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What to Watch for When Designing Printed Apparel

Fashion Design, Product Development, Textile Print

The right print can make a garment a showstopper. Designing printed apparel isn’t as easy as picking out a print and having the fabric made into your garment though. There are things to watch out for to make sure the print flatters your design and the wearer as well as stays within your budget.

What’s in an Apparel Tech Pack (for You)? – Sample Comments

Fit, Industry Basics, Tech Design

The final section in a tech pack is for sample comments. Each sample gets its own page. When you receive a sample, write down the sample measurements as well as any changes made to the style. Keep track of what decisions were made and what the next steps for the style are.

What’s in an Apparel Tech Pack (for You)? – Spec Sheet

Industry Basics, Sizing, Tech Design

The spec sheet is an important part of the tech pack that shows what the style measures at each POM in all the sizes offered. The chart also shows the tolerance for those measurements – meaning the amount plus or minus that the garment can differ from the spec measurement and still be considered acceptable.

What’s in an Apparel Tech Pack (for You)? – Pattern Card

Industry Basics, Patternmaking, Tech Design

The pattern card lists each pattern piece for the style along with how many of each is needed to make one garment. It is split into sections by material type. Note, this page doesn’t show all the materials needed like the BOM does. This page only shows pattern pieces that need to be cut out.

What’s in an Apparel Tech Pack (for You)? – Colorways and Art Placement

Industry Basics, Tech Design, Textile Print

Colorways and artwork specifications are another important section of a tech pack. The colorways page shows a CAD drawing of each color combination being offered for that season. Along with the drawings, there are color chips showing the color of each material in the style – including fabrics, thread, and hardware.

What’s in an Apparel Tech Pack (for You)? – Technical Sketches and Construction

Industry Basics, Tech Design

The technical section of a tech pack communicates how the garment is constructed. It will always include a tech sketch which is the flat sketch from the cover page with seam, stitch, and detail callouts. Some details will have alternate views such as the sides or inside showing how those details should be constructed.

What’s in an Apparel Tech Pack (for You)? – Bill of Materials

Industry Basics, Tech Design

The Bill of Materials page (called the BOM) is a chart that shows all the materials that go into your design. The BOM not only lists the fabrics, but shows all the trims, closures, thread, hangtags, labels, and packaging materials – everything you need to make the style start to finish.

What’s in an Apparel Tech Pack (for You)? – Cover Page

Industry Basics, Tech Design

You’ve probably heard that you need a tech pack, but the conversation usually revolves around how you need one for your factory. While a tech pack is useful in communicating information about your design to your factory, there are many parts of a tech pack that are useful to you as the designer as well.

Ways to Save Money on Product Development

Costing, Fashion Business, Product Development

Product development is expensive. I’m not going to tell you otherwise. And this is all upfront long before you are able to start selling the product and see the return on your investment. But there are ways to still develop and offer your customers new options while staying within your budget.

How to Make the Most of a Fitting

Fit, How To, Product Development

Fittings are a crucial step in the product development process and can yield a wealth of information about your design. In addition to testing the actual fit of the garment, you have the opportunity to test the design, pattern, and fabric as well. Consider these steps below to make the most of each fitting.

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What to Watch for When Designing Printed Apparel

What’s in an Apparel Tech Pack (for You)? – Sample Comments

What’s in an Apparel Tech Pack (for You)? – Spec Sheet

What’s in an Apparel Tech Pack (for You)? – Pattern Card

What’s in an Apparel Tech Pack (for You)? – Colorways and Art Placement

What’s in an Apparel Tech Pack (for You)? – Technical Sketches and Construction

What’s in an Apparel Tech Pack (for You)? – Bill of Materials

What’s in an Apparel Tech Pack (for You)? – Cover Page

Ways to Save Money on Product Development

How to Make the Most of a Fitting