What is in a Fabra Tech Pack?

The single biggest mistake we have seen fashion brand owners make when first making their designs with a factory – it is not having a tech pack.

What is a Tech Pack?

A tech pack is essentially a blueprint for your garment. It includes detailed sketches, fabric specs, measurements, trims details, color options, and even sewing instructions. It is the starting point and document that holds all the information required to make prototype samples with the addition of fit notes and change requirements that become a record of the development process.

Why is a Tech Pack Necessary for Fashion Design?

Without a tech pack, you’re leaving a lot of room for miscommunication and errors, resulting in the stories you hear or experiences you may have even personally experienced when a sample comes back completely different from what you expected.

Factories aren’t mind-readers and what you envision your designs be and how they quickly they develop is determined by the level of detailed information and clarity on how you communicate through the design specifications on a garment tech pack.

Often, things that are seemingly straightforward such as the process of how a factory would make a style, from the fit of a garment to the finishing details they would use, are best not left to assumptions. The more information and details you provide, the more accurately and efficiently they can bring your vision to life. Think of it like building a house—would you start construction without architectural plans? Probably not!

What is included in a Fabra tech pack?

A solid tech pack would have the following:

• Visual information such as detailed sketches and 3D renderings, and any supporting visual references and call outs to key design features (this would include detailed multiple views of 3D model images of your design on Fabra).
• Technical sewing instructions on finishing details such as hem finishes, cuff details, plackets and bindings.
• Materials to be used for the main garment and any lining specifications.
• Trim details requires such as lace, piping, buttons and zip enclosures
• Embellishment details such as the size and placement of a graphic print or a custom embroidery and the type of treatment it requires.
• Fit notes such as if a garment is oversized, tunic or cropped length, if a sleeve style is fitted or relaxed, and more.
• Key measurements across your desired size range —such as chest/bust, waist, hip circumferences, front and back body lengths, hem width, and more—help ensure that the sample aligns with your design specifications upon receipt. This information is also essential for verifying and comparing measurements across different sizes during bulk production.

A Fabra tech pack is created based on the custom 3D template model used for designing on the Fabra platform. Core information and instructions related to the template form the foundation of the tech pack, and as you customize details like the silhouette, color, and embellishments, this information is seamlessly formatted into the tech pack, ensuring that all design and technical details are fully captured.

What Happens After A Tech Pack?

Once you have finished your design, simply download your Fabra tech pack as a blueprint for your design that can be taken to a manufacturer of your choice to reference as they produce a sample. Alternatively, you can produce with Fabra through the platform by simply adding to cart and creating a purchase order. You will receive a sample within 4 weeks (depending on the details of your design) and once approved, be able to order production!

With lower minimum order quantities (MOQs) on custom colors and no minimums on available stock colors, Fabra makes it even easier to start and produce your own custom merch or collection of elevated essentials. Our trusted production partners have been tried, tested and vetted by us to ensure that your Fabra end to end design process is as simple and streamlined as possible.

So to summarize, having a detailed tech pack ensures consistent quality for the sampling and production process. The information on tech packs significantly reduces miscommunication and speeds up the production process. It’s a small investment upfront that can save you thousands in sampling and production costs in the long run.

At Fabra, we have a mission to make product design accessible to everyone so we are building a design editor where you can create and edit your designs, and then seamlessly export a tech pack to hand to your manufacturer. We are currently in our private launch phase and slowly launching to more users, so sign up to our waitlist for early access!