How do I make a tech pack for clothing? Steps and example
Draw the flats front and back, then add a measurement table with points of measure and tolerances, a bill of materials, the colorways and the label placements, one section per page. Start below from a photo of the garment: it returns the flat and a read of the construction, the first page of the pack.
Two free renders, shared across all our tools. No account.
Drop a garment photo here
or choose one from your phone or computer
JPEG, PNG or WebP. Any phone photo works.
Your photo is stored for 30 days, then deleted. It is used to make your image, and by the studio if you continue there. If you order a pattern from it, a copy is kept with your order.
What a tech pack is for
A tech pack is the document a factory builds your garment from. It answers three questions the factory cannot guess: what to cut it from, how big each size is, and how to put it together. The merchandiser costs your garment from it, the pattern maker drafts from it, the sewing line assembles from it, and quality control measures finished pieces against it.
Without one, a factory either asks questions for weeks or decides for you: a lighter fabric because no weight was given, an overlock where you wanted a flat-felled seam, a label in the wrong place. The tech pack is the written standard you can hold a sample to.
The steps, in the order a factory reads them
- Flats. Draw the garment front and back as proportional line art, with every seam, dart, pocket, closure and topstitch. Heavier lines for the outline, lighter ones for construction, callouts for the details. No fashion figure: a pattern maker cannot measure an illustration.
- Measurement table. Number the points of measure on a flat (chest, body length, sleeve, shoulder, hem, neck), say how each is taken, laid flat or hanging, and give every one a tolerance. Add the other sizes once the base size is approved.
- Bill of materials. Every component, one row each: shell, lining, interfacing, thread, zip, buttons, rib, drawcord, labels, hang tag, with supplier, reference, composition, weight, color code and quantity per garment.
- Construction. Seam types, stitch types, stitches per inch, seam allowances, edge finishes, and where to reinforce: bartacks at pocket mouths, stress points at the waistband.
- Colorways. One small flat per colorway, every colored component named with its textile color code, and a note where a colorway changes a material.
- Labels, artwork and packing. Each label and print at actual size with its position measured from a fixed point, the care label content, then the fold, the bag and the carton.
- Version it. A table on page one with the date and what changed. Never overwrite the version the factory sampled from.
An annotated example: a pullover hoodie
Here is how those sections read for one garment, a fleece pullover hoodie with a kangaroo pocket. Each row is a page or a block of the pack, with the note a factory would expect to find there.
| Section | What it holds | In this example | Why the factory needs it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cover | Style name and number, season, version, contact | HD-01, version 2, date of this version | So everyone samples from the same version |
| Flats | Front and back line art with callouts | Kangaroo pocket, 2-panel hood, rib cuffs and hem, coverstitch at the armholes | The visual anchor every other page refers to |
| Measurement table | Points of measure, base size, tolerances | See the size M table below | Pattern drafting and quality control |
| Bill of materials | Every component with reference and quantity | Body: cotton fleece, weight in GSM; rib: 1x1 cotton elastane; drawcord: flat, 1 m; main label, care label, size label | Costing and purchasing |
| Construction | Seams, stitches, finishes | 4-thread overlock body seams, coverstitch hems, bartacks at pocket mouths | Sets up the sewing line |
| Colorways | One flat per color with color codes | Ecru body with ecru rib; black body with black rib | Dyeing and trim matching |
| Labels and packing | Label positions, care content, fold and bag | Main label centered at back neck; care label at left side seam, above the hem | Finishing and the warehouse |
The measurement table, in practice
The table is where most first tech packs fall short. Each point of measure is a letter on the flat, a plain description of where the tape goes, the figure in the base size, and the tolerance a finished piece may be off by.
| Point | How it is measured | Size M | Tolerance |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Chest width, 2 cm below the armhole, edge to edge | 58 cm | 1 cm either way |
| B | Body length, high point of shoulder to hem | 72 cm | 1 cm either way |
| C | Sleeve length, shoulder point to cuff edge | 62 cm | 1 cm either way |
| D | Hem rib height | 6 cm | 0.3 cm either way |
| E | Hood height, neck seam to crown | 36 cm | 0.5 cm either way |
From a photo to a pattern
If the garment exists, as a sample, a vintage piece you are adapting, or a render, you do not have to start the flats from a blank page.
- Photo. Drop it in the tool at the top of this page, front, and the back if you have it.
- Flat. It comes back as black line art on white: the first page of the pack, to annotate.
- Read. The garment type, silhouette, visible construction, closures, a hedged fabric guess and the count of pattern pieces: the notes your construction page starts from.
- Pattern. The read quotes the production DXF pattern, $29, $59 or $129 by the tier the system classifies. A professional pattern maker cuts it, and can write the factory tech pack as an add-on at $10.
The measurement table and the bill of materials stay yours to write: they hold decisions about fit, fabric and suppliers that only you can make.
Mistakes that cost a sample round
- A fashion illustration in place of flats.
- Measurements with no tolerances, so an off-spec sample cannot be refused.
- Colors by name ("dusty rose") instead of a textile color code.
- No seam allowance stated, so the factory applies its own default.
- No version table, so the factory samples from an older pack.
- No packing page, so the goods arrive folded and bagged however was cheapest.
Questions
What is included in a tech pack?
Flats front and back, a measurement table with points of measure and tolerances, a bill of materials, construction details, colorways, and label, artwork and packing instructions, with a version table on the cover.
Do I need a pattern as well as a tech pack?
Yes, to produce. A tech pack describes the garment; a pattern is the set of pieces the factory cuts. Some factories draft the pattern from your pack for a fee; otherwise you send both.
What format should a tech pack be in?
One PDF with the pages in order is what most factories ask for. Keep the source files (the flats and the spreadsheet tables) for the next version.
Do I need a new tech pack for every colorway?
No, if only the colors change: add a colorway page. If a colorway changes a material, give it its own section or its own pack.
Can I get the flat sketch for free?
Two free renders, shared across all our tools, no account; each gives the flat and the read of the garment. Then 5 credits ($0.50) a render; a free account opens with a one-time welcome of 50 credits, then gets 15 credits a month.
Can someone write the tech pack for me?
Yes, with the pattern. When you order the production DXF pattern from the read, the pattern maker who cuts it can write the factory tech pack as an add-on at $10, so the specification and the cutting files agree.