5 Easy Steps to Getting Your Clothing Design Ready for Manufacturing
For today’s topic on the Eurofitness Resources center, we’ll expand on how to use 5 simple steps in preparing your design for manufacturing. That is, from a concept to an actual product!
Before we take you through, check out our article ‘Choosing the Best Sportswear & Fitnesswear Manufacturer for Your Brand‘ before you start any kind of production.
We’re also manufacturers of high quality sports and fitness wear so if you have any queries, do get in contact with us. You can also view our services with our brochure below.
Preparing Your Clothing Design for Manufacturing
5 – Prepare a Visual Sketch for Your Clothing Design
Some of the best designs are almost always sketched out before production. Not only does it help you visualise your item but it allows you to figure out more technical aspects in your design.
Use sketches to quickly draft your ideas, shapes, colours and materials. The happier you are with how they look on paper, the more satisfied you’ll be when it’s in your own hands. In terms of sportswear, some of the things you could sketch out are the shapes of your items, how they would fit, the colours and if there are any unique features about it.
Sketching helps communicate your design better than words but if you don’t know how to sketch, there’s always freelancers on sites like Fiverr, Upwork and Unsplash that can help you out!
4 – Create a Design Specification
Once you’re happy with your ‘concept’, you can then create a design specification.
All you really need for this is a template (like the one above) of your clothing item and exactly how you would want it to look like. You can design your own template if you have the drawing skills, find templates more easily on the web or hire a designer to create your design for you.
Make sure you have your logos, prints and patterns in the right place on your template as this is what manufacturers will be using to create the product. And if you want to go a step further, you can add dimensions (such as the chest size, length of sleeve etc)
The more specific you are with your design, usually there’s less room for error on the manufacturing side.
3 – Label As Much As You Can
It’s always handier for a manufacturer when designs are labelled. This means that all the colours are labelled, the fabrics are labelled, the parts are labelled and any other important features.
Something like the above is acceptable for most manufacturers. If you have more than one design, its always great to label them, compare them and show what’s changed.
As manufacturers, this allows us to suggest improvements should any design problem arise. Remember, communication is key to manufacturing!
2 – Provide References with Your Clothing Design
This is one of those things that can really speed up the process of manufacturing your clothing item. References are powerful and should always be provided along with a design spec.
It’s quite common for clients to provide reference images – but providing specific references is not so common. IF you have a particular cuff style that you like, see if there’s an image out there that captures your interest and reference it on the design.
Referencing existing products not only tells the manufacturer that it’s possible to make your product, but also exactly how it could look and saves a lot of time!
1 – Make Necessary Changes to Samples
So you’ve gone through the steps and you have your own unique design you want to start producing. Well before you make a large order, it’s always best to request a sample of your product.
With a sample, you’ll be able to see how your product looks, what changes need to be made and whether you actually like the quality of the product itself.
Samples may cost you depending on how complex they are but they are ALWAYS worth the cost. Afterall, no one wants to order 500 units only to realise that there were design flaws! And you may even need to request several samples after updates to your design, but they will be worth your while.
Once your happy with the sample and have carefully considered all the costs -now you’re ready for production!
With Eurofitness, we offer samples for any product of our customer’s choice. We also make sure to finalise any details / changes before we start production so you can sleep sound.
Summary of the 5 Steps to Preparing Your Clothing Design for Manufacturing
- Start with a Sketch
The product before its a product
- Use a Design Template
A well-presented brief of your product
- Label All Relevant Information
The features, the color codes (if any), the fabrics etc
- Provide References
Does some part of your product exist? Well that’s a huge help!
- Make Changes to Samples
Always make changes to a single product, not when production has started
We’ve been manufacturing clothing wear for nearly 12 years to both local and international suppliers and brands. If you need help with bringing your designs to life, then reach out to us and we’ll help you get started
We are especially attractive to new sportswear, activewear, fitnesswear and gymwear startups who are looking to make an impact in the industry!
Don’t hesitate to reach out to us via our Whatsapp Channel or email – info@eurofitnessapparel.eu
