What Is a Tech Pack (and What Goes In One)?

Why it matters more than it sounds

Every detail you leave out of a tech pack becomes a decision somebody else makes — usually the cheapest or fastest option on the floor. Every one of those decisions costs you a sample round, a price increase or a defect you cannot reject.

What goes in a tech pack

Flat sketches and callouts

Front, back and detail views, drawn to proportion, with arrows pointing at every construction decision: seam type, topstitch distance, pocket placement, closure, finishing.

Graded points of measure

Every measurement that defines the garment, across every size you will produce, with a tolerance for each. This is the document inspection measures against — without it, “off-spec” is just an opinion.

Bill of materials (BOM)

Fabric with composition, weight, width and supplier; thread; interlining; elastic; zippers and hardware with references; labels; hangtags; polybag and carton specs. Consumption per garment where known.

Construction details

• Stitch types and stitches per inch
• Seam allowances and seam finishes
• Hem depths and closures
• Interlining and fusing placement
• Pressing and finishing requirements

Labeling, artwork and packing

Care and content labeling for your market, brand and size labels with placement, artwork files with exact placement and dimensions, print or embroidery method, folding and packing instructions.

What a tech pack is not

It is not a design document, a mood board or a render. It is a technical document whose only job is to remove ambiguity for the person cutting and sewing the garment.

How complete does it need to be?

Complete enough that two different factories, given only this document, would produce the same garment. That is the practical test.