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What Should Go in a Fashion Tech Pack? (And Why It Matters)
By Leslye Young ·
A reference photo and a conversation will not get you a finished garment. The factory will fill in every gap you leave, with their best guess. That guess is rarely the version you had in your head.
A tech pack is the document that closes those gaps. It’s the most important file in the development process, and most bad samples can be traced back to one that was missing, vague, or built by someone who’d never spec’d a garment before.
What a tech pack actually is
A tech pack is a blueprint for a garment. It tells the factory exactly what you want (stitching, sizing, label placement, finish) in a language their pattern makers and sample team already speak.
It’s the translation layer between your idea and a sewing machine.
What goes in it
1. Flat sketches: front, back, and details
Clean, line-drawn illustrations showing silhouette, seams, pockets, and construction features. These are technical, not fashion illustrations. Function over flourish.
2. Measurement specs
A full points-of-measure chart with base size specs and tolerances: the acceptable variation per measurement. This is how a factory knows what “true to size” means for your brand.
3. Fabric and trim information
- Fabric name and composition (e.g. 92% cotton, 8% spandex)
- Color, weight, and finish
- Zippers, buttons, labels, drawcords
- Vendor references if sourced
4. Construction notes
How the garment is made: seam type (flatlock, overlock), topstitching, hemming, pocket finish, elastic insertion, binding. Factories follow instructions. They don’t invent them.
5. Labeling and packaging
Brand label placement, size label placement, hang tag callouts, folding and bagging preferences. The small decisions that read as “polish” when they’re right and “amateur” when they aren’t.
6. Visual references
Optional but useful. Moodboards, close-ups of fabric or finishes, callouts for features you want replicated.
7. Fit comments
This section grows as you sample. Fit issues, suggested changes, new measurements, revised construction notes. The tech pack is a living document until production locks.
What happens without one
- Miscommunication, which becomes wasted samples
- Manufacturers filling gaps with their defaults
- Delays, frustration, and money spent twice
A tech pack doesn’t just help the factory. It gives you a repeatable process, one you can hand off, version, and improve.
If you’re not a designer
You don’t need to build the tech pack yourself. You do need someone who can build the right one for your product. That’s the work I do, for founders who’d rather get it right the first time than rework it three.