Ever wondered 'What is a tech pack for clothing?', or 'why do I need a tech pack for my fashion brand'?
Here's our ultimate guide to everything you need to know about tech packs in fashion...
Getting into the world of owning your own fashion brand is a tricky one and there's loads to learn! One of the terms I'm sure you'll have heard thrown around is 'tech pack'. I mean what the jeffing hell is a 'Tech Pack' for a clothing brand and why am I spending so much money just to get a drawing and a bit of text?
In short, your tech pack is the 'recipe or instruction guide' for the creation of your garments. Bad instructions equals bad samples and bad bulk clothing manufacture so its ABSOLUTELY VITAL (sorry for shouting) to make sure you have a solid tech pack for every item of clothing that you want to sample or bulk produce for your fashion brand.
Here's a few pointers for what a good tech pack for clothing should include:
1. Fabric choice / colour
There are often lots of fabric choices to choose from and its vital that you have this information on your clothing tech pack. The last thing you want is your clothing manufacturer to use the wrong type of fabric, or the wrong colour for your big, expensive clothing order! If you'd like to see what kind of fabrics are available, we've got lots you can choose from at Hook and Eye: see our standard fabrics list here.
2. Fit requirements
Your tech pack for clothing should have a description of your fit requirements. This could be: oversized, slim fit, regular fit etc.
This information helps your clothing manufacturer to know what type of fit to use for your garments. Pretty important, but easily overlooked. Make sure you put the correct fit in there!
3. Construction notes
This is usually to do with stitching requirements. There are lots of different ways to finish a garment and this needs to be clearly noted in you tech packs. It can be quite technical, so if you'd like some guidance on how to do this properly, we can help. At Hook and Eye UK we offer tech pack and design sessions, where you speak one-to-one with a Head Designer to talk you through different construction methods and guide you to your decision. Click here for more information on our tech pack design sessions!
4. Graphic application / sizing / colour
Another key piece of info to include on your tech pack is the way you want your graphic to be attached to your garment. This could be; screen print, embroidery, badge or label application etc.
Without these instructions, your clothing manufacturer won't know how to put your graphics implemented, and that will slow down your production process.
5. Reference imagery for shape / construction
A really good tech pack makes it as clear as day how you want your clothing to come out. One of our top tips is to visually show the type of fit you're looking by including an image of your desired clothing on a body so it conveys your ideas to your clothing manufacturer quickly!
6. Specific panel sizing / garment description
It might seem obvious, but make sure you include specific details on the sizing of your panels and sizing for any other elements of your clothing design. Again, a good tech pack for a clothing company makes it as clear as day how you want your clothing to be made, so getting the sizing details right is crucial.
So there you have it - our essential guide to tech packs in fashion. Ultimately, for clothing brands, your tech pack is your contact between you and your clothing manufacturer. If there are deviations from the tech pack that you sent to the manufacturer and the clothing samples that you receive back from them, your tech pack gives you the right to dispute these issues. Alongside that, having a solid tech pack gets you to the perfect sample quicker and saves lots of money of having to re-develop your sample over and over again.
If you'd like to create excellent tech packs that save you time, money and a lot of headaches, we can help you! We offer 3 different Tech Pack & Design Sessions for startup clothing brands so that you come away with the perfect tech packs to take to your clothing manufacturer: Here's the link if you'd like to create a tech pack for your brand.
Love Hook and Eye UK x