How much does a tech pack cost, and do you need one?

A tech pack costs whatever the time behind it costs, and that time depends on how complex the garment is, how many sizes are graded and whether a pattern is included. There is no official price list, so the useful answer is a way to estimate it and a way to judge what you are being offered. You do not always need one: a reference garment and a clear brief can be enough for a first sample, but you need a complete specification before bulk production.

What are you actually paying for?

A tech pack is the written specification a factory builds a garment from: flat sketches, a measurement chart for every size, fabric and trims, construction, artwork placement, labels and packing. Our guide on how to write a tech pack goes through each section in order, so this article only deals with price, scope and whether you need one.

When someone quotes for a tech pack, they are pricing four kinds of work:

Drawing: front and back flats, and close-ups of details such as a pocket, a placket or a hood.
Measuring and grading: points of measure for the base size, then the increments for every other size.
Specifying: fabric composition and weight, trims with references, stitch and seam types, labels, packing.
Revising: updating the document after each sample round, which is where many cheap quotes stop.

A pattern is a separate piece of work. It is often bundled with the tech pack by a studio or a sample room, and often left out by a freelancer who only draws.

Freelancer, studio or factory: what each one includes

There are three common routes, and they differ more in what is included than in the headline price.

Route	Usually includes	Often excluded	Best for
Freelance technical designer	Flats, measurement chart, bill of materials, construction notes	Pattern, grading beyond the size chart, revisions after sampling	A founder who knows the fit and needs it written down
Design or development studio	Tech pack, pattern, graded sizes, sometimes a first sample	Bulk production; sometimes the pattern files themselves	A new range where fit has not been decided
Factory or buying house sample room	Pattern, sample, and a working specification built from your brief or reference garment	Design ideas; often tied to producing with that supplier	A founder with a reference garment and a clear idea of changes

Before comparing prices, ask each provider the same four questions: is the pattern included, how many sizes are graded, how many revision rounds are covered, and in what file formats you receive the result. Two quotes that answer these differently are not comparable, whatever the number at the bottom.

What makes one tech pack cost more than another?

The same provider can charge very different amounts for two garments. The drivers are predictable:

Number of pattern pieces. A basic tee has a front, a back, two sleeves and a neck rib. A lined parka can have dozens of pieces, each needing a construction note.
Number of sizes. Each extra size is another column of measurements to grade and check.
Colourways and artwork. Every colourway needs its own trims, thread colours and artwork placement.
Technical features. Bonded seams, taped zips, stretch fabrics and moulded parts need more specification than a cotton jersey tee.
Revisions. A tech pack that is updated after a fit sample is a living document. If revisions are billed separately, the first price is not the final one.

How to check a tech pack quote

Since the work is priced in time, the most honest way to check a quote is hours multiplied by a rate. For a reference rate, the US Department of Labor’s O*NET database, using Bureau of Labor Statistics data, lists a 2025 median wage of US$38.92 an hour for fashion designers and US$30.17 an hour for fabric and apparel patternmakers. These are employee wages in the United States. A freelancer’s rate must also cover their overheads, software and unbilled time, and rates differ widely between countries, so treat the wage as a floor for comparison rather than a price.

The table below shows the arithmetic with hours invented for illustration only. They are not quotes from anyone.

Garment (illustration)	Assumed hours	At US$38.92 an hour
Basic tee, 5 sizes, 1 colourway	6	US$233.52
Hoodie with pocket and print, 6 sizes	12	US$467.04
Lined jacket with zips and taped seams	25	US$973.00

Use the method, not the numbers. Ask a provider how many hours they expect and what their rate is. If a price implies an hour or two for a complex jacket, something has been left out: usually grading, the pattern or revisions.

Do tech packs include patterns?

Not by default. A tech pack describes the garment. A pattern is the set of shapes the fabric is cut from, one for each piece and each size. O*NET describes a patternmaker’s job as drawing precision master patterns, computing dimensions according to size while allowing for the stretch of the material, and creating a master pattern for each size in a range. That is a different skill from drawing flats.

The two work together. The tech pack says the chest measures a certain width in size M; the pattern is shaped so that the sewn garment, in that fabric, actually measures that width. If you only have a tech pack, a factory will make the pattern itself, and it will usually keep the pattern files unless you have agreed otherwise. If you pay for a pattern, ask for the digital files in a format your future factory’s CAD system can open, and ask which format that is before you commission the work.

Are tech packs necessary?

For bulk production, yes: something has to state the measurements, materials and tolerances that an inspection will check. The evidence on what happens without clear specifications is strong. In a 2016 ILO survey of 1,454 suppliers in 87 countries, 72 per cent said inaccurate technical specifications from buyers led to additional time and costs spent on sampling, 66 per cent said they increased production costs, and 50 per cent said they even led to a financial loss.

For a first sample, not always. You can often start without a formal tech pack when:

you have a reference garment whose fit you like, plus a short written list of changes;
the product is simple, such as a tee or a hoodie in a standard fabric, and the sample room builds the specification as it goes;
you are decorating an existing base garment rather than developing a new fit.

In each case the specification still gets written; the question is only who writes it and when. A good sample room turns your reference garment and notes into a working specification, and our sampling and product development service works this way. What you must not skip is checking that document before bulk, because it becomes the standard the goods are inspected against.

Who owns the tech pack and the pattern?

Ownership is a contract question first, and the default rules may surprise you. In the UK, the explanatory notes to the Intellectual Property Act 2014 state that for unregistered designs, in the absence of a contract to the contrary, the designer is the first owner, not the person who commissioned the design. The UK government’s guidance adds that unregistered design right protects the shape and configuration of three-dimensional objects automatically, for 10 years from first sale or 15 years from creation, whichever ends first.

Other countries have different rules, and this is not legal advice. The practical step is the same everywhere: before you pay, get a short written agreement that assigns the tech pack, the pattern and any design rights to your company, and says you receive the editable files. A document you cannot take to another factory is worth less than one you can.

Can AI make a tech pack?

AI tools can help with the parts that are text: drafting construction notes, listing trims, tidying a bill of materials, or turning a rough description into a first set of headings. Some can produce flat sketches from a reference image. What they cannot do is measure a garment on a table, know how your chosen fabric behaves when sewn, or know how a particular factory constructs a seam. Every number an AI tool produces needs to be checked against a real garment or a real pattern. Treat it as a faster way to write the first draft, not as a replacement for a fit sample.

A sensible route for a first collection

Start with our free tech pack template and fill in what you know: fabric, colours, artwork and a size chart if you have one.
Find a reference garment for each style and note what to change, in centimetres where you can.
Decide whether you are buying a document, a pattern or both, and get the ownership agreement in writing.
Pay for detailed specification only where it saves money: complex styles, many sizes, or garments you will reorder.
Update the document after every sample round, so the version the factory holds matches the approved sample.

For a simple product such as a tee, the route is short; our t-shirt manufacturing page lists what a factory needs to quote one.

What to do next

If you have a reference garment, sketches or a partial tech pack, send what you have through our quote request form. We reply within one working day, tell you which gaps matter for costing, and explain what our sample room can build from your brief before you spend money on a full specification.

Questions buyers ask.

Can I send a factory a sketch instead of a tech pack?

Yes, for a first conversation and often for a first sample. A sketch with the key measurements, the fabric you want and a note of the colours gives a factory enough to ask sensible questions and give a rough price. A physical reference garment is even better, because it shows fit, fabric weight and construction at once. What a sketch cannot do is protect you in bulk production. The factory will build the pattern and make decisions you did not specify, such as seam types, stitch density and tolerances, and those decisions become the standard your goods are inspected against. So a sketch is a fine starting point, as long as the specification that comes back from the sample room is checked by you, corrected where needed, and approved in writing before any fabric is cut for the order.

How long does it take to make a tech pack?

It depends on the garment and on how much you already know. A simple tee whose fit you have settled, in one colourway, is quick to document because there are few pieces and few decisions. A jacket with a lining, zips, taped seams and several colourways takes far longer, because every piece, trim and seam needs specifying and grading. The biggest variable is usually not drawing but deciding: a tech pack waits on your answers about fabric, fit and artwork. Ask any provider for an estimate in hours and a list of the inputs they need from you, and check whether the time includes grading every size and updating the document after the first fit sample. The update after sampling is where a tech pack becomes accurate, so plan time for it rather than treating the first version as final.

Is a tech pack the same as a spec sheet?

People use the words loosely, and in many factories they mean nearly the same thing. Strictly, a spec sheet is usually the measurement part: the points of measure, the value for each size and the tolerances. A tech pack is the whole file, which includes the spec sheet plus flat sketches, the bill of materials, construction details, artwork placement, labels and packing instructions. The difference matters when you compare quotes. A provider offering a spec sheet may give you an excellent measurement chart and nothing else, while a tech pack quote should cover the full file. If a price looks low, ask which sections are included and whether the measurements are graded for every size or only given for the base size. A measurement chart for one size is a starting point, not something a factory can produce a full size range from.

Sources

Checked 22 September 2026. Rules and figures change, so confirm anything that affects your pricing.