A tech pack is the document that tells a factory exactly what to make. Its purpose is narrow but important: to remove the guesswork that turns into a wrong sample, a second sample, and three weeks of lost time. This guide explains what a sportswear tech pack should contain, what you can leave out, and what to do if you do not have one at all.
Do you actually need one?
It depends on what you are ordering.
- Team uniform in a standard silhouette. Usually no full tech pack required. A design file, colour references, a size chart and a roster list are typically enough, because the factory is applying your artwork to a known garment shape.
- Original brand product or a modified fit. Yes. Once you are changing construction, proportions, trims or fabric spec, verbal description stops being reliable and a tech pack pays for itself immediately.
- A collection intended for repeat production. Yes, without question. The tech pack becomes the reference for consistency across seasons and the basis for quality disputes if anything goes wrong.
If you are somewhere in between, note that a partial tech pack is still better than none. Factories work with incomplete information constantly; the issue is that every gap becomes an assumption, and assumptions are what produce wrong samples.
What belongs in a sportswear tech pack
1. Cover page
Style name and number, season, date, version number and your contact. Version control sounds trivial until three revised files are circulating and the factory samples the wrong one.
2. Technical flats
Front and back line drawings of the garment, plus detail callouts for anything unusual. These are construction drawings, not fashion illustrations. Clarity matters more than artistic quality; a clean hand sketch that is unambiguous beats a beautiful render that hides the seam lines.
3. Bill of materials
Every component in the garment: main fabric, contrast fabric, mesh panels, elastic, drawcord, zips, labels, hangtags, thread. For each one specify the material, the colour and the placement. Trims are a frequent source of surprise cost because buyers forget to specify them and the factory substitutes a default.
4. Fabric specification
Fibre content, weight in GSM, knit or weave structure, stretch direction, and any performance requirement such as moisture management. “Quick-dry polyester” is not a specification. If you have a reference garment whose fabric you like, send it — a physical reference is worth more than a paragraph of description.
5. Colourways
Specify colours by a standard reference system rather than by name or by an on-screen swatch. Screen colour is not reproducible across devices. For sublimation especially, ask for a printed colour strike-off before bulk, because printed output on fabric will not exactly match what you see on a monitor.
6. Points of measurement and size chart
A table of measurements at defined points across your full size range, with tolerances. This is the single most valuable page in the pack and the one buyers most often omit. Without measurements and tolerances there is no objective standard for whether a sample is correct, and no basis for rejecting a bulk run.
7. Construction and stitching details
Seam types, stitch density, where flatlock or coverstitch is required, hem finishes, reinforcement points. In sportswear this determines both comfort against skin and where the garment eventually fails.
8. Artwork and logo placement
Print-ready files at adequate resolution, with the decoration method specified per placement, exact dimensions, and the distance from a fixed reference point such as the shoulder seam or centre front. “Logo on chest” is not a placement instruction.
9. Labelling and packaging
Main label, care label, size label, hangtags, polybag, carton marking, and whether items are packed individually for retail or in bulk. Destination markets have their own labelling requirements for fibre content and country of origin, so confirm what applies to yours.
The most common mistakes
- No points of measurement. Without them, “the sample fits wrong” is an opinion rather than a defect.
- Colour specified on screen only. Always use a standard colour reference and request a physical strike-off.
- Low-resolution artwork. A logo pulled from a website will not print cleanly at scale. Send vector files.
- Unspecified trims. If you do not specify the drawcord, elastic and zip, the factory will use a default and you will not like it.
- No version control. Multiple revised files in circulation reliably produce a sample of the wrong version.
- Instructions spread across email threads. Anything not in the pack will be lost. Consolidate.
If you do not have a tech pack
Plenty of successful orders start without one. The alternatives, in descending order of reliability:
- Send a physical reference garment. The single most effective substitute. A factory can measure it, analyse the fabric and copy the construction directly.
- Send detailed photographs plus your own measurements. Photograph front, back and construction details, and measure a garment that fits correctly.
- Send a sketch with written specifications. Workable for straightforward garments; expect more back-and-forth.
- Ask the factory to develop from a description. Highest risk and the most likely to need multiple sampling rounds.
Many factories will help build the technical documentation during sample development. That is a reasonable route for a first-time brand, but agree up front who owns the resulting files.
The sampling loop
Sampling normally runs: you send the pack, the factory raises questions, patterns are made, a sample is produced, you review it, comments go back, and a revised sample follows. Two rounds is normal for an original design. More than three usually indicates the initial information was too thin.
When you review a sample, measure it against your own points of measurement and write comments as specific instructions — “lengthen body by 2 cm at centre back” rather than “it feels short”. Photograph what is wrong with a tape measure in frame. Precise comments produce accurate revisions.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns the tech pack and patterns?
Agree this in writing before development starts, particularly if the factory helps create the documentation. It matters if you ever change suppliers.
Can a factory make a tech pack for me?
Many will produce technical documentation during sampling. Clarify whether it is chargeable and who retains the files.
How detailed does the pack need to be for a simple team jersey?
For a standard silhouette, artwork plus a size chart plus a roster is usually sufficient. See our guide to ordering custom basketball uniforms for what to send with a team enquiry.
What file formats should I send?
Vector files for logos and artwork so they scale without quality loss. PDF for the pack itself so formatting is preserved. Include the source files as well if you have them.
How do I specify the decoration method?
State it per placement rather than for the garment as a whole, since a single piece often mixes methods. Our comparison of sublimation, screen printing and embroidery explains which suits which placement.
Send us what you have
FuseOne Sports is a custom sportswear manufacturer in Zhongshan, China. We work with buyers at every level of preparation, from a complete tech pack to a reference garment and a rough sketch, covering pattern making, artwork layout, sample development, bulk production, inspection, packing and export documentation.
Send your tech pack, reference sample or sketch along with your target quantity and delivery date, and we will confirm what else we need and prepare a quotation. Request a quote.
One Response