If you know the apparel you want to make, have found fabrics you want to use, and are about to start talking to a factory about making samples and seeing your garments in real life - you will need a garment spec sheet.
A garment spec sheet is like a blueprint that helps you communicate your design concept to your manufacturer so they can make it exactly as you envision it (and no, it’s not a tech pack). With a good spec sheet anyone anywhere in the world should be able to make your garment.
I am sure you have heard horror stories from small brands working with factories and not getting the designs they wanted. But, this little sheet will help limit misunderstandings between you and your manufacturer, make clear quality control standards, and help create patterns quicker.
While many brands hire a professional to make their garment spec sheets, I will show you how to DIY it yourself using a t-shirt as an example.
BUT BEFORE WE GET STARTED...
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- CUT YOUR SOURCING TIME IN ½ - the industry sourcing doc you didn’t know existed but definitely need
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WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
- The difference between a garment spec sheet and a tech pack
- Why garment spec sheets are essential
- 10 components that every spec sheet template must have
- How to create garment measurements
- Creating a DIY professional spec sheet document
- More spec sheet tips and tricks
- Additional resources
SHORT ON TIME? CHECK OUT THIS 60 SECOND SLIDE DECK
TECH PACK VS GARMENT SPEC SHEET
Before we begin, to understand how a garment specification sheet works, you have to know what a tech pack is.
A tech pack is a complete set of guidelines a designer makes for the manufacturer to construct the garment. Basically, it’s like the car manual inside your glove box - it includes everything from fabric swatches and costing to where labels should be sewn. Tech packs range from 6-12 pages of pure garment information.
But, what is a garment specification sheet? A garment spec sheet is a page within your tech pack dedicated only to garment measurements and stitching instructions.
A spec sheet will tell your factory every point of measure (POMs) on your garment and give them instructions on how to grade. If you don’t know, grading is the process of taking a pattern and making it into a larger or smaller size. Lastly, a fashion spec sheet will let your factory know how far from perfection they can stray (because no one is perfect). More on that later.
Simply put, a tech pack is your overall guidelines for the manufacturer, and a spec sheet is the nitty gritty measurement and construction details within it.
WHY ARE GARMENT SPEC SHEETS IMPORTANT?
A garment specification sheet is used in every stage of development and production - from the first fit sample to final approval and the quality assurance inspection before the order ships. It’s a vital tool to help you ensure your garment fits how you want it to.
It is also an insurance policy for you and the manufacturer in case mistakes or misunderstandings happen.
The thing is, no one ever gets a garment perfect on the first try.
That super huge bell sleeve you thought you wanted? Maybe you decide it needs to be a little smaller. In this case, you would revise your garment spec sheet to the new measurements after seeing the sleeve in a sample. The factory would then make a new sample with the revised sleeves.
Now, imagine you open your box of 100 production pieces, and there are those huge sleeves you thought you got rid of. You can go back to your spec sheet and show the factory your changes and when you made them.
If it’s their mistake, and they are a good factory, they will help correct it for you.
So, you see. Without the spec sheet as a paper trail, you wouldn’t have a case.
HOW TO CREATE GARMENT SPECS
Here are 10 things every spec sheet must have.
ONE: DESCRIPTION
This is just a brief description of the garment at the top of your spec sheet.
So, you don’t need to get creative. If it’s a t-shirt, call it a ‘T-Shirt’. It’s that simple!
TWO: STYLE NUMBERS
Style numbers are an essential way to keep track of your garments - particularly if you’re working on several different styles at once. Some brands will work on hundreds of styles a season so there needs to be an easy way to keep track of all of them.
You should create a consistent style numbering system to keep it straight. Creating a style number could be as simple as numbering each style from 1 to however many you are making. Or, you could go more complex.
Your style number can include:
- Season and year (Spring 2023)
- Item number (01, 02, 03 etc.)
- Whether it’s a top, bottom or dress (T, B, D)
- Colour (W for white, BL for black etc.)
The style number for your white t-shirt would be SP2301TW (spring 2023, style 1, top, white). Or, if we want to keep it simple, we could call it 001.
THREE: PRODUCT CATEGORY
The category mentions who the garment is intended for. E.g., men, women, unisex, kids, etc.
FOUR: COLLECTION
Make sure to list your garment’s season. If your t-shirt belongs to the spring/summer 2023 season, you will write SS-23.
FIVE: COMPANY INFORMATION
Every page in your spec sheet (and tech pack, for that matter) should have all your contact details.
It is crucial to include them on every page because factories are chaotic and messy. Papers get separated and lost all the time. So, if page 2 gets ripped out and ends up on the floor (which, believe me, happens all the time), anyone at the factory will know how to get that page where it belongs (read, not the garbage).
Make sure to include on every single page:
- Your company name and logo
- The logo helps people quickly see what brand they are working on.
- Contact details (email, address, phone number)
- Easy access to this info helps the factory better communicate with you.
- Season and delivery date
- This way, a factory can be certain they are using this season's set of garment instructions and not last year's. And it will remind them of timelines, encouraging them to meet the deadline.
SIX: GARMENT DIAGRAMS AND TECHNICAL SKETCHES
Include a front and back view diagram of your garment but keep it simple. This is not the time to get creative with avant-garde sketches! You don’t even need to know how to use adobe illustrator or another CAD program. A simple sketch with a pencil will do.
Sticking to a simple black-and-white technical drawing is best.
You might also want to include close-up diagrams for complex details such as pockets, stitching, and linings.
Once the technical drawings are made, you will need to label all the points of measurement on your diagrams.
For example, if you were making a t-shirt, line A might represent how wide the neck opening should be, while measurement B shows the sleeve opening.
This diagram is a visual representation of all the numbers and measurements you will fill out in Excel - which we will get to in just one minute.
THE IMPORTANCE OF PICTURES IN A GARMENT SPEC SHEET
Pictures make everyone's life easier. The truth is many people working in factories do not have the best reading and writing skills, so an image can prevent a mistake before it happens.
The other thing is, as crazy as it sounds, everyone measures garments a little differently. A physical drawing that shows how each point should measure cuts down on errors.
SEVEN: MEASUREMENT EXCEL
A measurement sheet complements the garment diagram. Earlier I mentioned all those points of measure labeled in the sketch need to be filled out in Excel with exactly how many inches or centimeters they should be. These values will help your factory create a pattern consistent with the fit your want.
All POMs (points of measure) you’ve identified and labeled on the drawing must be reflected in the measurement sheet.
Now that you understand POMs, back to the t-shirt, the POM you’ve marked as A should be listed in your sheet with a callout annotation telling the manufacturer exactly how many inches or centimeters it is.
The Excel will look something like this:
| CODE | NAME | S | M | L |
| A | Neckline circumference | 22 | 24 | 26 |
EIGHT: CONSTRUCTION GUIDELINES AND STITCHING DETAILS
These specifications detail what types of stitches you want to use in your garment and the types of machinery that might be needed.
Some garments require special seams, which rely on hard-to-find sewing machines - it is crucial to list this out to ensure the factory has the proper equipment to make your fashion designs.
You should also include more technical details like thread sizes, stitch per inch and seam styles.
For example, in our t-shirt, we might use plain seams and double-stitched seams.
You may find it helpful to include a seam diagram (also known as a seam indicator line) to show the factory exactly what you want. As I said, pictures are a must for keeping communication clear and preventing mistakes from happening.
NINE: DESIGN EMBELLISHMENTS
Make a note of any accessories or any extra details your garment has, such as:
- Embroidery
- Fringes
- Fastenings
- Print instructions
Back to our t-shirt example. Let’s say I want a big virtue + vice logo on the center front chest. In this section, I will include exactly how big the logo should be and where it will be positioned on the shirt.
TEN: ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
If you have any more information that’s helpful to the manufacturers, add it here. Don’t be shy; the more info (especially images), the better with a garment spec sheet.
FIGURING OUT THE ACTUAL GARMENT MEASUREMENTS
The trickiest part of the garment spec sheet is working out the actual points of measurement.
In large fashion companies, an entire team is devoted to this job. They are called the tech team. All they do is create garment spec sheets and sometimes paper patterns. To clarify, they don’t touch any of the other sections of a tech pack template (that would be the designer's job) - they only work on the specs.
Every garment should have anywhere from 12-30 different points of measure.
But, it gets even more complicated. Every type of garment has its own set of points of measure. So the points of measure on a t-shirt might not be the same as a tank top, which might not be the same as a blouse.
I promised you could DIY this - and you can. Here are the crucial POMs you must have. Again, like everything else, the more details you can give, the better - but including these nine will give you a good head start to the perfect garment:
- Neck width
- Neck depth
- Shoulder width
- Armhole opening at armpit
- Armhole opening at the bottom of sleeve
- Sleeve length
- Total shirt length
- Width of shirt under the armpit
- Width of the shirt at the bottom hem
HOW DO I FIND THE ACTUAL MEASUREMENTS?
Unless you decide to enroll in a months-long course on garment construction and pattern making, you will never be able to figure that out on your own.
You don’t need to.
Go out and buy a garment you like the fit of, place it flat on a table, and copy their measurements. It’s that simple!
DON’T FORGET THE TOLERANCE
Have you ever tried on one pair of pants in a store and had them feel a little too tight, and then tried on a different pair in the same size again…suddenly, they felt a little more comfortable?
You’re not crazy.
That’s tolerance.
Clothes are handmade by people, and people aren’t perfect. So, in production, it’s unlikely that every single garment will be the same.
It is industry standard to allow manufacturers to have small variations to the measurement numbers on the spec sheet. This is known as tolerance.
Distinguished by -/+ columns on your measurement sheet, tolerance is the amount over or under the spec sizes that allows the garment to pass quality control.
GARMENT SPEC SHEET PRO TIP
Not all tolerances are the same. A sleeve might have a tolerance of ⅛” while the body might have a tolerance of ½”.
Fast fashion companies usually have a larger tolerance because speed and efficiency are worth more than accuracy.
Generally, when I worked in fast fashion, we had a tolerance of ½”. I once worked with a brand that wanted a 1/16” tolerance (they also wanted ridiculously low prices). The factory dumped them because they were “too problematic”.
ONE MORE TIP ON TOLERANCES - AS THEY ARE IMPORTANT
They should be large enough to accept small variations but small enough that they don’t overlap between sizes.
Here is what I mean. So, if the width of the sleeve on a t-shirt is 8” on a small, and 9” on a medium, and the tolerance is ½” - that doesn’t make sense. Technically, a small sleeve could go as large as 8.5” and a medium sleeve could be as small as, well the same 8.5”. If this happened, the small and the medium would be the same size, which would be super confusing to customers.
So, make sure your size grading and tolerances are large enough between sizes to avoid fit confusion.
PUTTING ALL THE INFO TOGETHER IN A PROFESSIONAL DOCUMENT
Now that you’ve got your POMs and a list of what you need to include on your garment spec sheet, it’s time to put it together.
You can create your garment spec sheet as a spreadsheet (read, free).
Or use tech pack developing software like Techpacker.
Techpacker makes creating the entire tech pack super easy. They even give you templates that will tell you what points of measure you must include for a garment and some standard industry measurements.
It’s normal to make mistakes, so consider getting a second pair of eyes to review it, just in case!
When you’re happy with it, save your garment spec sheet as a PDF and send it to your factory.
Remember, your garment spec sheet is a living document. You’re allowed to make amendments if samples don’t work out. Just date every edit you make so you can keep track!
ADDITIONAL GARMENT SPEC SHEET TIPS
Here are a few more things you should know!
KEEP IT SIMPLE
Keep your garment spec sheet simple and easy to understand. Less is more here.
Think like an architect, not an interior designer. This isn’t a creative document; it’s a blueprint so it needs to be clear.
LEAVE ZERO ROOM FOR ASSUMPTIONS
Never assume the manufacturer understands your vision. Make sure you include every detail that helps communicate your design concept.
That is why I suggested having a second set of eyes on the doc - if your reader is confused, your factory might be too.
WORK SMARTER
You know the phrase ‘work smarter, not harder?’ - I say it all the time. The same applies to your garment spec sheets!
Reuse your garment spec sheets.
This t-shirt example could become a v-neck t-shirt or even a long-sleeved shirt. No need to reinvent the wheel. Use what you have already.
REMEMBER TO USE IT THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE GARMENT LIFECYCLE
Once your first fit sample has been developed, make sure you scrutinize them against your garment spec sheet.
Check every detail and measurement specification to ensure it’s a reflection of what you had written down.
It’s normal for your vision not to be perfect the first time.
If this happens, you can edit your garment spec sheet, have the factory make a new sample, and then repeat the process until you have the perfect garment.
Your final approved spec sheet will become your quality control tool which will then help you monitor discrepancies in bulk production.
NEED MORE HELP GETTING STARTED? HERE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE RESOURCES
- Skip the product development process and go straight into production
- White t-shirt contest - creating the best t-shirt ever
- How to DIY a tech pack
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Are you ready to creat your own garment spec sheet? Let me know in the comments!
2 comments
This was helpful
This info is outstanding. I am excited to receive it. Thank you for opening doors.
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