There’s nothing more frustrating than not being able to communicate your garment needs properly to the manufacturer. This can lead to a sample (or a finished product) that doesn’t match the vision in your head!
The solution? Communicating your needs in a language that you both understand. In other words: a clothing tech pack.
What is a Fashion Tech Pack? Why is It Needed?
A tech pack in fashion is a spec sheet that contains all the information needed about manufacturing your garment. It’s a blueprint that communicates your garment’s design, materials, colors, sizes, and construction to the manufacturer.
A clothing tech pack is important because it:
- Prevents miscommunication between you and the manufacturer, especially when working with someone overseas
- Reduces costly mistakes by helping the manufacturer get the details right the first time, saving time and money
- Helps you get an accurate price quote
- Works as a reference for quality assurance
- Lets the manufacturer envision your garment and bring it to life exactly the way you want
- Helps you collaborate better with your team
What Does a Tech Pack Include?
Before creating a tech pack, you need to know what goes inside one.
Product Summary
This section includes a summary of the garment you want to make. Think of it as a cover page.
Include details such as:
- Brand name and contact details
- Product type and code
- A one line product description
- Gender
- Season
- Colors
- Country of origin
- MOQ (minimum order quantity)
- Technical sketches of the product (front and back)
Fashion Flats
Also known as technical flats, these are flat garment sketches that show the manufacturer what the product would look like from all angles when placed flat on a table. Include flat sketches of the front, back, sideways, and inside out of the garment and keep it black and white.
Every single detail you need on the garment should be included in the sketches. Yes, even buttons, zippers, stitches, seams, and other embellishments. Create close-ups of design elements such as pockets.
Include a style description along with the fashion flats and add annotations to the illustrations to help the manufacturer with product dimensions and placements. For example: place the buttons 1” apart.
Bill of Materials (BOM)
The BOM talks about all the raw materials needed to make your garment. It helps the manufacturers give you an accurate price quote after ensuring that all the needed materials have been sourced correctly. You can put it in the form of a table and include pictures for reference wherever possible. Add a description of the material, the quantity and sizes needed, as well as its placement on the garment.
Include the following details under the BOM:
- Primary and secondary fabric (lining) type, including the weight of the fabric, its weave/ construction (knit, woven, non-woven), and finish (glossy, brushed)
- Other materials needed, such as lace, zippers, buttons, threads, and straps
- Packaging materials such as labels and tags
Measurement Details
The measurement spec sheet in a clothing tech pack includes comprehensive details about the garment measurements. Think body length, chest, neck opening, sleeve length, collar length, armholes, waist, hips, and so on. Include tolerance levels for each measurement, and also specify the measurements that are critical (neck opening, shoulder drop) and non-critical (hem length).
Next up, add fit specifications. i.e. should the garment be fitted, loose, or regular? Should it be tapered or be a skinny fit?
Finally, you must also include grading information. It’s the process of taking a base size and using it to create larger or smaller sizes of clothing. Under grading information, you must include the differences in measurements for each component between two sizes. For example: the sleeve length between XS and S differs by 2”.
For added convenience, include these details for all the sizes (i.e. XS, S, M, L, XL etc.) that you want your garment to be manufactured in. Don’t forget to use standard units of measurement to create the measurement spec sheet to avoid confusion between you and the manufacturer.
Construction Notes
This section highlights how to make your garment and contains details such as stitching instructions (including stitch and thread type as well as stitch length), seam type and length, and techniques for hem finishes, edge treatments, and surface embellishments.
Color Palette and Artwork Specs
This step includes adding all the color variations that you want your garments to have. Include colored technical flats along with their Pantone codes to let the manufacturer know what color each component of the garment should have.
If your garment has any artwork or prints, include the Pantone codes for each component of the artwork.
Feedback Page
Finally, leave a page blank to track any changes made during the manufacturing process. Be as detailed as possible. This makes things easier during the inspection phase.
How To Make a Tech Pack?
While you can create a tech pack using nothing but paper and pencil, it's time-consuming and not feasible. Here are some alternatives:
- Use Adobe Illustrator or Computer Aided Design (CAD)
- Use a free tech pack template from the internet
- Look for a manufacturer whose services include creating a tech pack for you
Psst.. at Melengo, we take care of the entire manufacturing process, right from creating a tech pack. [Get started now]
