Question 1

Do I need a tech pack to start clothing production?

Accepted Answer

No. You can send sketches, reference garments or photographs, and the tech pack is written for you at the design stage. Having one already is useful because it fixes the specification in writing, but it is not a condition of starting a programme.

What to send if you do not have one
References work: a photograph of the garment you want built, notes on the fabric, and a target quantity. That is enough to open stage one. The tech pack is the output of that stage rather than a barrier placed in front of it.

What the document holds
Measurements, fabric, construction, labels and packaging, collected into one place. It is the first of the seven process stages, and sampling, approval and production are all checked back against it.

Why writing it first changes the outcome
Fabric cannot be ordered before it is specified, and no sample can be cut before measurements exist. Writing the document first is what stops later stages drifting away from the design you had in mind - drift that otherwise shows up only once bulk production is already underway.

If you already have one
Send it. An existing tech pack shortens stage one and goes straight into sourcing. Either way the sequence after it is the same, and the first order still runs 30-60 days from approval to dispatch.

Question 2

What are the stages of clothing manufacturing?

Accepted Answer

There are seven stages: design and tech pack, sourcing, sampling, approval, production, quality control, and packaging and dispatch. They run in that order, and each one is signed off before the next starts, so production does not begin until fit, fabric, colour and labels are approved.

Stage one, design and tech pack
You send designs or references and the tech pack is written from them. That document carries measurements, fabric, construction, labels and packaging, and everything after it is checked back against it.

Stage two, sourcing
Fabric is ordered from mills in Ludhiana and Amritsar once it is specified. Nothing can be bought before the specification exists, which is why this follows the tech pack rather than preceding it.

Stage three, sampling
Sampling is deliberately sequential: a proto sample, then a fit sample, then a pre-production sample. Each is approved before the next begins. Buyers are most often surprised by this stage, because collapsing it is the fastest way to lose a fit later.

Stage four, approval
Fit, fabric, colour, labels and packaging are signed off together. This is the gate in front of the production line.

Stage five, production
Cut, stitch and finish on industrial machinery.

Stage six, quality control
Checks run inline while the order is still on the line, plus a final inspection at the end of it. Inline checks are what catch drift while it can still be corrected.

Stage seven, packaging and dispatch
Custom poly bags, labels and cartons, then air or sea shipping.

Why the order matters
A standard order runs 30-60 days across all seven, whatever the category - t-shirts, school uniforms, corporate workwear or event wear. A repeat order runs 15-25 days because stages one to four do not run a second time once fit, fabric, colour and labels are already approved.

Question 3

What fabrics do garment manufacturers work with?

Accepted Answer

Celebstitch works with cotton, denim, silk, wool, linen and synthetic blends, plus fleece in french terry, polar and sherpa. Each family has named variants: Giza, Supima and combed cotton, raw, selvedge and stretch denim, and Belgian, Irish and pure linen for summer shirts and trousers.

How the families break down
Cotton runs Giza, Supima and combed, and it is what t-shirts, shirts and innerwear are cut from. Denim comes raw, selvedge and stretch, and covers jeans, jackets and skirts. Linen in Belgian, Irish and pure weaves sits in summer shirts and trousers, and the wider shirting range covers formal, casual, Oxford and linen styles. Silk in mulberry, satin and chiffon belongs to occasion wear and blouses, while wool in merino, cashmere and tweed belongs to winter wear and blazers.

Fleece is the separate decision
Fleece is listed in french terry, polar and sherpa, and it is the family behind hoodies, sweatshirts and joggers at 280-380 GSM. T-shirts sit in a different band entirely: cotton, polyester or a blend at 100-240 GSM. The two bands rarely cross, because a fabric that drapes for a tee will not hold the structure a hoodie needs.

Where the fabric comes from
Sourcing happens from mills in Ludhiana and Amritsar rather than from a general market, which is what lets a fabric be re-ordered in the same shade on a repeat programme instead of being matched again from scratch.

Matching fabric to what the garment has to do
The right choice is driven by climate, sales channel and the hand-feel you are aiming at, not by a preference for one fibre over another. Send those three things with the design and the fabric gets specified from there, before any sample is cut.

Technical Insights

Do I need a tech pack to start clothing production?

What are the stages of clothing manufacturing?

What fabrics do garment manufacturers work with?