A tech pack is the production document a factory reads so it can cut, sew and finish your garment without guessing. It contains flat technical drawings, a graded measurement chart, fabric and trim specifications, construction and stitch detail, decoration placement with dimensions, and labelling and packaging instructions. You can build a usable one in Illustrator, Canva or even a spreadsheet, because clarity matters more than software. If you cannot build one, the honest alternative is to approve a physical sample and let its measurements become the specification.
In this article
- What is a tech pack in fashion?
- What goes in a tech pack, and why
- Flat drawings and the measurement chart
- How to make a tech pack in Illustrator, Canva or Excel
- What good enough looks like for a first run
- The mistakes that make a tech pack useless
- The honest alternative: let the sample be the spec
- What to send NO FUGAZI instead
What is a tech pack in fashion?
A tech pack, short for technical package, is a set of instructions for making one garment. It is a production document, not a creative one. Nothing in it is meant to look good. Every page exists to remove a decision that would otherwise be made for you by somebody who has never spoken to you.
Think of it as the answer sheet to every question a pattern cutter, a machinist and a finisher will ask. How long is the body. How wide is the rib. Which thread colour. How far below the neck seam does the print start. Without written answers those questions still get answered, just not by you.
A tech pack also does two commercial jobs. It lets different manufacturers quote the same garment, so their prices are comparable. And it makes a repeat order repeatable, because the second run is measured against the same document as the first.
What goes in a tech pack, and why
Formats vary, the content does not. These are the parts, and the problem each one prevents.
| Section | What it contains | What it prevents |
|---|---|---|
| Cover and style summary | Style name and number, season, sizes, colourways, intended fit | Wrong version being made from an old file |
| Flat technical drawings | Front, back and detail views, line drawings only | Seams, pockets and openings landing in the wrong place |
| Measurement chart | Points of measure with values for every size | A garment that fits nobody, and sizes that do not step evenly |
| Fabric specification | Composition, weight in GSM, construction, colour reference | A substitute cloth that hangs and shrinks differently |
| Trim sheet | Cord, eyelets, zips, hardware, thread, elastic, with sizes | Generic trims chosen on availability |
| Construction detail | Stitch types, seam finishes, stitches per inch, bartack positions | Seams that roll, hems that grin, pockets that tear out |
| Decoration sheet | Artwork, method, colours, size in centimetres, distance from seams | Prints too big, too low, or crossing a seam |
| Labelling and packaging | Neck label, care label, swing tag, folding, bagging, cartons | Product that cannot legally or practically be sold |
Two are skipped more than the rest, and both cause expensive problems. Construction detail feels like the factory job. Labelling and packaging feels like it can be sorted later. Neither is true.
Flat drawings and the measurement chart
A flat drawing is the garment as if laid on a table, drawn in plain lines with no shading, no model and no styling. It is not a fashion illustration. Draw front and back at minimum, plus a zoomed detail of anything unusual: a pocket opening, a hood gusset, a cuff.
Two conventions make a flat readable. Use a heavier line for the outline and a lighter one for internal seams, and show stitching as dashed lines. If a detail is too small to read, pull it out as a callout at a larger scale.
The measurement chart is the part that decides whether the garment fits, and the part beginners most often leave out. It lists points of measure and gives a value for each size. A basic hoodie chart covers body length from high point shoulder, chest width one inch below the armhole, shoulder width, sleeve length, cuff and hem width and height, neck opening, hood height and width, and pocket dimensions.
Measure a garment you already own to get your starting numbers. Lay it flat, smooth it without stretching, and record half measurements consistently, so chest width means edge to edge across the flat garment rather than the full circumference. State which convention you used.
Grading is the step from one size to the next. If you cannot grade properly, specify one base size in full and state the increment you want between sizes, for example two centimetres on chest width and one and a half on body length. A manufacturer can work from that. What cannot be worked from is a single size with no instruction, or a chart where the sizes step by different amounts for no stated reason.
How to make a tech pack in Illustrator, Canva or Excel
The tool matters far less than people expect. A clear pack made in a spreadsheet beats a beautiful one that omits the measurements.
| Tool | Good for | Weak at | Practical approach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illustrator | Accurate flats, callouts, vector artwork | Tables and long charts | Draw flats and artwork here, keep the chart elsewhere |
| Canva | Laying out pages, placing photos and references | Precise line drawing, scale accuracy | Use for layout, import flats and charts as images |
| Excel or Sheets | Measurement charts, trim lists, grading increments | Anything visual | Own the numbers here, one row per point of measure |
| Pen and paper | Getting the idea out fast | Legibility and revision control | Photograph it, label it clearly, send it as is |
A workable first-time process: draw the flats by hand or trace a photo of a garment, build the measurement chart in a spreadsheet, list fabrics and trims in a second sheet, put artwork with dimensions on its own page, then export everything to one PDF. One file, one version number, one date.
What good enough looks like for a first run
You are not being marked. A first tech pack needs to answer the questions that change the garment, and can stay silent on the rest.
- Front and back flats. Hand drawn is fine if the proportions are honest and the details labelled.
- One fully measured base size. Plus your intended grading increments, even as a single sentence.
- Fabric named or referenced. Composition and weight if you know them, or a garment whose fabric you want matched.
- Trims listed. Cord type, eyelet material, zip type, label type. Say if you have no preference.
- Artwork at final size. With placement measured from a fixed point, usually the neck seam or the centre front.
- Labels and packaging. Whether you want them, and roughly what kind.
- A reference garment. The most useful item you can add, and the only one that answers questions you did not think to ask.
Anything beyond that is refinement. Seam allowance diagrams and full bill of materials detail are useful at scale, not on a first run.
The mistakes that make a tech pack useless
- No measurements. A drawing without numbers is a moodboard. Scale is the whole point.
- Measurements without a convention. Half or full, laid flat or on the body, edge to edge or seam to seam. Unstated, every number is ambiguous.
- Artwork at the wrong resolution or in the wrong format. Screen prints and embroidery need vector or a high resolution file. A logo pulled from a website will not print.
- Placement given in words. Centred on chest is not a placement. Give a size in centimetres and a distance from a fixed seam.
- Contradictions between pages. The flat shows two pockets, the chart lists one. The pack is now unusable until someone asks.
- No version number or date. Three files called final at once is how the wrong garment gets made.
- Copying a competitor's spec. Their measurements were built for their block and their fabric, and will not behave on yours.
- Over-specifying without knowledge. Inventing a stitch type or a GSM you have not felt creates false precision. Say what you want the garment to do.
The last is worth sitting with. A pack full of confident detail nobody has tested is more dangerous than a short one that is honest about what is undecided.
The honest alternative: let the sample be the spec
Most first-time brands do not have a tech pack, and building one badly is worse than not having one. There is a route that runs the other way round.
Instead of writing the specification and then making a garment to it, you make a garment and then measure it into a specification. You send a sketch, a moodboard or a garment you want changed. The manufacturer develops the pattern, makes a physical sample, and you approve it. That approved sample becomes the reference: it is measured, those measurements are recorded, and bulk is checked against them.
This route has a real advantage. A sample is something you can hold, wear and wash. Judging fit from a document is hard even for professionals, and many tech-pack-led first runs go wrong because a number looked fine on a page and felt wrong on a body.
It has a cost too. It moves the pattern and technical work onto the manufacturer, which is why not every supplier offers it. Our page on working with no tech pack sets out what to send when nothing is written down.
What to send NO FUGAZI instead
NO FUGAZI is a custom clothing manufacturer based and managed in London, producing at its own dedicated facility. Pattern development, fit development, the technical work and decoration are handled in house, which is why a tech pack is not a condition of starting.
Send whatever exists. A sketch, a moodboard, reference photos, or a garment you own with notes on what to change. If you do have a tech pack, we quote straight from it.
We turn what you send into a production specification, quote it, then prove it with a physical sample before any bulk is cut. Minimum order is 50 pieces, stated plainly and applied flexibly. Commit to the bulk run with a deposit and there is no separate charge for sampling, because the deposit counts towards the bulk total, and one free revision round is included. A standalone sample without a bulk commitment is available and charged separately.
Sampling takes about 2 to 3 weeks and bulk about 3 to 8 weeks after sample approval, plus shipping. Fabric is pre-shrunk with 1 to 3 percent residual shrinkage, so there is very little movement against the approved measurements after washing, and quality control runs in four stages.
Read how the process runs end to end, check the fabric guide, or send what you have through the brief form. WhatsApp is +44 7537 134878.
Questions
What is a tech pack in fashion?
A tech pack is the production document a manufacturer reads to make a garment without guessing. It holds flat technical drawings, a graded measurement chart, fabric and trim specifications, construction detail, decoration placement with dimensions, and labelling and packaging instructions. It is a working instruction sheet rather than a design presentation.
What are tech packs used for?
Three things. They tell a factory exactly how to cut, sew and finish a garment. They make quotes comparable, because every manufacturer is pricing the same specification. And they make repeat orders repeatable, since the second run is measured against the same document as the first.
How do I make a clothing tech pack?
Draw front and back flats as plain line drawings. Build a measurement chart listing every point of measure with values for a base size, plus your grading increments. Specify fabric composition, weight and colour. List every trim. Add artwork at final size with placement measured from a fixed seam. Export it as one dated PDF.
Can I make a tech pack in Canva or Excel?
Yes. Canva handles page layout well and can carry imported flats, references and artwork. Excel or Google Sheets is the better home for the measurement chart, trim list and grading increments, because those are tables. Neither draws accurate flats, so hand-draw or trace those and import them as images. Clarity beats software.
Do I need a tech pack to get clothing manufactured?
Not with NO FUGAZI. A sketch, a moodboard, reference photos or an existing garment you want changed is enough to start, and the technical work is handled here. If you already have a tech pack we quote straight from it. Our no tech pack page explains exactly what to send.
What if I cannot make a tech pack at all?
Work the other way round. Send what you have, let the manufacturer develop the pattern and make a physical sample, then approve that sample. Its measurements are recorded and become the specification that bulk is checked against. You get to judge fit by wearing the garment rather than reading a number on a page, which is easier and more reliable.
Related reading
- Getting clothing made without a tech pack
- How to find a clothing manufacturer in the UK
- Minimum order quantity, explained
- How clothes are manufactured: the whole process, stage by stage – the whole chain, from brief to packed garment
- How long does it take to start a clothing brand? – how long each stage really takes, and what runs in parallel
- Can I use a WebP image for print on demand? The definitive answer – what to send a factory, and what 300 dpi actually means
