How to prepare a clothing tech pack a factory can actually build from

What a tech pack is — and what it is for

A tech pack is the specification document a factory manufactures from: flat sketches, a measurement chart, construction details, artwork placements, trims and fabric requirements for one style. It exists so that two people who have never met — your designer and a pattern maker in the factory — build exactly the same garment.

A good tech pack does not need to be beautiful. It needs to be unambiguous. Every revision round a factory has to ask about is a week added to your sample timeline, so the goal is a document that answers questions before they are asked.

What the factory reads first

Factories do not read tech packs front to back. The first pass goes: measurement chart (can we grade and cut this?), fabric spec (do we have or can we source it?), construction callouts (any operations we need to plan for?), then decoration (what setups are needed?). Order your document to answer in that sequence and the feasibility review goes faster.

The measurement chart

This is the heart of the document. For each point of measure (chest, body length, sleeve length, hem, cuff and so on) state the measurement per size, the tolerance, and how it is taken — half chest measured flat 2.5 cm below the armhole is a different number from a full chest circumference.

Include a base size with full measurements and grading rules for the rest, or a full chart per size. State units once, clearly, and never mix them. If you are working from a garment you like, say so — a factory can measure a reference sample and counter-propose a chart.

Construction callouts

Annotate the flat sketch with the operations that define the garment: seam types (flatlock, coverstitch, French seam), stitch density, shoulder taping, hem depth, bartacks at stress points, zipper types and lengths. Anything not called out will be built the factory's standard way — which may be fine, but should be a decision, not an accident.

Artwork and placement

For every decoration: the artwork file (vector for screen printing and embroidery), the placement measured from a fixed reference point ('7 cm below the collar seam, centred'), the size, the colours (Pantone references, not screen approximations), and the intended method. If you are unsure of the method, say what the artwork must feel like — a factory can recommend print versus embroidery per fabric.

Trims, labels and packaging

List every component that is not fabric: main label, care label, size label, hangtag, buttons, zips, drawcords, tips, polybag and carton markings. State which you supply and which the factory sources. Care and content labels are a legal requirement in most markets — if you do not yet have final label copy, flag it as pending rather than leaving it out.

Common mistakes that cost a sample round

• Measurements without tolerances — every factory will ask.
• Screenshots of artwork instead of vector files.
• Placements described relatively ('on the chest') instead of measured.
• A fabric named by feel ('premium heavy cotton') instead of composition and GSM.
• No stated base size, so grading cannot start.
• Mixing centimetres and inches in one chart.

No tech pack yet? That is a normal starting point

Plenty of good products start as a sketch, a reference photo or a competitor's garment plus a list of changes. A factory with a pattern room can develop the specification with you — that is what ODM development is. At LOMERAQ, the 'Can you make this?' route exists exactly for that: upload what you have and a technical reviewer replies with a manufacturability assessment before any commitment.