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What is a size chart and why is it important?
It is the base measurements for your brands’ garments, this is what you will use on your website for your customers to determine if the garment will fit them. It is important for your brand to stay true to the sizes you create, we all know how annoying it is to get used to how a brand fits and then the new range you are a different size in what you love. Consistency is key!
How to determine what the base size for your brand is
Your base size is the size you should keep consistent for all of your base sample sizes. The reason why it is important to determine your base size when you are in design development is so that you can keep that consistency when finding your reference samples. To know what the base size for your size chart will be, you need to know who your customer is. This means you need to have a clear indication on who your target market is, who are you selling this product to.
How to accurately take base size measurements
You have 2 options for this, you can either provide your designer with the reference sample and they will take the measurements OR you can provide these measurements yourself. It is very important to keep in mind this is the size you are going to need your fit model who tries on all of your samples to be. So if you are basing this off of your size, you will be your own fit model, or if you are basing it off of a certain body shape or size you will need access to this person to try on your samples.
If you would like to determine the body measurements for your fit model yourself, we have put together a guide for you to use below:
MEASUREMENT-SIZE-GUIDE-CHART_21.3.23.pdf
MEASUREMENT-SIZE-GUIDE-CHART_S_21.3.23.pdf
MEASUREMENT-SIZE-GUIDE-CHART_S_R_21.3.23.pdf
TECH PACK FORMAT
Tech packs must be provided as print-ready PDF files including a design detail page, fabric and trims, print art, BOM, labelling, packaging, and CAD drawings with specs and grading rules.
CREATE YOUR OWN TECH PACKS
If you are able to complete tech packs up to industry standards that is amazing! Please ensure they cover everything that is outlined in the Tech pack format section. If you would liek to create your own tech pack and are after a good standard template we offer this in our Shop.
- Print Method: E.g. silk screen print, digital print, rubber, panel, rotary, placement etc.
- Print size, scale and direction.
- Pantone colours
- Seamless repeat artwork
- If your artwork is not setup to the above standard, your project manager may need to quote you to update or amend your artwork.
COMMON HICCUPS TO AVOID WHEN SOURCING FABRICS OR TRIMS.
WHAT ARE THEY?
They are a “test swatch” of either custom-dyed colours (Lab dip) or prints (Strike off) onto a selected fabric for pre-approval before sample metres or bulk material is purchased. You must choose Pantone TPX or TPG dye and print colours unless your print method is digital. The request for lab dip’s and strike off’s must be placed along with tech packs and tentative PO. Some factories have in-house facilities for dye and printing, but most commonly this is outsourced.
GENERAL LEAD TIMES
(not including logistics)
LABDIP’S & PRINT STRIKE OFF: 10 -15 days
BULK FABRIC DYE: 20-35days (pending dye method)
BULK FABRIC PRINTED: 30-40days (pending print method)
MANUAL DYE
Manual dye or manual print method (eg: screen print) is a process used for small MOQ and common with factories Bali and India. Screen printing is more unpredictable than machine dye or machine print. This is not only because it is done by hand, but weather will also impact how the colour develops. It is a more natural way of printing, but, you have to be open to the beautiful inconsistencies of nature.
If you require the same colour dyed across multiple fabrics types, please be aware of the following, particularly for the hand-dye process:
- There may be a tonal difference between fabric types as they will absorb colour differently, especially if the dye method is manual.
- For a faster and more cost-effective process, please request lab dip on one fabric type first, once the correct one has been approved, you can request the remaining fabric types to be matched according to the approved lab-dip.
HOW TO ENSURE YOUR FABRIC WILL BE AVAILABLE WHEN YOU ARE READY TO PLACE BULK
Every range is difference so please discuss this with your designer if you have any concerns but in general we can calculate how much you will need by your tech packs and tentative order. If you have a speciality fabric that is not readily available then you can either put down a 35% holding deposit for “estimated quantity”, or buy the rolls for you to store in the factory.
This is particularly recommended if you use fabrics that are either:
- Expensive (supplier doesn’t keep much stock due to cost)
- Not “standard” stock
- Material that is complicated in production, such as – Silks, organic cotton, hemp, linen, bamboo etc.