What is a tech pack? What a sewing factory needs before it quotes
A sample shows what you want; the tech pack is what a factory quotes, sews and gets inspected against. What goes in one, how to write the seams and labels down, and what a sewing factory needs before it will give you a real price.
Filed under Engineering and services
Short answer: A tech pack is the written specification a factory builds a sewn product from: flat sketches, a bill of materials, measurements and tolerances, construction details, labels and packing. A sample shows what you want. The tech pack is what the factory quotes against, builds to and gets inspected against.
A tech pack is the one document that turns a product idea into something a sewing factory can price and build. Apparel brands use the term most, but it applies just as much to bags, pouches, cases and other cut-and-sew goods. Without one, every unanswered question is answered by the factory, usually in the cheapest way that still looks like the sample. This note covers what a tech pack contains, what a sewn-goods factory needs before it will quote, and the gaps that show up later as problems on the line.
What a tech pack is, and what it is not
A tech pack is not a mood board and not a single drawing. It is a set of pages, usually one product per pack, that answers the questions a pattern maker, a cutter, a sewing line and an inspector will each ask. If two different factories read the same tech pack, they should quote the same product.
A physical sample helps, but a sample cannot tell a factory the stitch density, the thread size, the webbing strength or which dimension matters most. That is the same lesson as reverse engineering from a sample: the part cannot tell you its own tolerances. The tech pack is where you write them down.
What goes into a tech pack
| Page | What it answers | What goes wrong without it |
|---|---|---|
| Flat sketches | Front, back, side and inside views, with callouts | The factory guesses pocket depth, strap position and openings |
| Bill of materials | Every fabric, lining, foam, thread, zipper, buckle, webbing and label, with supplier or spec | Substituted materials that look the same on day one |
| Measurements and tolerances | Every critical dimension and how much it may vary | Lots that are all "about right" and none the same |
| Construction details | Stitch type, stitches per inch, seam type, bar-tack placement, edge finish | Seams that pass on the sample and open in use |
| Colors and artwork | Color references, logo files, print or embroidery placement and size | A logo 10 mm off center on every unit |
| Labels | Brand, care, content and origin labels, with position | A relabel job at the US warehouse |
| Packing | Folding, polybag, inner pack, carton count, carton marks | Damaged goods and cartons the warehouse cannot receive |
The bill of materials is where cost hides. Ask for every material by name and grade, not by description. "Black nylon" can mean many fabrics at different prices; a fabric weight, weave and coating named in writing cannot drift without someone noticing.
Construction: write the seams down
Construction is the page most first-time buyers skip, and the one that decides whether a bag survives a season. ASTM publishes a standard for exactly this. ASTM D6193, the Standard Practice for Stitches and Seams, "covers the requirements and characteristics of stitches and seams used in the fabrication of sewn items" and "identifies the category, formation, and general purpose for stitch types and seam types used in the fabrication of sewn items." Naming stitch and seam types from a published classification means the factory and your inspector read the same words the same way.
For each seam, the tech pack should say:
- Stitch type and seam type, from a named classification where you can.
- Stitches per inch, with a range. Too few and the seam is weak; too many and the needle perforates the fabric.
- Thread: material, size and color.
- Reinforcement: where bar-tacks go, how long, and on which stress points (strap anchors, handle ends, zipper ends).
- Edge finish: bound, folded, painted or raw.
Military and tactical buyers write all of this into the contract, and every lot is checked against it. Consumer brands can borrow the same discipline. On our cut-and-sew page we list what Jack checks on every sewn part: stitches per inch counted against the spec, bar-tacks and stress points, hardware pulls. Each of those checks only works if the number was in the tech pack to begin with.
Labels: the rules depend on the product
Labels are where a tech pack meets US law, and the rules are not the same for every sewn product.
Clothing. The FTC's Care Labeling Rule says that for textile wearing apparel, "Manufacturers and importers must attach care labels so that they can be seen or easily found when the product is offered for sale to consumers." The care label must give washing or drycleaning instructions, and the rule sets out what a washing instruction has to cover, including whether to wash by hand or machine and a water temperature.
Fiber content and identity. The FTC's guide to the Textile and Wool Acts explains that federal rules "require that most of these products have a label listing the fiber content, country of origin and identity of the manufacturer or another business responsible for marketing or handling the item." A brand can use a Registered Identification Number (RN) instead of its company name; the same guide notes, "You don't need to get or use an RN to do business."
Bags and luggage. The same FTC guide lists "Textiles used in handbags or luggage" among the items not covered by the Textile Act labeling requirements, and adds that if you make any statement about fiber, the full fiber-content rules apply. Read the guide for your exact product before you print labels.
Country of origin on everything imported. Separately from the FTC rules, US customs law requires that every imported article "shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly, and permanently as the nature of the article (or container) will permit" with "the English name of the country of origin" (19 U.S.C. 1304). Put the origin label, its wording and its position in the tech pack, so it is sewn in on the line and not added later.
What a factory needs before it will quote
A factory can give a rough number from photos. A quote you can hold it to needs:
- The tech pack, complete enough that the BOM and construction pages are filled in.
- A reference sample or prototype, if one exists, marked up where it differs from the tech pack.
- Quantities per style and color, because cutting and line setup are priced per run. Our MOQ note covers what is negotiable there.
- Target materials and any testing you need, such as lab reports a retailer asks for.
- Packing and shipping marks, which follow the export carton marks your warehouse needs.
If you are sending the same package to several factories, use one checklist so the quotes compare like for like. Our RFQ checklist is built for that. For where the tech pack sits in the whole job, from approved materials to lot checks, see the cut-and-sew production step.
The sample is approved against the tech pack
Once a factory sews a sample, approve it against the tech pack, page by page, and update the pack with every change you accept. The approved sample and the final tech pack together become the standard the bulk order is inspected against. That is the practical answer to the golden sample problem: lot three is checked against written numbers, not against someone's memory of a sample.
A short version of the rule: if it matters, it is in the tech pack. If it is not in the tech pack, the factory decides.
Straight answers
What is a tech pack?
A tech pack is the written specification a factory builds a sewn product from: flat sketches, a bill of materials, measurements and tolerances, construction details such as stitch type and stitches per inch, labels and packing. Factories quote, sew and inspect against it.
Is a sample enough without a tech pack?
No. A sample shows the look, but it cannot tell a factory the stitch density, thread size, material grade or which dimensions are critical. Without those in writing, the factory decides them.
Do bags and luggage need fiber content labels?
The FTC's guide to the Textile and Wool Acts lists textiles used in handbags or luggage among the items not covered by the Textile Act labeling requirements, unless you make a statement about fiber. Imported bags still need country of origin marking under US customs law.
What labels does imported clothing need in the US?
Generally a care label under the FTC Care Labeling Rule, a label with fiber content, country of origin and the identity of the responsible company (by name or RN) under the Textile and Wool Acts, and country of origin marking under US customs law.
What should construction details in a tech pack include?
For each seam: stitch type and seam type, stitches per inch with a range, thread material and size, bar-tack placement on stress points, and edge finish. ASTM D6193 is a published classification of stitch and seam types you can reference.
How this note was made: researched and drafted with AI assistance, checked against the sources listed below and edited at JCH Design & Manufacturing.