has the same shape: the change is real, its size is construction-specific, and the control is a written figure with a band, anchored to an approved sample — not a published percentage.

Why is there no standard shrinkage percentage for greige?

Buyers assume a supplier who knows the trade can quote a standard greige-to-finished loss percentage. There isn't one to quote — the loss is a property of the individual construction, fibre and finishing route, not of greige as a class. A dense poplin, an open lawn and a stretch twill leave different amounts of width on the stenter; a route with mercerising contracts differently from one without; the same greige finished to two customers' requirements ends at two different widths. A single published percentage is wrong for almost every construction it meets.

That is why the honest answer is procedural. The changes depend on the customer's requirement and the fabric itself, so the conversion is fixed by producing and approving a sample before bulk production, and finishing the bulk to match it — the cloth is kept as the customer wants, not as a table predicts.

How is the greige-to-finished conversion controlled in practice?

The control is an ordered procedure, and every step of it happens before bulk production:

1. State the requirement in finished terms — finished width, finished GSM, finished metres. The finished figures are what your garment maker receives; they are the ones to fix.
2. The processor plans backwards — the mill and processing unit work out the greige construction, width and quantity their route needs to land on your finished figures.
3. A sample is produced and shared — greige from the planned construction, run through the intended route.
4. You approve the sample before production — this is the gate. Nothing goes to bulk until the sample matches what you want; the approved piece becomes the contractual reference.
5. Bulk is contracted against the sample — with the working bands written on the order: GSM within ±5, width within ±3 inches, and ends matching the approved sample exactly.
6. Finished goods are checked against the same sample — the reference that approved production is the reference at inspection, so "conforming" means one thing throughout.

Where do the metres go between greige and finished?

Finished deliverable length is always shorter than the greige length that entered the route, for three separate reasons — worth separating because each is controlled differently:

Process loss. The cloth contracts lengthways in wet processing, and short lengths are consumed by machine threading, joins between lots and route trials. Construction- and route-specific — planned by the processor, not by a rule of thumb.
Inspection cut-outs. Faulty stretches found at final inspection are cut out rather than shipped, so the metres that fail do not reach the invoice — but they also do not reach you.
Roll ends. Rolls are made up to practical lengths; offcuts below a usable length at the end of each roll fall out of the deliverable total.

The practical consequence: never buy greige metres equal to your finished requirement. State the finished metres you need and let the processor commit to the greige quantity their route requires — step 2 of the procedure above.

How do you plan greige quantity for a finished requirement?

Start from the end. Your real requirement is finished metres at a finished width and GSM, so the planning conversation runs: finished requirement → route → approved sample → greige quantity. On Burhan-coordinated orders greige is invoiced per metre, so quantity is a length conversation from the first enquiry to the invoice — the same unit throughout, with no weight-basis conversion hiding in the middle.

Give the supplier the finished metres, width and GSM you need, and the downstream route.
Ask them to state the greige metres they will run to deliver it — after sample approval, that figure is theirs to stand behind.
If you are buying greige to process elsewhere, agree the conversion with your processor before committing the greige quantity — the mill that weaves it cannot own a conversion another unit will run.

How the per-metre basis interacts with weight, and where metre and kilogram bases cause disputes, is covered in metres or kilograms: how greige is measured and invoiced — the measurement half of this decision.

From our sourcing floor

The conversion nobody owned.

A recurring pattern: a buyer purchases greige metres equal to their finished requirement, sends the lot for processing, and discovers at delivery that the deliverable finished metres fall short — the width also settling somewhere nobody had written down. Every party did their job; the conversion between the two states simply belonged to no one, because the order fixed greige quantities and finished expectations without connecting them.

The orders that do not produce this call all share one feature: the finished requirement was stated first, a sample was approved before production, and one party committed in writing to the greige quantity the route needed. The approval gate is not paperwork — it is the moment the conversion stops being an assumption and becomes someone's obligation.

What should the order state so the conversion is not assumed?

Which state each figure is in — every width and GSM labelled loom-state or finished, never bare.
The finished requirement — metres, width and GSM your programme actually needs.
The approved sample reference — named on the order as the standard bulk must match.
The working bands — GSM within ±5 and width within ±3 inches of the agreed figures, ends matching the approved sample exactly; the order confirmation restates the bands per order.
Who owns the conversion — the party committing greige quantity against finished delivery, in writing.
The invoicing basis — per metre for greige, so the invoiced quantity and the contracted quantity live in the same unit.

Related knowledge

Fabric sourcing agent in Pakistan
Who manages the loom-state-to-finished steps described here on your behalf.
Metres or kilograms: how greige is measured and invoiced
The measurement basis behind this page — GSM, width and length arithmetic, and what the contract states.
What a greige fabric specification must state
The nine-field checklist this page keeps pointing back to — width basis, weight state and tolerances included.
How greige fabric is inspected
The inspection procedure that enforces the approved sample this page is built around.
Greige vs RFD vs PFD
The processing states themselves — what greige still has ahead of it before any of these changes happen.
Low-MOQ fabric sourcing from Pakistan
The confirmed processing minimums a finished requirement is planned against.

Frequently asked questions

How much does greige fabric shrink in finishing?

There is no standard percentage — the change depends on the construction, fibre and finishing route, and on what the customer wants the finished cloth held to. The reliable control is procedural: a sample is produced and approved before bulk production, and bulk is finished to match it.

Is greige width the width I will receive after finishing?

No. Greige width is a loom-state figure; wet processing contracts the cloth and the stenter sets the finished width. State the finished width you need on the order, with an agreed band, and anchor it to an approved pre-production sample.

How much greige do I need for 5,000 metres finished?

More than 5,000 greige metres — process contraction, inspection cut-outs and roll ends all reduce deliverable length — but the exact quantity is route- and construction-specific. State the finished metres you need and have the processor commit the greige quantity after sample approval.

Does GSM go up or down from greige to finished?

Both happen. Desizing and scouring remove added mass, pulling GSM down; width and length contraction concentrate the remaining mass, pushing GSM up; finishes can add weight back. State which state your GSM figure is in, and fix the finished figure against an approved sample.

Who is responsible for the greige-to-finished conversion?

Whoever contracts finished delivery against a greige quantity — and the order should say so in writing. When one partner coordinates weaving and processing, the conversion is theirs to own after sample approval; when you buy greige and process it elsewhere, agree the conversion with your processor first.

On typical values: this page deliberately publishes no shrinkage or loss percentages — the changes between loom state and finished cloth are properties of a specific construction, fibre and route, and are fixed per order by an approved pre-production sample. Working tolerance bands are restated on each order confirmation. Physical swatches and approved specifications override anything illustrated here. Burhan Enterprises is a sourcing and export partner and coordinates through partner mills and processing units.

Fix the conversion before production, not after delivery

Tell us your finished requirement — metres, width, GSM and route. We will plan the greige backwards from it with partner mills, share a pre-production sample for your approval, and put the figures and bands in writing before anything is woven.

Send your finished requirement