Oct 18, 2026Manufacturing Process
Garment Sampling Process: From Tech Pack to 3-7 Day Samples
The garment sampling workflow from tech pack to approved pre-production sample: pattern making, fabric sourcing, fit rounds and 3-7 day sampling.
Sampling is where OEM/ODM projects quietly go wrong - or quietly get great. Here's each step, what to send, and why the pre-production sample is the only thing that matters before bulk.
A sample isn't a preview. It's decisions made physical: fit confirms the pattern, hand feel confirms the fabric, stitching confirms the construction. Wrong anywhere - cheap to fix now, expensive after bulk.
The six steps
1. Your inputs: tech pack, measured design, or reference sample. Clearer inputs, fewer rounds.
2. Pattern making - everything later inherits from this.
3. Fabric sourcing - confirm before sewing; fabric changes restart fit evaluation.
4. First sample and revisions - one or two rounds is normal. Consolidated comments keep it fast: “waist 1 cm higher” beats three emails of “the fit feels off”.
5. Pre-production sample - exact fabric, trims, finishing. The green light for bulk.
6. Production - the approved sample becomes the inspection reference.
Speed: samples leave our Shenzhen factory in 3-7 days, because pattern making, sourcing and sewing are all in-house.
The mistake that costs weeks
“Send me a sample of this dress.” No fabric, no measurements. The factory guesses, the sample comes back almost right, and comments arrive one at a time. That - not slow factories - is what stretches 7 days into a month.
Your move
One brief: design, fabric, measurements, labels. Then consolidated comments per round, and sign off the pre-production sample only when it matches bulk. Contact us to start. XinChengDa Garments is an OEM and ODM clothing manufacturer for designer brands, e-commerce sellers and wholesalers - email info@xcdgarments.com or message us on WhatsApp.
