Tech pack: how to make one for clothing, with a template

What is a tech pack?

A tech pack, short for technical package, is the full written and drawn description of one garment style. A factory uses it to quote a price, cut a first sample, order materials and later run bulk production. A designer uses it to check each sample against what was asked for.

A fashion tech pack replaces conversation with a record. If the factory sews a pocket in the wrong place, the tech pack shows whether the instruction was there. If it was not, the fix is on the brand. That is why factories often ask for a tech pack before they will quote, and why a vague one leads to extra sample rounds.

A tech pack for clothing usually has these parts, in roughly this order:

• A cover page with the style name, style number, season, size range and version date.
• Flat sketches: front and back technical drawings in black and white, with no model and no shading.
• A spec sheet: the points of measure, how to measure each one, the tolerance and the measurement for the base size.
• A grading table: how each measurement changes from size to size.
• A bill of materials: every fabric, trim, thread, label and packaging item, with supplier and colour.
• Colourways and print or embroidery callouts: placement, size and colour references for each artwork.
• Construction notes: seam types, stitch types, finishes and pressing.
• Label and packaging specs: the legally required labels, plus hangtags, folding and polybag instructions.
• A revision log and sample comments.

Tech pack template: the pages and what goes on each

Use this tech pack template as the page order for any style. Build it in a spreadsheet, a slide file or dedicated software; the factory cares about what is on each page, not the tool. Keep one file per style and put the style number and version date on every page.

How to make a tech pack for clothing, step by step

These steps assume one cut-and-sew style, such as a hoodie or a dress, made by an outside factory.

1. Draw the flats

   Draw the front and back as flat technical sketches in vector software or on paper. Show every seam, pocket, closure and topstitch line. Add close-ups for small details. Keep fashion illustration out of this page.

2. Pick a base size and measure it

   Choose the size you will sample in. List the points of measure, such as chest, body length, sleeve length and hem width. Write how each one is measured, where the tape starts and ends, and the tolerance you accept.

3. Grade the size run

   Set how each measurement changes between sizes. Many brands start from published body measurement tables and their own fit samples. Check the grade on the smallest and largest sizes, where errors show first.

4. List every material

   Write the bill of materials line by line: fabric name, content, weight, width, supplier, colour and how much goes into one garment. Do the same for every trim, label and packaging item.

5. Add colour and artwork callouts

   For each colourway, give colour references the factory can match. For prints and embroidery, give placement from a fixed point, such as below the neck seam, plus artwork size and the file name.

6. Write construction notes

   Name the seam and stitch type for each seam, the hem finish and any binding, bartacks or reinforcements. Note pressing and any washing before shipment.

7. Specify the labels

   Write the exact text of the fiber content, origin, company name or RN, and care label, and mark where each one is sewn. The next section covers what the law requires.

8. Version it and send it

   Date the file, send it as a PDF with the source files, and log every change after each sample. Comments from fit sessions go in the revision log, not in emails.

The spec sheet and grading: where most samples go wrong

The spec sheet is the part a factory reads most closely. Each point of measure needs three things: a name, a written method and a tolerance. "Chest" alone is not enough; the method says whether it is measured flat across or all the way round, and how far below the armhole.

Tolerances tell the factory how far a finished garment can be from the spec before it fails inspection. Set them per point: tighter on small measurements such as neck opening, looser on long ones such as body length.

Grading is how the base pattern becomes the other sizes. You can give the full measurement for every size or the change from one size to the next. A full table is easier for a factory to check. Published body measurement standards exist for different size ranges, and many brands use them as a starting point before fitting on real people.

Label specs the law sets for clothing sold in the US

The labels page of a tech pack is the one part with legal rules behind it. In the US, the Federal Trade Commission enforces two sets of rules for clothing: the Textile Rules on fiber content, origin and identity, and the Care Labeling Rule. Write the exact label text into the tech pack so the factory does not make it up.

Under the Textile Rules, a label must show fiber content, country of origin and either the company name or the Registered Identification Number (RN). For fiber content, the generic fiber names and percentages by weight of each constituent fiber must be listed in descending order of predominance. Fibers of less than 5% should be disclosed as “other fiber” or “other fibers”. All parts of the fiber content appear in type or lettering of equal size and conspicuousness. The FTC allows a 3% tolerance for fiber content claims, but the guidance adds that this does not mean you can knowingly misrepresent fiber amounts.

For a garment with a neck, the label showing the country of origin on its front is attached to the inside center of the neck. A garment made in the US of US materials is labelled “Made in U.S.A.” or an equivalent phrase. One made in the US of imported fabric must show the processing or manufacturing that takes place in the U.S., as well as the imported component. The identity line can be a company name or an RN. An RN is not required in order to do business in the U.S., RNs are not issued to businesses outside of the U.S., and you can apply for an RN online.

The required disclosures may appear on one label or on separate labels, so a factory can print fiber, origin and identity together with the care text or split them. States can add their own rules. This page is general information, not legal advice; check the FTC guidance and the current rules for your products.

Writing the care instructions

The Care Labeling Rule puts the duty on manufacturers and importers, which includes a brand that imports garments made for it abroad. The label needs either a washing instruction or a drycleaning instruction. A washing instruction should a water temperature setting if regular use of hot water will harm the product.

You need a reasonable basis for all care instructions and warnings, such as test results on the finished garment or reliable experience with the same fabric. Symbols may replace words if they follow ASTM Standard D5489-96c, the set the FTC names.

Put the exact care text or symbol sequence in the tech pack, with label material, size and sewing position. The rule requires labels to be attached permanently and securely, so a printed hangtag alone does not meet it.

Drawstring and flammability notes for children's styles

Children's clothing needs extra notes in the construction and label pages. For drawstrings, the Consumer Product Safety Commission deems children's upper outerwear in sizes 2T to 16 or the equivalent that has drawstrings and does not meet ASTM F 1816-97 a substantial product hazard. Within that range, the standard's prohibition of hood and neck drawstrings applies to garments up to size 12, and larger sizes up to 16 remain subject to its requirements for waist or bottom drawstrings.

In practice, a tech pack for a children's jacket or hoodie in the smaller sizes should say "no hood or neck drawstrings" in the construction notes and show the closure used instead, such as snaps or a hook-and-loop tab. For larger children's sizes with waist or bottom drawstrings, note their length and how they are fixed, and check the standard's requirements with the factory.

All clothing textiles fall under the flammability standard in 16 CFR part 1610, which sets methods for testing and rating flammability, prohibiting the use of any dangerously flammable clothing textiles. Some fabrics are exempt from testing to support guaranties: plain surface fabrics, regardless of fiber content, weighing 2.6 ounces per square yard or more, and fabrics made entirely from acrylic, modacrylic, nylon, olefin, polyester, wool. Name the fabric weight and fiber content in the bill of materials so this can be checked. Confirm the CPSC requirements for children's products with the factory and a testing lab before production.

Common tech pack mistakes

Most extra sample rounds come from a few gaps in the file.

• Measurements without a method, so the factory measures a different way than you do.
• No tolerances, so every small difference becomes an argument.
• Trims missing from the bill of materials, such as thread colour, elastic width or the label itself.
• Print placement given by eye instead of from a fixed point on the garment.
• Label text left to the factory, which then guesses at fiber content or origin wording.
• Old versions in circulation because the file has no date or revision log.

Where Nation fits

Questions about tech packs