What a Tech Pack Is, and What Happens Without One
By The Velocity Wear Team
A tech pack is the document a factory manufactures from. It specifies every measurement, material, trim and construction detail, so that the garment produced is the garment intended rather than the factory’s reasonable interpretation of a picture.
What it contains
- 1**Technical drawings.** Flat front and back views, plus details of anything unusual. Not a fashion illustration — a diagram showing construction.
- 2**Measurement chart,** point by point, across every size, with tolerances.
- 3**Bill of materials.** Every fabric and trim: composition, weight, colour, supplier where known.
- 4**Construction details.** Seam types, stitch density, topstitching, hem finishes.
- 5**Trims and labels.** Neck label, care label, hang tags, drawcords, zips — with placement.
- 6**Decoration.** Artwork, method, size, placement measured from a fixed reference, and colours.
- 7**Packing instructions.** How garments are folded, bagged and labelled.
Why a reference garment is not enough on its own
Sending a garment you like and saying "like this" communicates a great deal and leaves a great deal open. Which parts matter — the fit, the fabric weight, the seam finish, the neck construction — is not visible in the object, and the factory has to guess.
A reference garment plus a list of what specifically to match, and what to change, is far better and takes ten minutes to write. It is the minimum viable tech pack for a simple product.
What happens without one
- **Decisions default to what is fastest,** which is not always what you would have chosen.
- **You cannot reject anything.** With no specification, "this is not what I wanted" has nothing behind it.
- **Reorders drift.** Without a written specification, the second run is built from memory and the third from the second.
- **Switching supplier means starting again,** because the specification lived in one factory’s understanding rather than in a document you own.
How much you actually need
For a printed blank — you are choosing an existing garment and adding decoration — you do not need a tech pack at all. You need the garment reference, the size range, the artwork, the decoration method and placement measurements. That is it, and it is what most first orders are.
For cut-and-sew, where a garment is made to your pattern, a proper tech pack is not optional. That is the point at which every detail is yours to decide, including the ones you did not know existed.
Build it as you go
The practical route for a small brand is to start with the minimum, then record every decision made during sampling — the change to sleeve length, the neck tape you preferred, the stitch you asked to be tighter. By the time you have approved a sample you have a specification, if you wrote it down.
Ask your manufacturer for the final approved specification in writing after sampling. Most will provide it, few customers ask, and it is the document that makes every future order repeatable.
