Side Match III: Pile Direction

Part I covered color variations. Part II covered texture variations. Part III covers the third major category of factors that cause side match complaints — differences in pile direction.

Why Pile Direction Matters

In cut-pile constructions, nearly all of the light that strikes the pile is reflected from the sides of the fibers, so when pile lies away from you, most of what you see is the sides of fibers. When the pile lies toward you, less of that light from the sides of the fibers is reflected toward you, so the pile appears darker.

What about loop-pile constructions? This effect is not as conspicuous in all-loop styles; however, the direction of the pile still has enough impact on the apparent shade that you’re likely to see a difference if the cuts aren’t all running the same direction.

Roll Crush

In commercial installations, roll crush probably accounts for more side match complaints than any other single cause. There are several ways in which it can occur, but the most common is for the pile to be oriented toward the selvedges rather than parallel to the direction of manufacture. (Figures 1, 2, 3.) If the pile on the left-hand edge of the roll is pointing at a 45-degree angle toward the left and the pile on the right is pointing 45 degrees to the right, then there will be about a 90-degree difference in pile direction when those edges are seamed together. (Figure 3.)

Another condition you might find, though it’s much more rare, is a difference in the degree of orientation. In other words, you may have two cuts installed in the same direction with all of the pile lying in the same direction, but the pile of one cut is only slightly oriented, while that on the other cut is very strongly oriented. (Figure 4.)

On nylon and wool this condition usually is correctable. Polyester puts up quite a fight, but I’ve had success on it as well. Roll crush of any kind is extremely hard to correct on polypropylene; however, I’ve had some success on 50/50 nylon/polypropylene blends, though many cases required correction to be repeated a second time to completely solve the problem.

Half Turns and Quarter Turns

Obviously if cuts are installed in different directions, their pile direction will differ as well. Half-turns (figure 5), where the carpet is turned 180 degrees, and quarter turns (figure 6), where it’s turned 90 degrees, actually are not very common.

The direction of manufacture can be determined conclusively by examining the back of the carpet, as all construction types have distinct differences between lengthwise and widthwise features. (Of course, the backing materials will run the same direction on a half-turn.) Additionally, the carpet’s pattern can often be used to determine the direction of manufacture if it is not perfectly symmetrical.

A Bonus Weird One

I suppose one of the first rules of inspecting side match complaints should be to verify that there’s actually a seam where you think there is. Figure 7 shows an especially unusual case where there is no seam, but at one point there is a change in yarn lot about two feet from one side of the roll. (The yarn on this carpet is pre-dyed.) This condition is a defect; however, the carpet was second quality, meaning that it was sold as-is with no warranty.

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