This is the earliest stage in the design process. The goal here is simply to get an idea down on paper. It doesn't matter if you sketch like a 4 year old. You just want to be sure that the idea is valid enough to develop into a techpack (making a full techpack takes a lot of effort so choose wisely).

You can create a sketch by hand or on an iPad. If you choose to do it digitally, I suggest using Procreate or Canva. But really any sketching software is fine.

Here are some sketches from my notebook of product ideas I had a long time ago.

I'm no Picasso. But you get the idea.

I recommend adding callouts or arrows to describe more unique components of the garment. For the t-shirt I sketched here, I wanted a woven label on the outside, so I made that a unique component in my design. For the shorts, I want special Cobrax snaps at the intersection of the inseam and leg opening.

These sketches let me validate the t-shirt design and decline the shorts design. I want to bring the t-shirt to life, so let's move on to the next step, flats.

Now you have to mock your sketch into what the manufacturing world calls a "flat".

You are starting from the perspective of a rough sketch, and imagining how the garment would look when lying flat.

Folds and creases do not belong on a flat rendering of a garment. You can include shadows to add depth, but you have to be selective about which ones provide detail and which ones distract the factory.

Crack open Adobe Illustrator and get ready to create a drawing. Adobe Illustrator is the industry standard because it creates vectorized files, meaning they can be scaled up and down without ever losing quality. This will become especially important later when you add logos, fonts, and graphics.

The very first page of the techpack is a technical drawing, with a title.

You do not want to show the coloured version of the flat in the first page of the tech-pack because there are key construction details to capture that color will distract from.

Construction and detailing is primary. Colour is secondary.

Now that you have turned your concept into something the factory can understand, you can begin with the cover sheet. This is simply combining the header with the colorless flats. See below:

Starting on the second page, you need a consistent header that will appear throughout the techpack.

You need to clearly indicate:

• Date: use the format day-month-year.
• Client's name/Designer: likely, you.
• Sample size: usually, for menswear, the sample size is M or L, and the range is from XS-XXL. For womenswear, the sample size is typically 0-4. But this is not as ideal as in menswear, because while many body types fit into M or L, 0-4 is far more restrictive (entire women's brands are built around selecting a different baseline size).
• Product description: keep your descriptions specific and simple. This is to easily identify products, especially when sending a factory many different similar styles. If you are making 20 different t-shirts with one factory, you want to be able to quickly identify each from the title. For example, "glass factory main logo flock print cotton t-shirt"
• Season: usually spring summer or fall winter followed by the year.
• Size range: all of the sizes you plan on producing.
• Factory: this will depend on who you are reaching out to. In the beginning phases, you can leave this blank. This will become especially important when you are sampling with multiple factories.
• Style number: actually do this, it will be easier for organization in a few years when you have tons of different products.

This page will paint a full picture of the product you are looking to manufacture. This is the first time you will introduce colored flats.

In this case, the blue t-shirts I'm making include a spray, so I make sure the designs reflect that.

When it comes to colors, make sure to use Pantone TCX. These are Pantone colors specifically designed for manufacturing cotton-based textiles. If the colors you use are not Pantone TCX, the factory will guess the nearest color in TCX which usually doesn't go well (I can tell you from experience).

At this stage, I also like to include the overview of the main fabric, rib, thread, and fabric trims (like the bias tape that will go along the neck).

This is where you will use images from other garments to explain specific details you are looking for.

In this case, I want the collar to look a certain way so I make sure to include image references of a Real McCoys t-shirt I like. I also want my double-needle stitching to be short between segments for the hem, shoulders, and collar. I make sure to include an image reference of this type of double needle stitch with additional comments.

This series of pages will include all of the key construction details. Please take the time to do this properly, this completely changes the way the factory looks at you. It will demonstrate your knowledge on manufacturing and show that you know exactly what you want.

I tend to break this up over 3 pages.

First will be about high level details that are specific to this garment's design. Any specialized stitching, garment details, etc.

The next page is more optional, but I love to include this as it allows me to control exactly where I want things placed. This page is an inside-out view of the garment. I personally love to use overlock stitching, so the inside view is a better way to display that.

The last page is a must. It details exactly which type of stitching goes where. If you are feeling lazy and don't want to do the first 2 pages in this section, that's fine. But this is the page you cannot skip. It clearly demonstrates exactly what type of stitching will be used where.

A fabric map indicates where the different fabrics that compose a garment will exist on the garment. It seems very simple when working with a t-shirt that's made up of only a few fabrics, but when working on more complicated products like a jacket, this is extremely helpful.

This section will likely be composed of two pages.

The first will contain images of fabrics and trims. Here, you will add swatches of the fabric and trims as you get deeper into the sampling process. For the time being, leave this page blank (unless you already have the fabric/trims in mind).

Next, you will have your Trim List. Basically, it's a list for the factory to follow as they go into their own product development process. If you are making a jacket, you might list a YKK #8 zipper here.

When it comes to artwork, it's important to use standard Pantone colors (not TCX). This is because these artworks will present themselves in the form of prints, embroidery, etc.

Make sure to also include the width and height of the embellishment. If you want this to scale depending on the size of the garment, you will need multiple pages here.

It would also be wise to include image references of similar embellishment styles. If you want your embroidery to look a certain way, find an image reference of similar embroidery on another garment.

To produce a garment, you'll need a sample. To get a sample, you'll need to define the "standard" size for your garment, and then grade up and down to get a full range of sizes. Many designers seek out "industry standards." But this can be a fatal mistake.

I have seen hundreds of techpacks include only these measurements:

This next section will vary depending on your brand. In some cases, you may provide your own woven labels.

As a general rule, I advise producing all care labels, woven labels, hangtags and packaging with the same factory. Do not use multiple factories for the same woven label. Why? Because the labels will end up looking a bit different and when your products sit on a shelf next to each other, they will look cheap.

Once you have your suppliers locked in, have them ship the labels and other trims to the respective factory you are producing with. You can also have them ship everything to you and send your labels alongside your reference garments when you reach out to the factory.

The key to this techpack will be indicating placement of the labels and application technique (single-stitch all around label, heat press, zigzag, 4 corners, bar tack, etc.).

In this case, the sample techpack we developed includes instructions for how you want the trims to look as well, in case you decide to develop these with the clothing factory directly.

This page provides clear instructions for how the garment should be folded for packaging and shipping.

When you export your techpack, you will save it both as a .AI file (Adobe Illustrator) and as a .PDF file. In order for the factory to open your .AI file and have it look exactly like it looks on your computer, they will need all of the fonts you used. Make sure to also include the font files in .TTF format for all of the fonts you included throughout the techpack.

You might decide to include additional files such as brand guidelines, more reference images that were hard to fit in the techpack, videos, etc. This is a good measure and shows the factory that you are hellbent on achieving a certain result.

I didn't discuss 3D files in this article and will update it in the future to include 3D files as well as instructions on how to build a proper 3D file. If you are able to develop your products in software like CLO3D, this is the most optimal solution. Naturally, 3D is better than 2D and provides a very clear idea of what you are looking for.