Take a piece of fabric about 12″ X 12″ or a little larger. With an wash-fast marker, make a 10″ X 10″ square, making sure to note the straight of grain. After all washing, drying (and any other laundering steps) remeasure what is left of the 10″ X 10″ square and calculate the percent of shrinkage by subtracting the new measurement from the original 10″ and dividing the difference by the original 10″… make sure that you clearly note the warp and weft shrinkage.

When it comes to shrinkage being different at different ends of the bolt, could this come from the stretch that was added to the fabric as it was wound onto the bolt? Or does this have something to do with the weaving?????

http://www.hancocks-paducah.com/item–i-OG-SQ.html
It is only $13.49.

But, to address the question re: ’sag factor’. I presume that a designer would need to commission a weaver, specifically, with very specific tolerances on the fabric. I know shrinkage can be enforced at the mill – presuming your volume is sufficient to make sense.

Shrinkage is a factor of stability or distortion, which are criteria by which the quality of goods are measured. Since these things can be measured, they can can also be managed. Solutions may already exist or they may need to be developed. The most qualified person, IMO, to speak on this is an experienced denim weaver.

RE: AAATC. I’ll need to pull the book. I’m confident it says 3 cycles. My memory could be playing tricks on me, though. So, I need to check myself. I’ve always done 5 cycles for raw & finished goods because that’s how I was taught. Training and experience continue to support that theory, so I saw no reason to change.

It’s interesting there is a whole variety of other tools available. Until now, I’ve always been – decidedly – low-tech, emulating the End User. For specialized tests, like flammability, abrasion, tensile strength, chemical exposure, etc. I know to use a lab (guess it’s time to add one to the Rolodex!).