Clothing sampling and product development in Bangladesh

Usually four samples for a new style: a proto, a fit sample, a size set and a pre-production sample, with an extra fit round when the first fit comments are large or the fabric changes. The proto checks the look and construction, often in available fabric. The fit sample, in the right or a similar fabric, is tried on a model or form so you can comment on measurements and proportions. The size set then shows the grading across your range. The pre-production sample is made in bulk fabric and trims and becomes the sealed standard the factory works to and our inspections are judged against. A proven block under private label usually needs only the pre-production sample. Two things shorten development more than anything: measured fit comments against the spec sheet rather than descriptions, and settling the fabric before the first proto. Schedule each round against your ship date, so you can see when another round would move it.

Yes, samples are normally charged, and the cost of each stage is agreed in writing before work starts. Sampling uses real pattern-making time, fabric, trims and courier costs, so the price depends on the garment and the stage: a simple tee in stock fabric costs less than a lined jacket with custom trims. Pattern making and grading are quoted per style, each sample stage is quoted separately, lab dips and strike-offs have their own lines, and international courier charges vary by destination. To keep the total down, send a complete tech pack or a reference garment, combine your comments into one round per sample, and approve fabrics and colours through swatches and lab dips before full samples are made. If you need several colours, sample one garment in full and approve the others as fabric swatches. Whether any of these charges is credited against bulk is agreed separately, before development starts.

Yes. Many new brands start with a sketch, a mood board or a garment they already like, and we turn that into a working tech pack. We measure the reference or develop the pattern from your sketch, draw flat technical drawings, record points of measure and tolerances, write the construction details, and list the fabrics and trims with composition and weight. You review the tech pack alongside the first sample, and we update it with every approved change, so by production it matches the sealed sample exactly. The finished tech pack is yours to keep and use. Please tell us about fit preferences, target customers and price points at the start, because those choices shape the fabric, construction and trims we recommend.

Often, and we state the arrangement in writing before development starts so there is no argument later. The usual practice is that development samples are charged at the quoted rate as they are made, then credited in full or in part against a confirmed bulk order above an agreed quantity; pattern making and grading are sometimes credited too. Couriers and laboratory tests are charged as incurred and are not credited. Salesman and photo samples made in quantity for your sales team are quoted as a small production run rather than as development. If you develop a style and then do not order it, the sample charges stand, because the work was done; that is also why we suggest fewer, better-chosen styles for a first development round. The sample plan you receive before we start lists every stage, its cost and what is credited.

Everything needed to turn a sketch, tech pack or reference garment into a sealed sample that bulk production is judged against. That covers tech pack creation or review, pattern making and grading, proto and fit samples, a size set and a pre-production sample in bulk fabric, plus fabric knit-downs, lab dips for custom colours and strike-offs for prints and embroidery. Brands selling a collection before production can also order salesman or photo samples. You receive a sample plan listing each stage and its cost before work starts, the grading specification and measurement chart per size, your fit comments recorded against the spec sheet after each round, written approvals for lab dips, strike-offs and trims, and the sealed pre-production sample record. The last document is a costing per piece for bulk, built from the approved sample rather than from an early estimate. Bulk orders with us then start at 500 pieces per style and colour, higher in some categories.

A lab dip is a small swatch of your fabric dyed to match your colour standard, while a strike-off is a test print on the real fabric that shows the ink, the colour and the hand feel of the print. Both are approved before bulk. For a lab dip, send a Pantone TCX reference or a physical swatch, not a screen colour, and approve it under the light source you agreed, because a shade can shift between daylight and shop lighting. The mill then dyes the bulk lot to the approved dip. For embroidery the equivalent is a sew-out. Lab dips and strike-offs are quoted as their own lines and run alongside the fit rounds, so the pre-production sample can be made in the final colour first time. Approve each one in writing, and ask for colour fastness results on the bulk dye lot, not only on the lab dip.

A sealed sample is an approved pre-production sample that is tagged, signed and sealed so that neither the buyer nor the factory can alter it, and it is sealed because it becomes the physical standard the whole order is judged against. The pre-production sample is the one chosen because it is made in bulk fabric with bulk trims, labels and decoration, so it shows exactly what production must repeat. One sealed piece stays with you and a matching one with the factory, and inline checks and the final inspection compare measurements, colour, construction, artwork and labels with it. Without it, an inspector is checking against memory or a photograph. Approve the sample in writing before it is sealed; if it still needs changes, ask for a second one before production starts. Keep your sealed sample after delivery, with the approved lab dips, because a reorder is matched against the same piece.

Salesman samples are pieces of an approved style, usually in the final fabric, made for wholesale appointments and trade shows, and photo samples are pieces made for your lookbook and website in the sizes your models wear. Neither belongs to the approval ladder of proto, fit, size-set and pre-production samples: they are made once the pre-production sample is approved, and exist to sell the collection before bulk is delivered. They cost more than a bulk garment, because fabric, trims and sewing time are bought for a handful of pieces. CBI, the Dutch government’s import promotion centre, advises suppliers to price unpaid salesman samples at 1.5 to 2 times the FOB price. With us, salesman and photo samples made in quantity are quoted as a small production run, not as development samples. Order them early if a launch or selling season depends on them, and state sizes, colours and quantities per style.

A size set is a sample of the garment in each size of your range, made after the base size is approved, to check that the grading works from the smallest size to the largest. A pattern can fit perfectly in medium and still give an extra small whose neckline will not go over a head, or an extra large with sleeves past the fingertips. Measure every size against the graded chart, and try the smallest and largest on real people. You can skip it, and small runs often do because it multiplies the sample count, but the usual result is that the middle sizes fit and the extremes come back as returns. On our orders the size set is approved before the pre-production meeting and cutting. A proven block under private label is the exception: its fit is already worked out, so it usually needs only the pre-production sample.