Commitments and Contingencies (Detail) (USD $)	12 Months Ended								12 Months Ended		34 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Apr. 28, 2013	Apr. 29, 2012	May 01, 2011	Apr. 28, 2013 Minimum [Member]	Apr. 28, 2013 Maximum [Member]	Apr. 28, 2013 Joint Product Development, Sales and Marketing Agreement on May 21, 2012 [Member] Culp Lava Applied Sewn Solutions [Member]	Apr. 28, 2013 Mattress Fabrics [Member] Capital Addition Purchase Commitments [Member]	Apr. 29, 2012 Mattress Fabrics [Member] Capital Addition Purchase Commitments [Member]	Apr. 28, 2013 Corporate headquarters building located in High Point, North Carolina [Member] Payment period from April 1, 2012 through March 31, 2016 [Member]	Apr. 28, 2013 Manufacturing facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee [Member]	Jan. 30, 2011 Manufacturing facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee [Member]	Apr. 28, 2013 Plant facility [Member] Mattress Fabrics [Member]	Apr. 29, 2012 Plant facility [Member] Mattress Fabrics [Member]	May 01, 2011 Plant facility [Member] Mattress Fabrics [Member]	Apr. 28, 2013 Pending Litigation [Member] Environmental Issue [Member]	Apr. 28, 2013 Pending Litigation [Member] Environmental Issue [Member] Site of former manufacturing plant in West Hazleton, Pennsylvania [Member]
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Line Items]
Lease terms				3 years	5 years					10 years
Lease terms, renewal options for additional periods					9 years
Rental expense for operating leases	$ 2,400,000	$ 2,200,000	$ 2,100,000
Future minimum rental commitments for noncancellable operating leases in fiscal 2014	2,100,000
Future minimum rental commitments for noncancellable operating leases in fiscal 2015	1,800,000
Future minimum rental commitments for noncancellable operating leases in fiscal 2016	1,500,000
Future minimum rental commitments for noncancellable operating leases in fiscal 2017	577,000
Future minimum rental commitments for noncancellable operating leases in fiscal 2018	52,000
Monthly payments under operating lease									29,706			12,704
Rental payments												152,000	152,000	152,000
Lease expiration date										Apr. 30, 2008
Time period when manufacturing facility closed										9 years
Lawsuit filing date										April 10, 2008					February 5, 2008
Amount of the lawsuit filed by the Landlord											1,400,000
Date when lawsuit concluded										Jan. 30, 2011
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
Capital investment to start the new business						751,000
Projected capital investment to start the new business for fiscal 2014						300,000
Open purchase commitments							$ 170,000	$ 1,200,000