Custom Apparel Manufacturers for Original Clothing Brands

Whether you begin with a drawing, an existing piece of clothing, or a description of the product to be created, it takes a lot more than locating a factory with sewing machines to turn a product concept into a finished product for the consumer. Customers looking for custom apparel manufacturers will often require assistance with fabric choices, pattern creation, sample development, fit & sizing, manufacturing, branding and/or quality assurance.

From a Sketch to a Production Plan

The initial stage is to develop the idea into concise production information. It is common to use a manufacturer‘s own tech pack, pattern, reference sample, drawing or other form.

Full Speed 100, a clothing manufacturer in Los Angeles, has the following services: tech pack, pattern making, sample making, grading, fabric sourcing, cutting, sewing, finishing and packaging. The production needs also include the following information: quantity order, pricing, deadline date.

That just gives the factory somewhere to begin. Without clear directions for measurements or construction details there is no defining features and two different manufacturers could read the sketch entirely differently.

Fabric Shapes the Product

Fabric influences weight, drape, hand, durability and the look of a garment. Even with the same pattern, a T-shirt made out of a light-weight jersey will seem very different from one made out of a heavy-weight jersey.

Depending on the item, the brand can decide to use materials such as cotton jersey, French terry, fleece, rib knit, denim, and performance fabrics. For example, Essentials Made designates fabric weight as well as fabric type such as fleece, jersey, and rib knit, 100% cotton.

GSM provides the manufacturer with a further valuable metric to specify. Rather than just requesting a ‘heavy T-shirt’, a particular fabric weight can be specified, and then the hand, drape and shrinkage assessed throughout development.

The Pattern Creates the Fit

The shape of a garment is derived by its pattern and not the logo or fabric. Every measurement such as width of the shoulder, measurement of the chest, length of the sleeves, lengths of body, neckline, pocket placements, and others=add shape to it.

Pattern grading is then used to extend the accepted base size into the other sizes of the range. Leading Speed 100 notes that manufacturers can grade into standard or custom size ranges, and ZN Apparel – who offers pattern development and grading in full size ranges as part of its cut-and-sew service.

Brands that have a very oversized streetwear style should not just add the same amount to all measurements, for instance, but should understand the sizes required and produce the garment accordingly.

Sampling Reveals the Problems Early

A first sample is so much more useful than a digital drawing to the brand. You can see and wear the garment on an actual person, take measurements, feel the fabric, analyse the construction and how the detail works together.

Plucky Reach is a process that begins with a first sample and ends with fit revisions before production. Its published schedule allocates two to four weeks for sampling and fitting withing of a standard six to ten week period from approved tech pack to delivered garment.

A small adjustment now can make a big difference in the end. Shift a pocket, alter the length of a sleeve, tweak the neckline or change the weight of the fabric. All these things can improve the final product, before factories cut hundreds of pieces for production.

MOQ Depends on the Production Model

Most custom apparel manufacturers have no single MOQ. It varies widely among current manufacturers.

Plucky Reach lists production from 50 units per style. Essentials Made lists a 72-piece capsule run if styles are similar and in the same fabric and dye lot, ZN Apparel lists 100 units per style and color, and OTL Apparel lists 200 pieces for fully custom garments.

These alternations provide brands with different possibilities of production; a start-up, for example, could opt for a minimum, a lower quantity in order to test its first collection, whereas another label, more advanced, may opt for a larger one to maximize efficiency and unit cost.

Production Costs Follow the Details

The factory can‘t give a meaningful quotation based on the garment category only. Factory can change quotation based on the fabric, construction, ox, trimming, printing, embroidery, wash, label, pack, development work.

Let‘s take two basic shaped T-shirts. The first maybe uses a standard jersey and basic screen printing process. The second we may use a heavier weight fabric, having custom dyeing, embroidery, more intricate trims and a more complex construction processes. The second product has more work involved in its production at a manufacturing level although both are still T-shirts

According to production, OTL Apparel currently communicates that completely custom designs are hand quoted for each project where fabric, construction, and quantity matter.

Branding Comes After the Garment

The limits of the custom garment go far beyond the sewing line. Brands will consider: woven labels, care labels, hang tags, packaging, embroidery, screen printing, patches and many other accents.

Within the range of custom clothing services Full Speed 100 includes printing, embroidery, heat-transfer, application, trim and finishing, and packaging.

A way for a brand to have a degree of control over the final product. For example the customer considers fabric, fit, construction, label, packaging, and decoration to be one product with one.

Production Needs a Clear Approval Point

The brand should double check the final specification before massproduction. Once the sample is approved, it should be the fabric, measurement, construction, trim, decoration, branding of product as final.

ZN Apparel using the garment development flow from sample to bulk production, and then passing QC the cutting, sewing, printing, embroidery, labeling, package, etc.

It also facilitates communication by avoiding potential confusion. Once the factory has the green light, it is in a better position to have the production optimized and everyone working from the same approved starting point.

Choosing a Manufacturer Starts With the Product

A manufacturer should fit the garment you require, therefore a factory that has extensive T-shirt production knowledge will not necessarily have the necessary capabilities to make a tailored jacket, technical outerwear, denim or a complex streetwear.

Consider the previous product range, fabric features, pattern service, sample developing, minimum order quantity, production capacity, quality control and communication. Ask specific questions about the garment you want instead of simply asking, ‘Can you produce any garments?’.

JiuvelWear, operated by Dongguan Jiuzuo Clothing Co., Ltd.,provides services to apparel companies developing custom garments, including fabric development, fabric sourcing, sample development, manufacturing, inspection and quality control.

Turning an Idea Into a Repeatable Product

Custom manufacturing of apparel is most successful if it is approached as a process, rather than a single factory order. Begin with the design and decide the style details, fabrics and measurements, then create the pattern, review the sample, make any corrections, and finally approve the specs.

A robust manufacturer will be able to make the same garment with the same measurements, fabric, detailing, finishing each time.

For an expanding clothing company, that reliability is as important as the first sample. A customer might fall in love with a design, but make a return purchase when the repeat shipment arrives in the same fit and fabric they‘ve come to know and love.