What Is a Tech Pack (and Do You Actually Need One?)

You have a sketch, maybe a mood board, maybe a photo of a hoodie you love with notes on what you'd change. You email a factory and the reply comes back: "Please send your tech pack." You go looking for a freelancer to make one, and the freelancer asks for your designs first. Now you're stuck in a loop, and nobody has explained what the document actually is.

I've been on both sides of this. I built my own menswear brand, and today I run a product development studio that sends tech packs to factories in LA and overseas. A tech pack is less mysterious than it sounds, and you probably need less of it on day one than you think. Here's what goes in one, what a factory needs at each stage, and how to get yours made.

What is a tech pack?

A tech pack is the instruction manual for one garment. It tells a factory exactly what to make: the shape, the materials, the measurements, how it's sewn, and how it's labeled and packed. A pattern maker uses it to draft the pattern, the sample room uses it to sew your first sample, and the production team uses it to cost and run bulk.

If it isn't in the tech pack, the factory has to guess. Factories fill gaps with whatever is standard for them. That's how you end up with a different neckline, a cheaper thread or a size medium that's an inch shorter than you pictured.

The parts of a tech pack

Every studio formats them a little differently, but a complete tech pack usually has these pages:

• Flats (front and back): Clean, black-and-white technical drawings of the garment laid flat. Not fashion illustrations. Flats show seam lines, topstitching, pocket placement, closures and any detail the factory needs to see. Close-up callouts are added for anything tricky.
• Bill of materials (BOM): Every component in the garment: main fabric (content, weight, construction), lining, interfacing, thread, zippers, buttons, drawcords, eyelets, labels, hangtags. Ideally with supplier and color references.
• Construction details: How it's sewn. Seam types, stitch types and stitches per inch, seam allowances, hem finishes, where to bartack, whether seams are overlocked or bound.
• Points of measure (POM) and size spec: A diagram showing exactly where each measurement is taken (chest 1" below armhole, body length from high point shoulder, and so on), plus a table of target measurements and tolerances for your sample size.
• Grading: How those measurements change from size to size. Often a separate grade rule or a full size chart across XS–XL. This is usually finished after fit is approved, not before.
• Colorways: Each color version of the style, with fabric and trim colors called out per colorway (Pantone or supplier references).
• Artwork placement: For prints, embroidery or patches: size, position measured from a fixed point (e.g. 3" below the neck seam, centered), technique and file references.
• Labels and packaging: Main label, size label, care/content label and where each is sewn; hangtags; folding method; polybag; carton requirements.

What a factory needs to quote vs. to sample

This is where a lot of founders over-prepare or under-prepare. The two stages need different things.

To give you a rough quote, most factories need:

1. Flats (front and back) or a clear reference garment
2. Fabric type and weight, even approximate
3. Main trims and any decoration (print, embroidery, washes)
4. Target quantity per style and per color
5. Your target price, if you have one

That's enough for a ballpark. A quote at this stage is an estimate, and it will move once the sample exists.

To make a sample, they need the fuller package: flats, BOM, construction notes, a POM sheet with your sample-size measurements, and artwork placement. Grading, full colorways and packaging can usually wait until you've approved fit.

So you don't need a 20-page tech pack to start conversations. You need enough to get quotes, then you finish the rest as you head into sampling. Factories respond much better to a clear one-style brief than to a vague inquiry, which is why our factory questions list is worth a look before you reach out.

The loop founders get stuck in

Here's the one I see constantly on Reddit: "Every freelancer I contact says I need designs first, but I thought the tech pack was the design."

The confusion is about what "designs" means. A tech designer doesn't invent your garment. You bring the idea. But you don't need to bring finished technical drawings, because flats are the tech designer's output. Turning your idea into flats is a big part of the job.

What a tech designer does need from you:

• Reference images: Photos of garments close to what you want, with notes on what to change.
• A rough sketch: Phone-photo quality is fine. Proportions and details matter more than drawing skill.
• A reference garment, if you have one: Ideally something whose fit you like. Measuring a real garment is the fastest route to a good first spec.
• Your decisions: Fabric direction, fit (boxy, slim, oversized), key details, target customer and price.

If a freelancer says "send me your designs," they usually mean that kind of package, not a finished tech pack. Ask them directly: "Can you create flats from references and a sketch?" Most can.

DIY vs. hiring a tech designer

Doing it yourself makes sense if the garment is simple (a tee, a basic hoodie, a tote) and you're working from a reference garment you can measure. Our free tech pack generator builds a structured first draft from your answers, so you can see what's missing and walk into factory conversations with something organized.

The risk with DIY is in the measurement and construction pages. If you don't know what stitches per inch your hem should be, or where to measure across chest, the factory will fill that in, and you'll find out at the sample.

Hiring a tech designer makes sense when the garment has structure (outerwear, tailored pieces, denim, anything with linings or complex closures), when fit is the selling point, or when your time is better spent elsewhere.

Approximate costs, which vary a lot by experience, region and complexity:

• Simple style (tee, basic hoodie): roughly $150–$500 per tech pack
• Mid-complexity (button-up shirt, joggers with details, lined shorts): roughly $300–$800
• Complex (outerwear, tailored, technical): roughly $600–$1,500+
• Grading across a size run: often extra, roughly $50–$250 per style
• Hourly rates: commonly $40–$120 an hour for experienced freelancers

These are typical ranges, not quotes.

A middle path works well too: draft it yourself with the generator, then pay a tech designer for a few hours to review and fix the POM and construction pages. You can find pattern makers, tech designers and product developers in our consultants directory, or post a free brief describing the style and let them come to you.

Do you actually need one?

For production: yes. No factory can run bulk responsibly without a spec, and without one you have no basis to reject goods that came out wrong.

For your first conversation: not a full one. Flats and basic material info are enough to get rough quotes and see which factories are interested. Some full-package factories and development studios will even build the tech pack with you as part of sampling, usually for a fee.

What you shouldn't do is wait months to perfect a tech pack before talking to anyone. Getting started with a factory takes time (first conversation, quote, sample, contract, bulk), and factory feedback will change your tech pack anyway. Start the conversation and refine as you go. Plenty of brands started with a single style.

The same thing, from the other side of the table

If you run a factory: A lot of the inquiries you get are from founders who don't know what a tech pack is yet. Being the factory that explains what you need to quote versus sample wins those brands for the long run. List your factory on Runsheet, where brands are looking for exactly this, with 90 days free.

If you're a consultant or product developer: Founders are actively searching for someone to turn their idea into flats and specs, and many don't know what to call that person. A clear profile that says "I make tech packs from sketches and references" gets found. Listing on Runsheet is free, with no commission.

The short version

1. A tech pack is the instruction manual for one garment: flats, BOM, construction, measurements, grading, colorways, artwork and labeling.
2. To quote, a factory mostly needs flats, fabric, trims, quantity and a target price.
3. To sample, they need the fuller package: BOM, construction notes and a POM sheet for your sample size.
4. Flats are what a tech designer produces. Bring references, a sketch and your decisions.
5. DIY works for simple styles; hire help for structured or fit-driven garments. Expect roughly $150–$1,500+ per style depending on complexity.
6. Don't wait for perfect. Start factory conversations with a solid draft and refine as you go.

Start with a free draft from the tech pack generator, then post a brief when you're ready to talk to factories and tech designers.