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 Tbs                                                 TDC3 (6307) P3 
 
 
DRAFT TANZANIA STANDARD  
 
 
Textiles — Hessian bags — Specification 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 Foreword  
 
This second e dition Draft Tanzania Standard  has been prepared in order to assist importers and 
manufacturers of Hessian bags made from hessian cloth  to come up with a product of defined quality.  
 
In the preparation of this Draft Tanzania Standard  assistance was derived from a revised;  
 
IS 3790:1991 , Textiles — Hessian  bags — Specification (has be en reaffirmed i n 2016)  
 
In reporting the result of a test made in accordance with this Draft Tanzania Standard , if the final value 
observed or calculated is to be rounded off, it shall be done in accordance with TZS 4 (see clause 2).  
 
  
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 1. SCOPE  
 
1.1 This Draft Tanzania Standard  specifies requirements and test methods for hessian bags.  
 
1.2 This specification may be used by mutual agreement between the buyer  and seller to establish 
purchasing specification requirements.  
 
2.  NORMATIVE REFERENCES  
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this Draft Tanzania 
Standard.  
TZS 4, Rounding off numerical values  
 
TZS 20 , Textiles — Woven fabrics — Determination of the number of threads per unit length  
 
TZS 21 , Textiles — Woven or knitted fabrics — Determination of mass per unit length and per unit 
area  
 
TZS 44 , Textiles Method for determination of length, width of woven or knitted fabrics  
 
IS 9113 , Jute sacking general requirement  
 
IS 2969 , Method for determi nation of oil content of jute yarn and fabric  
 
TZS 22 , Method for determination of breaking load and extension of strips woven textile fabric  
 
TZS 691 , The General Labelling of all products manufactured from textiles  
 
3. TERMS AND DEFINITIONS  
 
For the purpo se of this Draft Tanzania Standard  the following terms and definitions shall apply:  
 
3.1 Hemmed bag  
 
bag with raw edges hemmed forming the mouth of the bag.  
 
3.2 Selvedged bag  
 
bag with selvedge forming the mouth of the bag.  
 
3.3 Joined bag  
 
bag made  from not more than two pieces of hessian cloth. The joining  shall be done in such a manner , so 
that warp and weft shall run in the same direction.  
 
3.4 Hessian  
 
plain woven jute cloth with single yarns of the same count in the warp and weft.  
 
 
  
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 4. REQUIRE MENTS  
 
4.1Hessian bags  
 
4.1.1  The bags shall be either hemmed or selvedge as agreed to between the buyer and the seller.  
 
4.1.2  The bags shall be made from single pieces of plain woven  hessian cloth conforming to the 
requirements prescribed in Table 1.  
4.3 Seam  
The bag shall be sewn with overhead or herakle stitches. The sewing shall be done through two 
thicknesses of the cloth if both the edges to be sewn are selvedges. In case of raw edge (s), turning shall 
be done to a depth of at least 4.0 cm before s ewing. The stitching shall be of even tension throughout 
with all the loose ends secured so that the stitch does not open up. The number of stitches per decimetre 
shall be from 9 to 11. For overhead or herakle stitches, two strands or jute twine of count 3 10 tex × 3 (9 
grist × 3) shall be used.  
4.3.1 Safety Stitch  
A line of safety union stitch may be provided at the inner edges of the overhead and herakle  stitches 
using 2 ply jute twine of 310 tex × 2 (9 grist × 2) if agreed to between the buyer and the sel ler. The 
number of safety union stitches per decimetre shall be from 9 to 11.  
4.4 Hemming at the Mouth  
In the case of hemmed bags, the raw edges at the mouth of the bags shall be turned over first to a depth of 
about 1.5 cm and then to a depth of about 2.5  cm. The three thicknesses of hessian thus formed shall be 
hemmed. The number of stitches per decimetre in the hem shall be from 9 to 11. The count of the 
hemming twine shall be 310 tex (9 grist).  
4.5 Joined Bag  
The seam used to join the two pieces of hess ian in a joined bag shall have strength not less than the 
breaking strength of the seam as specified in Table 1 and shall be sufficiently tight to prevent sifting  or 
leakage of the content of the bag.  
 
5. SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS  
5.1 The hessian bags shall conform to the requirements specified in Table 1 unless  specifically agreed to 
between the buyer and the seller.  
 
 
 
 
 
  
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Table 1 – Requirement of hessian bags  
 
S/n  Characteristic  Requirement  Test method  
1  Dimensions   
The outside dimensions of the bag shall be 
as agreed to between the buyer and the 
seller. However,  it shall be within the 
tolerance limit of ±2 of the declared nominal 
value.  
  
 
TZS 44  
2  Mass per unit area g/m2, min 213 TZS 21 
3  Mesh size, min  
- Ends per dm  
- Picks per dm   
37 
30 
 TZS 20  
4   Moisture regain, %max 17 IS 9113  
5  Oil content, percent on dry de -oiled 
material basis max  
8  
IS 2969  
6  Breaking strength: N(kgf)  
 
1. Cloth ( 5cm x 20cm ) (ravelled strip 
method) N, min  
a) Warpway  
b) Weftway   
 
 
902(92) 
764 (78) 
 
  
 
 
 
TZS 22:1979  
7 2. Seam strip (5 cm x 20 cm) N(kgf), 
min 
a) Warpway  
b) Weftway  
 245(25)  
206(21)  IS 2818  
 
 
6. PACKING AND MARKING  
 
6.1 Packing  
 
The Hessian bags shall be packed in bales as agreed to between the buyer and the seller.  
 
6.2 Marking  
 
The bales shall be marked as laid down  in TZS 691 (see clause 2). Additional markings shall be made as 
stipulated by the buyer.  
 
 
7. CRITERIA FOR CONFORMITY  
 
The lot shall be considered as conforming to the requirements of this Draft Tanzania Standard  if 
conditions specified in Table 1 are met.