Dress manufacturer in Bangladesh
Dresses are made in two kinds of factory in Bangladesh, woven and knit, and the fabric decides which. We place each style with the right one, sample the fit until you seal it, source or print the fabric you specify, and label it for the market you sell in.
- Typical fabric
- Woven and knit dresses
- Styles
- 7 ranges
- Finishes
- 5 options
Styles we make
- Shirt dresses and wrap dresses
- Fit-and-flare and A-line dresses
- Slip and bias-cut dresses
- Jersey t-shirt and bodycon dresses
- Maxi, kaftan and modest-wear dresses
- Pinafores and smocks
- Girls’ dresses in babywear and kidswear sizes
Fabrics and weights
- Viscose and rayon challis 110–140 GSM
- Cotton poplin 100–130 GSM and lawn 60–90 GSM
- Linen and linen–viscose blends 150–200 GSM
- Cotton jersey 160–200 GSM and cotton–elastane 180–220 GSM
- Crepe, chiffon and georgette, lined
Decoration and finishing
- Rotary and digital fabric printing
- Invisible zips and button plackets
- Full and part linings
- Bias binding, facings and rolled hems
- Embroidery and placed prints
Specifying dresses.
The detail below is what turns a sketch into a garment that arrives as you expected. Send what you have and we fill the gaps with you before sampling.
Put this in your tech pack
- Fabric: fibre, weight, finish and whether printed, with a swatch or a quality to match
- Shaping and closure: darts, gathers or elastic; invisible zip, buttons or pull-on, with placement
- Lining plan: full, bodice only or none, with the lining fabric named
- Measurement chart in your sizes including lengths, with tolerances, or a fit sample
- Print artwork as a repeat tile at scale, with Pantone references and the strike-off approval route
- Edge finishes, sleeve and collar type, pockets and their placement
- Label content for each market: fibre percentages for shell and lining, origin and care
What moves the price
- Fabric: an imported viscose or linen blend sits well above a local cotton or jersey, and printed fabric adds a cost per metre
- Construction: linings, invisible zips, gathers and facings each add operations
- Sampling: dresses need more fit rounds than tops, and each round is quoted
- Colours and prints: each colourway is a fabric lot with its own minimum, and each print design its own set-up
- Length and fabric consumption: a maxi uses far more fabric than a mini in the same quality
What goes wrong with dresses, and how we stop it.
Every category fails in its own way. These are the problems we plan against on this product, and the checks that catch them before your goods ship.
| Risk | How we prevent it |
|---|---|
| Invisible zips puckering or breaking | Zips are specified by brand and type, sewn with a zip foot by trained operators, and every garment’s zip is opened and closed at final inspection. |
| Viscose shrinking after the first wash | Shrinkage is tested on the bulk fabric before cutting and the pattern is adjusted, so the garment measures to the chart after washing, not only before. |
| Print misaligned at seams or mismatched between rolls | Strike-offs are approved per roll lot, pattern pieces are placed to the repeat where the design needs it, and shade bands are kept per roll. |
| Grade drifting between length and girth at the largest sizes | The full size set is measured and worn before bulk, and lengths are checked in every size at final inspection. |
Woven or knit: two kinds of dress, two kinds of factory
A dress is either woven or knitted, and the difference decides the factory. Woven dresses, in viscose, poplin, lawn or linen blends, need a woven factory with pattern-making for darts, gathers, linings and zips, and most of the fabric is imported into Bangladesh from mills in China, India, Pakistan or Turkey, which adds a fabric lead time and a mill minimum to the order. Knit dresses, in jersey, interlock or rib, run in the knit factories that make tees and sleepwear, and the fabric is knitted and dyed locally, so minimums are lower and lead times shorter. We place each style with the factory that specialises in its construction and tell you which kind you have asked for before quoting.
Fabrics for dresses, with weights
Fabric decides the drape, the price and the lead time, so it is the first thing to specify. Viscose and rayon challis at 110 to 140 GSM give the fluid drape most summer dresses want, but they shrink and need a stabilising finish, so shrinkage is tested before bulk. Cotton poplin at 100 to 130 GSM and lawn at 60 to 90 GSM are crisp, light and easy to print, and both are made in Bangladesh. Linen and linen-viscose blends at 150 to 200 GSM crease and are loved for it. For knit dresses, cotton jersey at 160 to 200 GSM and cotton-elastane jersey at 180 to 220 GSM are the workhorses, with interlock where a smoother face is wanted. Each weight range above is the range we source; the exact quality is confirmed on the fabric record with the mill.
- Viscose and rayon challis, 110–140 GSM: fluid drape, imported, shrinkage-tested
- Cotton poplin 100–130 GSM and lawn 60–90 GSM: crisp, printable, made locally
- Linen and linen-viscose blends, 150–200 GSM: texture and breathability, imported
- Cotton jersey 160–200 GSM and cotton-elastane jersey 180–220 GSM: knit dresses, made locally
- Chiffon and georgette for overlays, always lined
Construction: what a dress tech pack must cover
A dress has more construction decisions than a tee, and each one is a line in the tech pack. Shaping comes from darts, princess seams, gathers or elastication, and the choice changes the pattern and the sewing time. Closures are invisible zips at the centre back or side seam, button plackets, or none for a pull-on knit; an invisible zip needs a zip foot and a skilled operator, and it is where most woven dress rejects happen. Linings are full, partial or absent, and a lined bodice with an unlined skirt is common. Edges are finished with facings, bias binding or a rolled hem. Sleeves, collars and pockets each add operations. The tech pack states every one of these, and the proto sample is where you see them together for the first time.
- Shaping: darts, princess seams, gathers, elastic or smocking
- Closure: invisible zip, exposed zip, buttons, or pull-on
- Lining: full, bodice only, or none, with the lining fabric named
- Edge finishes: facings, bias binding, rolled or blind hems
- Sleeve and collar type, pocket type and placement
- Length: named in the size chart, since a dress is graded in length as well as girth
Fit sampling: why dresses need more rounds
A dress is fitted through the bust, waist and hip and graded in length, so a fit problem shows in three places at once and a change to one moves the others. That is why a dress usually needs one more fit round than a top, and why we sample on a live model or a form in your target size rather than judging on a flat. A complete tech pack with a measurement chart in your sizes usually seals in two or three fit rounds; a sketch needs more. The size set then proves the grade across the range, because the length grade and the girth grade can drift apart at the extremes. The sealed pre-production sample is made in bulk fabric, since a woven fabric handles differently from the substitute cloth a proto is cut in.
Prints: printed fabric or printed garment
Most dress prints are printed on the fabric before cutting, not on the garment after. Rotary screen printing gives the sharpest repeat and the lowest cost per metre at volume but carries a screen cost per colour and a mill minimum per design, so it suits bulk. Digital fabric printing has no screens and a far lower minimum, prints unlimited colours and photographic designs, and costs more per metre, so it suits smaller runs and complex artwork. Garment printing, the screen or transfer methods used on tees, is used on dresses only for a placed logo or motif. Send artwork as a repeat tile at full size with the scale marked, and we return a strike-off on the actual fabric for approval before the fabric is printed.
- Rotary screen: sharp, cheapest at volume, screen cost per colour, mill minimum per design
- Digital: no screens, low minimum, unlimited colours, higher cost per metre
- Placed prints: garment printing for a single motif, quoted per placement
- Strike-off on the real fabric approved before printing the bulk
Modest wear, long dresses and the Gulf
Long, loose and lined dresses, kaftans and tunics are a growing part of the dress category, and buyers in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait have specific label and conformity rules on top of the design brief: Arabic on the label, fibre percentages and country of origin, and for Saudi Arabia the SABER conformity process. Our Gulf market pages set out each country’s duty, VAT, labels and documents, sourced and dated, in English and Arabic. Fabrics for this segment are usually imported crepes, chiffons and nida, which brings the mill minimum and lead time into the plan from the start.
Labels and fibre rules for dresses
A dress label carries the same mandatory content as any garment: fibre composition by percentage, country of origin and care instructions, with wording rules that differ by market. The US Textile Fiber Products Identification Act and the FTC rules under it require generic fibre names and percentages and the manufacturer’s or importer’s identity; the EU’s Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 and the UK’s Textile Products Regulations 2012 set the fibre names and the labelling of linings. Blends are labelled by percentage, so a linen-viscose dress states both figures, and a lining is labelled separately from the shell. We check your label artwork against the rules for each market you name before it is printed.
What to send for a dress quote
A dress is quoted per style against its tech pack; there is no published starting price for this category because the fabric range is too wide for one number to mean anything. Send the items below and the quote comes back with the fabric named, the minimum stated and the sampling shown as its own line.
- Flat drawing front and back, or a reference garment with changes marked
- Fabric: fibre, weight and finish, or a swatch to match, and whether printed
- Construction: shaping, closure, lining, edge finishes, sleeve and collar type
- Measurement chart in your sizes with lengths, or a fit sample
- Print artwork as a repeat tile at scale, with Pantone references
- Quantity per style and colour, market, and shipping term
Sources
Checked . Rules and figures change, so confirm anything that affects your pricing.
- FTC — Threading Your Way Through the Labeling Requirements Under the Textile and Wool Acts (opens in a new tab)
- 16 CFR Part 303 — Rules and regulations under the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act (opens in a new tab)
- 16 CFR Part 423 — Care Labeling of Textile Wearing Apparel (opens in a new tab)
- Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 on textile fibre names and related labelling (opens in a new tab)
- The Textile Products (Labelling and Fibre Composition) Regulations 2012 (UK) (opens in a new tab)
- Regulation (EU) 2023/988 on general product safety (GPSR) (opens in a new tab)
Standards for dresses.
The standards buyers most often ask about in this category. We share the certificates and test reports that apply to the factory and fabric used for your order.
| Standard | What it proves | Type |
|---|---|---|
| OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 | Every component of a product — fabric, thread, labels, buttons, prints — is tested for harmful substances. | Voluntary standard |
| GOTS — Global Organic Textile Standard | Organic fibre tracked from farm to finished garment, with environmental and social criteria at every processing stage. | Voluntary standard |
| EU REACH Annex XVII | Legal limits on restricted substances in articles sold in the EU, including azo dyes that release carcinogenic amines, nickel release, certain phthalates and other listed chemicals.. | Product test |
| Fibre content and care labelling | Legal rules for how fibre composition, country of origin and care instructions must appear on the garment label in each market.. | Product test |
| amfori BSCI | Audits working conditions against the amfori Code of Conduct: fair pay, working hours, freedom of association, no child or bonded labour, health and safety, and the management systems behind them. | Voluntary standard |
Quality checks on every order.
Fabric is tested before cutting, the line is checked from the first bundles, and a final AQL inspection happens before packing is sealed. You get the report with photos before you approve shipment.
Dresses: common questions.
Do you make woven or knit dresses?
Both, in different factories. Woven dresses in viscose, poplin, lawn, linen blends, crepe or chiffon go to woven factories with the pattern-making and the zip and lining skills the construction needs; most of that fabric is imported into Bangladesh, so the order carries a fabric lead time and a mill minimum that we state on the quote. Knit dresses in jersey, interlock or rib go to the knit factories that make tees and sleepwear, where the fabric is knitted and dyed locally, so minimums are lower and lead times shorter. We place each style with the factory that specialises in its construction and name it to you in writing before production. If you are launching a first dress range, a knit dress is the faster and cheaper way to prove a fit; a woven dress is where the drape and the price point usually are.
What is the minimum order for dresses?
Quoted per style, and it depends mostly on the fabric. There is no published starting price or minimum for dresses because the fabric range, from a local cotton lawn to an imported viscose crepe, is too wide for one number to mean anything. A knit dress in a locally knitted jersey has the lowest minimum, because the fabric can be bought in stock colours; a woven dress in an imported fabric inherits the mill’s minimum per quality and colour, which is usually the binding figure, and a printed fabric adds a minimum per design. Each colour is its own fabric lot, so a style in three colours needs three minimums. We state the minimum on the quote with the fabric named and say which constraint sets it. Small runs from 100 pieces are possible only in the knit categories our small-run partner covers, and dresses are not currently among them.
Can you print my own fabric design?
Yes. Most dress prints are printed on the fabric before cutting, and there are two routes. Rotary screen printing gives the sharpest repeat and the lowest cost per metre at volume, but it needs a screen for every colour and carries a mill minimum per design, so it suits bulk orders in a few colourways. Digital fabric printing needs no screens, prints unlimited colours and photographic artwork, has a much lower minimum, and costs more per metre, so it suits smaller runs and complex designs. Send your artwork as a repeat tile at full size with the scale marked and Pantone references for the key colours. We return a strike-off printed on the actual fabric for approval before the bulk is printed, because colour and definition differ between screen and digital and between a cotton lawn and a viscose. A placed motif on a finished dress uses garment printing instead.
How many sample rounds does a dress need?
Usually one more than a top. A dress is fitted through the bust, waist and hip and graded in length, so a fit issue shows in several places at once and correcting one moves the others. From a complete tech pack with a measurement chart in your sizes, a dress typically seals in two or three fit rounds; from a sketch it needs more, because the first proto also has to settle the construction. We fit on a form or a model in your target size rather than judging on a flat, and each round comes with a written change list so nothing is re-cut without a reason. The size set then proves the grade across the range, where length and girth grades can drift apart at the extremes, and the pre-production sample is made in bulk fabric, since woven cloth handles differently from the substitute a proto is cut in.
Which fabrics suit summer dresses?
Light, breathable and either crisp or fluid, depending on the look. For a fluid drape, viscose and rayon challis at 110 to 140 GSM are the standard, with the caveat that they shrink and need a stabilising finish, so we test shrinkage before bulk. For a crisp, printable summer dress, cotton lawn at 60 to 90 GSM and cotton poplin at 100 to 130 GSM are both made in Bangladesh, which keeps the fabric lead time short. Linen and linen-viscose blends at 150 to 200 GSM breathe well and crease in the way their buyers expect. For a knit summer dress, cotton jersey at 160 to 200 GSM, or a cotton-elastane jersey at 180 to 220 GSM where the style is fitted, is the choice, and it runs in local knit factories with the lowest minimums. Tell us the drape you want and the price point and we will propose two qualities with swatches.
Related products
Costs and market rules
Planning an order of dresses?
Send a tech pack, a sketch or a photo of a garment you like. We reply within one working day with questions or a first costing.
- One merchandiser responsible for your order
- Certificates and audit reports shared before production
- AQL final inspection report before you approve shipment
- NDA signed on request before you share designs