If you have a vision for a cut and sew garment and wish to bring it to life, you will need a tech pack. Simply put, a tech pack is a set of instructions for your manufacturer about how to properly create your design. A tech pack includes all the information neccessary for the production of your garment design. The more detail, the better. Tech packs exist to help both you, and your factory. You want to see your design made with as little mistakes as possible, and your factory does not want to perform guess work about certain details with your design. Information is included on things such as measurements, colorways, trims, etc.
(Click here to see our YouTube video on tech packs)
Why Tech Packs Are Used
Tech packs help prevent oftentimes silly and costly mistakes in the manufacturing process. For example, say your garment design has artwork, but your manufacturers do not know the dimensions because you have not included them. Most often, they will want to complete the job and not wait too long so they may move on without confirming the details with you. In such cases, you may not find the results satisfactory, and your factory will not be the one to blame. Taking a bit of time to create quality tech packs is much easier than dealing with costly and horrendous mistakes in garment production caused by lazy or incomplete tech packs.
Having a tech pack can act as a safety guard in garment production. It is the job of the factory to make YOUR designs, according to YOUR specifications. It is YOUR job to design, it is THEIR job to make it a reality. Part of your job as the designer is to give the factory everything they may need to produce your garment, this is mainly done through information with a tech pack. A good tech pack is the path which your factory will follow, if they fall off that path, you are able to call them out on it and they will be obligated to correct it. If your sample is created and it does not correspond to your original design, you may redirect your factory to those details in your tech pack so they may follow the instructions again, but correctly. Tech packs are a great tool for ensuring QC as they act as THE basis for your sample garment.
Tech packs allow for others in the fashion world to efficiently know how your designs will be made. Tech packs are an extremely effective way of communicating fashion designs and allowing for collaboration between designers and factories as the visual language and codex used in tech packs goes a little beyond normal language barriers. It is a space of creativity for designers, buyers, and product developers.
Many factories may not work with you if you do not have a tech pack. Factories wish to be as efficient as possible in their business and production processes and wish to foster serious long-term client relationships - most of the time. If you do not have a tech pack, they likely will not take you seriously and may altogether ignore your enquiry, or may even try to take advantage of you because if you approach them without a tech pack, they will know without a doubt that you are new to fashion production and they may see you to be an easy target for a quick buck.
Now, we will see how to make a tech pack.
How to Make a Tech Pack
In this article, we will be using an example tech pack - with permission - we made for our close friends and clients at HRMTG. The tech pack template used in this article is available here (this tech pack template is also included with all our fashion design flats). This article may serve as a guide and a reference as you create your own tech packs. To begin, we will view the example tech pack page by page and go over key neccessary information and why it is included. Please note, while there is no one golden standard for tech packs the fashion industry follows, there is core common features found in most. With time, you may morph yours to fit the needs of your company and the competencies of your factories.
Cover Page
The first page is what is called a cover page. This is a brief snapshot of your design. On your cover page - and what will be on almost every page of your tech packs - are things called flat sketches. Flat sketches are vector sketches of your garment drawn flat. They are drawn flat or semi-flat to best show their shape as when fabrics are cut to make garments, naturally, they are cut flat and when a garment is sewn, it is sewn flat. They are also one of the most efficient means of pictorially depicting the technical details of your garment. This is because with them, things such as stitching details or garment effects are usually easily to discern in this style than it would be to see in say an ultra-realistic 3D mock-up. This style is often much easier to edit and manipulate as well with programs such Adobe illustrator - which was used to create this tech pack and these drawings. Our cover page has a front and back view of our design - if you submit flats to a factory, you need AT LEAST a front and back sketch. It is also a good idea to have some easily findable contact information on your tech pack because the factory will need to contact you.
But first: why are tech packs formatted the way they are? Tech packs should be 8.5 x 11 inches - the most common printable paper size - because your factory will print these off - while also referencing it on devices, as needed. Remember, you must have space for the margin around the edges as most printers can't print all the way to the edge.
In our example, our tech pack has a second cover page which acts as the first page and has much more information than the initial one. Here again, are our flats sketches. If you wish, you may label your flats "front" and "back". We have found it advantageous to have a brief initial cover page and then a more detailed second cover page. If you use the OTB tech pack template, you may leave out the first one if you like, but we advise to keep the second cover page.
Key information on this page includes:
Brand name (your factory would like to know who you are and this helps with organization)
Main fabric (the main fabric of your garment)
Style name (the style name given by your brand for this design, we highly recommend you do this as it helps with branding and internal organization)
Season (the fashion season you are designing for: FW '24, SS '25 etc. The industry standard is to design 6 months ahead, but if you are a small brand or do not wish to follow the established fashion system, you do not need to worry about that)
Sample size (The industry sample size standard is medium as it is the middle of the typical size range XS - XXL. It is recommended you follow this if you have a similar size range. It may be tempting to get a sample made in your size, but the whole point is to have an initial middle of the size run sample that all the other sizes can be based on once your sample measurements have been approved and are satisfactory)
Technical designer (this is the name of the individual who either created the tech packs or did the technical details - as the name implies)
Department (this is the department that either your brand is in, or what department the garment is intended for. Even if your brand "doesn't have one" or care about it too much, it can be helpful for your factory and other designers to know which it is or which department is closest as different departments have different typical finishes, silhouettes, themes, etc.)
Size range (Obviously, this is the size range your final production will have. The most common is to have XS to XXL - as we have here - or some variation of that. This is very important to include)
Style number (This is a unique number created by your brand for this style. We highly recommend you create one as it makes your brand look more professional, makes internal organization easier, and may help you be taken more seriously by your factory)
Last updated (This is when the last update was made to your tech pack, it is a nice was to stay organized as you go through stages with your product development or if you have multiple rounds of sampling)
Description (this is a very concise description of your garment. Here, you should make reference to the material, fit, and things such as that)
Body fabric color (the cover page is where we like to place the Pantone TCX - the fashion industry standard for colors of fabric is Pantone - body fabric color as it is the most important color for your garment and thus should go in a highly visible place in the tech pack)
Brand logo (helps with organization. The OTB template has a space for logo placement here)
Index (this is a brief overview of all the pages of the tech pack and on what pages it can be found - remember to alter it if you change the pages of the tech pack template)
Note: as mentioned earlier, there is no golden standard in the fashion industry for tech packs. Some brands need to include more information than others in their tech packs and some do not need as much. This will all depend on the needs of your brand, your preferences, and the competency of your factory.
Flat Sketches and Technical Detail (color)
Alright, it's time to get technical. What's that? The flats are here again. They are depicted here again in color - the exact colors you want them to be when they are made, we will make the flats black and white in a later step.
Here is where you start divulging as much technical information as you can about your designs. Stitch length, stitching types, trims, etc.
LABEL EVERYTHING
The flats are nice and pretty BUT the whole point is to have them working is unison with words so our friends at the factory know exactly what we want - with as little doubt as possible. Naturally, every garment is very different in terms of technical design, so we cannot give you an exact guide for your garment as this meant to be more of a broad guideline, but we will tell you some things you should definitely include.
If there is any of the following on your garment: LABEL IT
Artwork (we will give the dimensions for these at a later step. Label the type as well such as screen print, embroidery, etc.)
Pockets (be sure to label the pocket type)
Any tags or labels (even the smallest one, sometimes it is helpful to add a short little description as well)
Any trims (such as drawstrings or other things)
Any special effects (such as if you have an acid wash or something similar)
Different parts of the garment
Technical callouts (these are the circles you see in our example tech pack. They are extremely important. These are zoomed in views of important technical details in our garment designs and can be conveniently made in Adobe Illustrator using a clipping mask. It is hard to see some of the smaller details when we only see the full flats, which is why we use the callouts, to help show those details)
P.S. we offer a free twice weekly Illustrator workshop, if you have questions about using Ilustrator for tech packs, write us, and we may be able to answer it in the next class!
Note: you may have noticed the stitching in our flats is black. THIS DOES NOT TELL THE MANUFACTURER WE WANT BLACK STITCHING. It is black so our manufacturer can see there is stitching there, if we made it the same color in our flat sketches as it will in the final result, they would not be able to see where the stitching it! Please make a note for your manufacturer in your tech packs about what color your stitching will be. Say your garment is something with contrast stitching, then it is definitely a good idea to use that color stitching in the COLOR flats - there will be both flats in color and flats in black and white - so your manufacturer can have an easier time visualizing.
REMEMBER: IF IT'S NOT INCLUDED IN YOUR TECH PACK, IT WON'T BE MADE!
Note: The term used in the example tech pack DTM means "dye-to-match". This means the color of the trim or thread is altered to match another part of the garment - most often the body color. This helps the design maintain coherence. It is often done with zippers and stitching.
Try to be as concise in your language as possible and as technical as possible.
For making notes of technical details, these two books are invaluable resources:
This book will help you with knowing what to identify and how to identify it.
If you wish to be extra technical, this is a concise resource to help identify and choose correct seam types for your garment.
Another useful book:
(Find our complete list of books for fashion designers here)
This book can be useful for identifying certain trims by name such as certain types of pockets, buttons, etc.
There is also many resources on the internet which may help you identify seams and stitching styles, Google images will be your best friend in this regard because...
you should also include images in your tech pack!
Images in tech packs can serve various purposes:
You can show a similar artwork or artwork application style such as referencing a specific type of embroidery, print, etc.
You can show a color swatch with an image (if you find a color you like in your Pantone swatch book, you can look it up on Google "Pantone TCX" with the code and use that image in your tech pack
You can insert an image of a garment with a fit you wish to achieve or a fit that your garment has a similar fit to already or even an image of your muslin sample on a fit model - if you have one)
You can insert an image to reference a certain garment construction style
You can insert an image to reference a certain finish or wash such as stonewash
The possibilities are endless.
Note: it is recommended that you embed all images - as long as they are not insanely big - into your tech pack so they reside within that file and don't have to be sent separately. If you are using an image as artwork for the garment, it is advisable to send it separately as high resolution as possible but of course, reference in the tech pack document as well.
Again, with a tech pack, the whole point is COMMUNICATION. They say an image speaks a thousand words: sounds like it would be a good tool for communication. With a perfect mix of language, flat illustrations, and images, your vision can become a reality. Google - as mentioned before - will be your best friend. Another option you have is to visit thrift stores and takes pictures of certain garment details you like or are trying to emulate with your phone. Thrift stores are veritable libraries of garment construction methodology And, they can be taken home without breaking the bank, of course, one may do the same at any store, but is is nice to own the garment you are referencing in case down the road in your product development process, a new view or more details are needed and buying a reference garment brand new eats more into your budget - unless you return it after production is complete!
Images in your tech pack do not have to be professional by any means, in fact, most are usually just taken with phone cameras.
Flat Sketches and Technical Details (Black and White)
Oh hey, it is our flats again. Now, they are in black and white. This is so they can be easier for our friends at the factory to see the details. In this tech pack, since it's just a beige garment, it would not have been a huge deal if we didn't change the colors to black and white, but if your garment is say black or plaid or something similar, you will ABSOLUTELY need black and white flats as well as color. it is good practice to include both - plus, it is incredibly easy to do, especially with our design assets. Same case here, we are labeling our technical details and important parts, including some various measurements as well for some trims - more measurements later!
Reminder: if you feel like you should probably add a detail or label something: do it
Some more callouts, images, and technical details. A nice waistband illustration view to show our inside drawstring - made with Adobe Illustrator from OTB. Notice our image corresponding to our illustration. Remember, in tech packs, detail is your best friend. Also, notice how our lines we use to denote the measurements and details are clean with arrows and a very noticeable color? This helps keep things more organized (the stroke window in Adobe Illustrator will be your friend here).
Artwork and Trim Specs
Huzzah! We have made it to the artwork page. Chances are your garment will have some sort of artwork, so then will your tech pack too. YOU MUST INCLUDE DIMENSIONS FOR ANY ARTWORK YOU HAVE.
One more time...
YOU MUST INCLUDE DIMENSIONS FOR ANY ARTWORK YOU HAVE.
Some good things to include here are:
Dimensions of your artwork (try and visualize it anyway you can before getting a sample made; print your design onto transparencies and place it over a similar sized garment, print it onto computer paper, whatever you need to do. Be SURE it is the size you want. Stare at a ruler if you have to. The nice thing is, you can always alter the dimensions in the production process, but that just delays things and is more wasteful)
Swatch of your artwork color (what type of color you are using will depend on your artwork type: it could be a Pantone code if it is referencing embroidery thread something like HEX if it is a very specific print. You can also just include a square swatch of your desired color - as we have done here - and let the factory handle the rest. If your artwork has many colors, you will need to reference all those desired. It is highly advised that your thoroughly research your desired artwork application type so you know what to include in your tech pack.
Reference image (as you can see here, we have a previous print to reference. It is highly advisable to include an artwork reference ALWAYS. It can reference the visual style of your artwork and or the application style. This is arguably the most important step for including images)
Sending separate files (as you can see our tech pack notes, it is also advisable that you send separate files for your artwork - especially if it complex or too large for your tech pack files - as your artwork should not be scaled down as should be sent at actual scale. Check your manufacturer's website, it will probably tell you what files are preferred. Always be prepared to send vector artwork)
You can get away with being a tiny bit more vague here in terms of labeling such as just labeling "print" or something such but it is not advised as you will not be exerting as much control over your designs but if you're not too concerned if it's a DTG print or say a screen print for example, then you will be ok.
Now it is time to talk about our trims - oh, and trims by the way are basically the extra pieces of a garment that go beyond the base fabric such as zippers, tags, etc. On this page, we have our printed satin care label. Here, our satin tag is at actual size so we may include in our tech pack file for our manufacturer to pull right from the file.
Again, here we are labeling what is here, using dimensions on artwork, labeling colors, and using a reference image.
Makes sense? You will get the hang of it.
In this case, the satin is woven - polyester fabric - so that will have a TSX Pantone number - we highly recommend learning about Pantone colors for the fashion industry as they are the standard and will help you greatly with communication.
Remember: you can always include special notes in the margins of your tech pack about any details you feel will need note. Be sure to think it through a few times mentally - or even with a checklist - to check that you are not missing anything.
Continuing our trims specs...
Here we have two generic size tag labels. Sometimes, you will not need to be SUPER specific. This page was one case as HRMTG - our client - was ok with not having custom size tag tags. Generic size tag labels do the job well and adding two exhibited enough of brand flare in that regard. Creating custom woven labels - especially in the sampling step is very expensive and considering how many this garment already had, some compromise was needed to maintain pricing as it was desired to be. Size tags such as these are probably on hand already at most factories and if not are extremely easy to source so they did not raise the production cost too greatly.
Remember the business aspect when you are creating your tech packs, the more you add, the more materials, etc. the more expensive a garment will be to produce and consequently, the higher the price you will have to sell it at. Depending on your brand, you may have a final garment retail price in mind when designing. In short, this step of creating tech packs is very important to the health of your business. But, that is a topic for another day...
Here you see more information about our trims - our many woven labels. Here are more colors, measurements, labeling, etc. Again these are to scale in our tech pack so our manufacturer can pull them right from the file. We have noted "place according to spec drawings" as earlier in our tech pack we denoted how and where these will be placed.
Bill of Materials (fabrics)
A Bill of Materials - or BOM as it is often referred to as - an incredibly important part a tech pack. We have had a lot of trims throughout our tech pack so far, and it would be easy for factories to forget something when say sourcing trims. A BOM helps mitigate this issue, it is a snapshot of all the components neccessary to create your garment so both parties know clearly all the components. In the case of this tech pack and the OTB tech pack, the BOM is divided into three parts:
BOM (fabrics)
BOM (trims)
BOM (labels and tags)
This BOM is divided into different columns with the following parts:
Reference (this is a number assigned to the item to help with organization. Your first - if you follow our template - will likely be your main fabric. These are a simple pair of shorts so there is only one fabric present in our BOM)
Description (this is a short technical description of the fabric mentioning things such as weight, singles count, type, etc.)
Type (type your fabric will be, in our case, it will be our main body fabric)
UOM (unit of measurement: how this article is measured, in this case, yards)
Quantity (where we apply our UOM from the previous column with the correct amount - yardage needed will depend on your garment type as well as the width of the fabric. Keep in mind too that initial samples will always require more fabric as the factory will not have yet tested the most optimal way to cut your garment)
Supplier (here we have "vendor to source"; you may also put "factory". They mean the same thing: that being, your factory - if fully integrated or if they offer sourcing services - such as we do - then that factory will be responsible for sourcing the trim or fabric. You can put "client to provide" or something similar if YOU will be providing a trim or fabric)
Content (this is the content - or composition - of the fabric in question, NOT the fabric itself. What is your fabric made of? For example, jersey is our fabric, but cotton is its content. It could have been a cotton and polyester blend, that would have not changed the fact it's jersey fabric)
Finishes (here you will put any finishes you would like your fabric to have. In our case, we have an anti-shrink - no one wants their clothes to shrink - finish and well as a steam and press. This is to ensure that your clothes and nice and crisp for packaging and ultimately, customer receipt)
Color(s) (here you will reiterate the colors (Pantone TCX in our case)
Bill of Materials (Trims)
Our BOM continues... here it covers trims. Here we have an elastic waistband and drawstring. You will recognize many of the same columns as before - their role is the same here.
To go back to what was mentioned earlier about sometimes being able to get away with being vague, we see it here again. In our case with the content and the color of the elastic waistband. It was not a huge source of qualms for our clients at HRMTG the color or the content of the elastic - as long as it was white - because it is an element hardly visible in the garment. This allowed the factory a little bit more flexibility in sourcing as they had a little bit more options since we had fairly generic needs for the trim.
Bill of Materials (Labels and Tags)
Last BOM page, we promise. This one covers misc. labels, trims, and tags. These columns are hopefully now fairly self-explanatory in their purpose and use. Notice here again as we left the content column empty. This is because for our client, the composition of these labels was not something that was a huge source of contention and the rest of the trims were client provided so the content would not have mattered much to the factory. Leaving the content open for the labels made it a little easier for our factory to source them.
Materials Details
Last page dealing with materials. This page acts as a quick visual snapshot of all the neccessary components of your garment with either images - again, phone photos suffice - or small vector images. Remember those ref. numbers from earlier in the BOM? Those will come into play here. MAKE SURE THEY MATCH. Also here is a brief description and note of placement. To find images of desired trims, the internet can be a great tool.
See specs: this is telling the factory to refer to the spec drawings - flats - for placement information
See notes: this is telling the factory to refer to the "notes" section for placement information
Points of Measurement
This page acts a visual guide to the points of measurement that were used to determine the size and shape of your garment. Here, our focus is on the points of measurement so our flats are in black and white and the lines we are using to denote the distances are nice and bold. Also here are additional views to help the factory understand further. These lines can be made quite easily with Adobe Illustrator using the stroke panel - which was done here. Every line we make is labeled with a number - we will see what this is for in a little bit.
Measurement Specs.
This page is where we will put more information about our measurements. Remember the codes from earlier? Those number correspond here. MAKE SURE YOUR CODES MATCH.
Other things of note here are:
Description (a very brief description of the point of measurement)
Tolerance (the allowed amount - above or below - by which your measurement may be off because there will ALWAYS be a tiny bit of human error, humans will make your clothes, not robots. The amount allowed will depend on your brand)
Sizes (here we see all our sizes from our size range, in this case, only a medium was being made initially as that is our sample size which the rest were graded off of. When something is graded, essentially that is you getting your whole size run measurements based off one sample size. You will have to do this yourself, you will have to work with a patternmaker, or your factory may offer these services)
Note: while we will not go over how to find or make the measurements for your garment here, we will provide some books which may be extremely helpful especially in knowing which points to measure. Also, some prefer to use Excel for this step - the measurements - and include that file in the final file delivery to factory. You may try both and see what you prefer, for rather simple garments such as this, we stick with Illustrator.
This one is a little pricey, but it is definitely worth the investment - this is the more comprehensive one of the two.
(Find our complete list of books for fashion designers here)
This one is a little pricey as well but both books can be great tools to have in your design arsenal. With these two books, you will be able to accurately measure almost any sort of garment and construction or trim detail. Say you have a garment you would like to replicate the fit of? You can accurately grab the points of measurements with these books in a quick manner. Even if you use a patternmaker and they send you a muslin mock-up, it will be important to know which points to measure so you can translate it for your tech pack.
Of course, there is always a wealth of information on the internet too about which points on a garment to measure.
Note: the remarks made about "measurements after all finishes" is because we want our measurements to be these as the customer receives them. That being if our fabric is say pre-shrunk, we will need to make a note in our tech pack denoting that these are to be the measurements AFTER any washes or finishes.
The circle method of measurement essentially means a tape measure for clothing was used - which is what should always be used to measure clothing
Notes
The OTB tech pack template has three "notes" pages which may be used as your brand sees fit. In this case, they served as packaging instructions. Again, we reminded our factory that the garment is steamed and pressed before packaging.
Delivering your Tech Pack
Note: this is the process that works for our agency and is what we use. You may have found one that works for you already, or your factory may have different needs. There is no one golden workflow, as long as your factory gets what they need.
Alas, your tech pack is finally complete. What now? Ok, save it as it is in its Illustrator - or other editable vector - format. This will be for your brand internally in case you need to make changes.
Have you saved an unoutlined version?
Next, expand EVERYTHING in your document: all of your brushes, strokes, sketches etc. This is done so your factory does not have any issues with viewing the tech packs - at least issues related to fonts and what not. Say for instance, you send an unoutlined document, and you use a font in your tech pack and is downloaded in your computer but your factory does not have it downloaded? They will not be able to view the document exactly as you sent it and it will be a little different. Expanding everything in your document prevents this from happening.
Note: it is good practice to use "Arial" or "Myriad Pro" fonts for tech packs in case you forget this step. While they may not be the most exciting aesthetically, they are incredibly easy to read and most computers probably have them.
Now that we have expanded document, we are going to save it again as a vector, just in case.
Note: it is also good practice to save your work at regular intervals, the last thing you want is to lose hours of work!
Again, we are going to save a file. This time, save as a PDF. This PDF is what you will deliver to your factory.
To finish the tech pack sending, compile any artwork files, your tech pack PDF, and any supplemental material such as excel sheets, and put them into a folder. You will then compress this folder to a ZIP file. This will make it easier to share with your factory. You can try sending it to your factory then, but it may be too big if your artwork or design is complex. In such cases, we will often upload the file to a file sharing service - such as Google Drive - and then share the file link with our factory.
Conclusion
While creating a tech pack may seem incredibly intimidating, it is a vital skill to learn - or at least to understand the basics of - as it is a vital step in the creation of a garment. Countless resources are out there to help you - including us. As you and your brand grow, you will become much more comfortable with tech packs, especially as you find factories which you can trust and are very competent. We hope we have helped demystify tech packs a little and we hope you feel inspired and ready to create. To access the template used in this article, you can acquire our tech pack template below which will include this tech pack as an example.
Want us to create your tech packs?
Enquire here and a member from our team will get back to you as soon as possible.
Did You Know?
All of our fashion vector flats include the OTB tech pack template?
Browse our entire selection of flats here
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