What Is a Tech Pack?
A technical package — commonly called a tech pack — is a comprehensive document that communicates every manufacturing detail for a garment to the factory producing it. Think of it as the architectural blueprint for your clothing: just as a builder cannot construct a house from a photo alone, a factory cannot manufacture your product from a mood board or a rough description. The tech pack bridges the gap between your creative vision and a finished physical product.
The value of a well-written tech pack is measurable. Brands that submit complete tech packs typically complete the sampling process in one to two rounds. Brands that submit vague briefs or reference photos alone routinely require three to four sample rounds, adding between $100 and $400 in sample fees and anywhere from three to six weeks to their launch timeline. In a competitive retail environment, that delay is often the difference between catching a seasonal window and missing it entirely.
A standard tech pack contains: flat technical sketches (front and back), a measurement table with Point of Measure diagrams, fabric specifications including GSM and composition, Pantone colour callouts for every panel, a trim sheet listing every component, detailed construction notes on seam types and finishes, and packaging instructions including label placement and barcode requirements. Each element answers a specific question the factory will need answered before cutting a single piece of fabric.
Do You Always Need a Full Tech Pack?
The honest answer: it depends on garment complexity, and experienced manufacturers are flexible. A structured softshell jacket with multiple panels, zippers, bonded seams, and contrast colour blocking genuinely requires a full tech pack. Missing any element creates ambiguity that produces expensive mistakes at the sampling stage. Similarly, a trisuit, structured outerwear piece, or any garment with complex construction should always be accompanied by a full tech pack before sampling begins.
Mid-complexity garments — hoodies, tracksuits, leggings, polo shirts — can often be accurately sampled from a detailed spec sheet paired with clear reference photos or a physical reference sample. The spec sheet must still capture measurements, fabric composition, and primary design features. The reference fills the visual gaps that measurements alone cannot convey.
Simple garments — a plain round-neck tee, basic shorts, a single-panel cap — can frequently be started from a reference sample alone, combined with a short written brief. Al Wahab Global works from all three starting points. If you are uncertain, reach out and describe your product; our team will advise which level of documentation will produce an accurate first sample without unnecessary delay.
The 8 Essential Sections of a Tech Pack
1. Cover Page
The cover page is administrative but critical. It should clearly state the brand name, style name, style number, season, target delivery date, and version number. Version control is more important than most first-time brand founders realise. When a factory has received three versions of a document over two months, a clear version number (v1, v2, v3) with dates prevents the wrong version from reaching the cutting room. Every time you update the tech pack, increment the version number and note what changed. Disputes about who produced what are almost always resolved by version history. Keep a master log of changes alongside each version.
2. Flat Technical Sketches
Technical sketches are precise, flat drawings that show the garment from the front and back. They are not fashion illustrations — no figures, no perspective shading, no artistic interpretation. They show the garment as if laid flat on a table: every seam line, pocket placement, zipper position, label location, bartack, topstitch, and panel boundary must be visible and correctly proportioned. Include detail callouts (zoomed circles) for complex features like collar construction, zipper garage, or pocket entry. Technical sketches are typically produced in Adobe Illustrator but can be drawn clearly in Canva or even by hand if the proportions are accurate and lines are clean.
3. Measurement Table
The measurement table is where precision translates your design intent into factory instructions. Every critical measurement — chest width, body length, sleeve length, sleeve opening, armhole depth, neck width, hem circumference — must be listed with its exact POM (Point of Measure) diagram showing where and how to take that measurement. Without a POM diagram, different factories interpret measurement points differently, producing consistent but wrong garments. Specify the full size range (typically XS through 3XL) with graded increments for each size. Always include a tolerance column — for most woven garments ±0.5 cm is standard; for stretch fabrics ±1 cm on circumference measurements is acceptable.
4. Fabric Specifications
The fabric specification must state GSM (grams per square metre), fibre composition as a percentage (e.g. 80% Cotton 20% Polyester), construction type (jersey, interlock, twill, woven, French terry), and the Pantone colour code for each colour option. Include secondary fabrics — lining, ribbing, mesh panels — as separate entries. If you have performance requirements such as moisture-wicking, anti-odour treatment, UPF rating, or stretch percentage, state them explicitly here. Do not use vague descriptions like "soft cotton" or "athletic fabric" — these communicate nothing actionable to a factory sourcing team purchasing fabric from a mill.
5. Colour Callouts
Colour callouts map every colour in the garment to its Pantone TPX or TCX reference code, and then specify exactly which panels each colour applies to. Use the Pantone Fashion, Home + Interiors (FHI) system rather than Pantone Coated (C) or Uncoated (U), as FHI codes are calibrated for fabric dye. Where possible, provide a physical Pantone swatch to the factory for critical colourways. Digital colour values (hex codes, RGB, CMYK) are not reliable for fabric matching — dye lots vary significantly across different monitors and calibrations, and a garment that looks correct on screen can miss the target colour by several shades in physical production.
6. Trim Sheet
The trim sheet lists every component that goes into the garment beyond the main fabric. This includes: main woven or printed neck label (size, content, placement), care label (language requirements, standard wash symbols), hang tag (style, cord, safety pin), zipper (brand, size, pull type, colour), buttons (diameter, shank type, material), drawcords (diameter, tip type, material, length), patches (dimensions, placement), and any additional components specific to your design. For international brands, specify care label language requirements — EU and North American markets have specific mandatory content requirements. Missing any trim from this sheet means the factory must ask, and every question adds time to your timeline.
7. Construction Notes
Construction notes specify how the garment is to be sewn. Specify seam type for every major seam: flatlock (common in activewear for next-to-skin comfort), coverstitch, overlock (serge), or single-needle lockstitch for structured woven pieces. Note topstitch width on visible seams — 1/8 inch and 1/4 inch are standard options with distinct visual results. Identify bartack locations at stress points such as pocket corners, strap attachments, and zipper ends. State whether seam allowances should be pressed open or to one side. On stretch garments, note thread type — textured nylon or polyester is necessary on seams that will stretch, as regular polyester thread breaks under extension.
8. Packaging Instructions
Packaging is the final section and the one most often omitted. Specify the fold method, the poly bag specification (minimum 1.5 mil for consumer retail, 2 mil for moisture-sensitive items), and the size label placement on the poly bag. For Amazon FBA sellers, this section is non-negotiable: include FNSKU barcode placement (must be scannable on the exterior of the poly bag), the specific Amazon Shipment ID label format, and carton dimensions with weight limits. For retail distribution, include inner carton counts, master carton dimensions, and barcode placement requirements for warehouse receiving compliance.
✓ Free Tech Pack Checklist
Tools to Create Your Tech Pack
The tool you use matters less than the clarity of the output. That said, some tools make the process significantly more efficient. Adobe Illustrator is the industry standard — its precision vector tools are purpose-built for flat technical drawings, and most professional tech pack creators work in Illustrator. At $55/month for Creative Cloud, it is worth learning if you plan to launch multiple styles regularly. Canva is free, browser-based, and has apparel-specific templates that can be adapted for technical drawings — a solid choice for first-time founders on a tight budget.
Techpacker.com is purpose-built software for tech pack creation with a free tier that accommodates a few active styles and structured templates that prompt you to include every required section. It is worth trying before committing to more expensive tools. Google Slides or Microsoft PowerPoint are underrated — a well-organised slide deck with imported sketches, colour swatches, and measurement tables is perfectly acceptable to most factories including Al Wahab Global. Finally, pen and paper with a scanner is fully acceptable for the sketch component; hand-drawn technical flats with clear callout notes scan cleanly and communicate effectively to experienced pattern makers.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Missing Pantone codes — "Navy blue" means different things to different suppliers. Always provide Pantone FHI codes for every colour in every colourway.
- No POM diagram — Listing measurements without showing where they are taken causes inconsistent results across factories and sampling rounds.
- No tolerance specification — Without stated tolerances, the factory uses their own defaults which may not match your quality standards or end-customer fit expectations.
- Fashion sketches instead of flat technical drawings — Illustrated figures with shading are beautiful but do not communicate seam placement, pocket depth, or panel boundaries to a pattern maker.
- No version control — Sending V3 of a tech pack without labelling it leads to factories producing from an older version. Always date and version every document you send.
- Forgetting packaging spec — Most brands think about garment quality and forget that Amazon FBA or retail compliance requirements need to be built into the production process from the outset.
- Not specifying care label language requirements — EU and USA markets have distinct mandatory content on care labels. Specifying language requirements upfront avoids costly relabelling of finished goods.
What Happens After Submission
When you submit a tech pack to Al Wahab Global, our technical team reviews the document within one to two business days and raises any clarification questions in a single consolidated message — we do not ask questions piecemeal over multiple emails. This review identifies material substitutions if your specified fabrics are not readily available in Sialkot, flags any construction techniques that may affect cost, and confirms the sample fee and production timeline.
Once materials are confirmed and the sample fee paid, the sample is produced in seven to ten working days. You receive pre-delivery photos of the completed sample for initial review, followed by the physical sample shipped to your address. You then mark your corrections with annotated photos and measurement feedback — a standard feedback method we have used with brands from over 30 countries. If the sample requires revision, a second sample incorporating all marked corrections is produced, typically approvable for bulk production.
A clear, well-written tech pack reduces the total sampling timeline by two to three weeks compared to briefs requiring multiple clarification rounds before a pattern can even be created. After sample approval, we issue a bulk production order confirmation, collect the balance deposit, and begin cutting. The approved sample remains on file as the quality reference throughout the bulk run — our QC team measures and compares final production garments against the approved reference before packing begins. This process is why our bulk-to-sample match rate is consistently among the highest in Sialkot's manufacturing sector.
Ready to Submit Your Tech Pack?
Al Wahab Global reviews tech packs and quotes within 24 hours. MOQ 10 pieces. ISO 9001:2015 certified production in Sialkot, Pakistan.
