Commitments and Contingencies (Detail) (USD $)				9 Months Ended
	Jan. 27, 2013 Joint Product Development, Sales and Marketing Agreement on May 21, 2012 [Member] Culp Lava Applied Sewn Solutions [Member]	Jan. 27, 2013 Mattress Fabrics [Member] Purchase Commitment for Equipment [Member]	Apr. 29, 2012 Mattress Fabrics [Member] Purchase Commitment for Equipment [Member]	Jan. 27, 2013 Pending Litigation [Member] Environmental Issue [Member]	Jan. 27, 2013 Pending Litigation [Member] Environmental Issue [Member] Site of former manufacturing plant in West Hazleton, Pennsylvania [Member]
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Line Items]
Lawsuit filing date				February 5, 2008
Actions taken by court which impacted the lawsuit					The lawsuit involves court judgments that have been entered against the plaintiffs and against defendant Chromatex, Inc. requiring them to pay costs incurred by the United States Environmental Protection Agency ("USEPA") responding to environmental contamination at the Site, in amounts approximating $8.6 million, plus unspecified future environmental costs.
Amount of judgment against plaintiffs for which recovery is being sought from defendants				$ 8,600,000
Site maximum loss exposure representing contamination clean up costs incurred by the United States Environmental Protection Agency					13,000,000
Damages sought by plaintiffs					Costs incurred by the United States Environmental Protection Agency ("USEPA") responding to environmental contamination at the Site, in amounts approximating $8.6 million, plus unspecified future environmental costs.
Open purchase commitments		1,100,000	1,200,000
Projected capital investment to start the new business for fiscal years 2013 and 2014	$ 600,000