Development
Product Development & Tech Packs
A tech pack is the cheapest quality control you will ever buy. We turn sketches and ideas into production-ready documents factories can quote, cut and sew without guessing.
What a tech pack actually contains
A tech pack is the manufacturing specification for one garment. Without it, every factory interprets your product differently — and you pay for every interpretation.
- Front, back and detail flat sketches with construction callouts
- Graded points of measure with tolerances for every size
- Bill of materials: fabric, trims, thread, interlining, elastic, labels
- Stitch types, seam allowances and finishing details
- Labeling, hangtags, care and content, packing and polybag specs
- Colorways, artwork placement and print or embroidery specs
Where development usually stalls
Vague sample comments
“Make it a bit roomier” costs you a sample round. “Increase chest 1 inch at full measure, keep armhole as is” does not. We write comments against the spec so each round moves forward.
No measurement discipline
If nobody is measuring the sample against a spec sheet, fit drifts quietly between proto, PP and production. Tolerances exist so you can tell a real defect from normal variation.
Fabric chosen last
Fabric drives fit, cost, minimums and lead time. Choosing it after the pattern is set is how brands end up with a garment they cannot afford to make.
Sample Flow
The Rounds, and What Each One Is For
Most lines need three to four rounds. Skipping one rarely saves time — it just moves the problem into production.
Proto Sample
- Proves the concept and construction
- Usually in substitute fabric
- Fit and silhouette feedback
- Expect significant comments
Fit Sample
- Correct fabric where possible
- Measured against spec
- Fit session on a live model or form
- Grading reviewed
PP (Pre-Production)
- Correct fabric, trims and labels
- Approved before bulk is cut
- Becomes the quality reference
- Both parties sign off
TOP (Top of Production)
- Pulled from the actual bulk run
- Confirms bulk matches the PP
- Last chance before shipment
- Measured and photographed
Deliverables
What You Get
- A complete, factory-ready tech pack per style, in a standard format
- A graded spec sheet with tolerances across your size range
- A bill of materials with suppliers, references and consumption
- Written, numbered sample comments for each round
- Pattern and grading guidance where corrections are needed
- A development timeline tied to your launch date
You own the files. If you move factories, your specs come with you.
Questions
Development FAQ
Do I really need a tech pack, or can the factory work from sketches?
How many sample rounds should I expect?
Who owns the pattern?
Can you work from an existing garment instead of a design?
What does development cost?
What Is a Tech Pack (and What Goes In One)?
The document that turns a design into something a factory can quote, cut and sew — section by section.
Read guideThe Apparel Sampling Process, Explained
Proto, fit, PP and TOP — what each sample round is for and how to cut rounds without cutting corners.
Read guideWhat Is Cut-and-Sew Manufacturing?
A garment built from your own pattern and spec — what it involves, what it costs, and when it is worth it.
Read guide
