Consider a common scenario: an importer finds a throw blanket she likes and emails the factory three photos with the note “like this, in beige.” The quote comes back fast and attractively priced. When bulk arrives, the beige is a different beige, the blanket is noticeably shorter than the photos suggested, and the pattern is printed rather than woven. Nothing was technically “wrong” with the order — because almost nothing was specified in it.
The direct answer: a home textile tech pack is a written specification document that defines exactly what a factory must make — construction method, fiber content and weight, finished measurements with tolerances, colorways tied to physical references, trims, labels, and packing. It replaces photo-only briefs with a contract-grade record that costing teams can price from and production teams can build from, so quotes arrive faster and bulk matches the approved sample. The rest of this guide shows how to write one.
Key takeaways
- A home textile tech pack is a written specification document covering construction, measurements, materials, colorways, trims, labels, and packing — it replaces photo-only briefs.
- Factories quote faster and more accurately from tech packs because costing teams don’t have to guess at fiber, GSM, or finishing.
- The five sections every textile tech pack needs: product overview, construction and materials, measurement chart, colorways and artwork, and labeling plus packing.
- Common tech pack mistakes: missing tolerances, unspecified construction method, color references without lab dips, and no wash-care instructions.
- A complete tech pack is the cheapest quality insurance in sourcing — the discipline happens before cutting, not after delivery.
What is a home textile tech pack?
A home textile tech pack (technical package) is a specification document that describes exactly what a factory must produce: the product’s construction method, fiber content, fabric weight, finished measurements, colorways, trims, labels, and packing instructions. It is the brief that a factory’s costing team prices from and that its production and quality teams build and inspect against.
Think of it as the difference between a sketch and a blueprint. Photos show what a product looks like; a tech pack defines what it is. When disputes arise — the wrong shade, the wrong size, the wrong hand feel — the tech pack is what both sides point to. Buyers without one are negotiating quality from memory, and memory loses to a production line every time. Tech packs also protect reorders: factories change merchandisers and subcontractors, but the tech pack is the record of what was approved last time, so a later reorder can match the first without relying on anyone’s recollection.
What are the five sections every textile tech pack needs?
Most throws, cushion covers, and rugs can be fully specified in five sections across two to three pages: product overview, construction and materials, measurement chart, colorways and artwork, and labeling plus packing. Complexity scales with the product — a printed throw needs an artwork page, a rug needs a backing and binding page — but keep the pack as short as accuracy allows, because factories read and follow short packs better.
| Section | What it covers | Why factories need it |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Product overview | Product name, SKU, reference photos, target price band, end use | Sets context so costing uses the right grade of material and process for your positioning |
| 2. Construction and materials | Fiber content, GSM, weave/knit/tuft/print method, pile height, edge finishing | Materials are typically the biggest quote variable; ambiguity here causes the biggest price swings |
| 3. Measurement chart | Finished dimensions for every size, each with a tolerance (±) | Cutting and sewing teams need numbers, not adjectives like “generous” |
| 4. Colorways and artwork | Color references (Pantone TCX or lab dips), print artwork files, placement | Color is the most disputed spec in textiles; physical references make it enforceable |
| 5. Labels and packing | Care labels, hang tags, barcodes, polybag spec, carton quantity, carton markings | Packing mistakes are a frequent cause of chargebacks from retail buyers |
How do you write the construction and materials section?
Name the fiber content with percentages, the fabric weight in GSM, and the construction method with its sub-type. “100% polyester faux fur, 700 GSM, tufted, 35 mm pile height” is a spec a costing team can price from quickly; “soft faux fur throw” is a conversation that drags through rounds of back-and-forth.
Include the details buyers most often forget: the backing fabric (for rugs and tufted throws), the edge finishing (fringe, hemmed, bound, whipstitched), and any filling (for cushions and weighted products — fill type and fill weight). Each is a cost line and a quality checkpoint; leave them out and the factory will choose, and it will choose the cheapest option that matches your photos.
If you are developing a new product rather than copying an existing one, state the hand-feel target in words the factory understands — “soft, drapey, brushed hand feel” — alongside a physical reference swatch. Factories work from physical references far better than from adjectives alone, so mail a swatch of the hand feel you want with the tech pack whenever the budget allows it. To name constructions correctly in the first place, see throw blanket construction methods explained.
How do you write the measurement chart?
List every finished dimension for every size you are ordering, each with an explicit tolerance — for example, a throw blanket chart reads 130 × 180 cm with a stated ± tolerance. Tolerances are what make a measurement chart enforceable: with them, the inspector has a pass/fail line; without them, a short blanket is arguably “close enough.”
Do not invent tolerances from a blog post. Confirm what your factory can actually hold before you write numbers into the pack — a tolerance the factory cannot meet is worse than none, because it turns every inspection into an argument. Ask the factory for their standard tolerances during vetting and use those figures. For shaped products (tree skirts, fitted covers, contoured cushions), add a flat sketch with key dimensions marked; a clean hand sketch photographed clearly beats a paragraph of description, and mark which edges are finished and how, since edge treatment changes the effective dimension.
How do you specify colorways so bulk matches the sample?
Reference every colorway to a Pantone TCX number or an approved lab dip, and state in the tech pack that bulk must match the lab dip within an agreed tolerance. Photos and screen colors are not color specs — the same “beige” renders differently on every monitor, and factories know it.
The standard workflow: you send the color reference, the factory dyes a lab dip (a small dyed swatch), you approve or revise it, and the approved lab dip becomes the bulk standard. Build time for lab dips into your timeline for custom colors — ask the factory how long their dip cycle runs rather than assuming. Stock colors the factory already runs can skip this step. For the full reorder-color workflow, see color consistency across reorders: the lab dip guide.
For printed designs, attach the artwork as a vector or high-resolution file, name the print method (rotary screen, digital; pigment vs. reactive dye), state the repeat size, and name the base fabric — the same artwork prints differently on a 200 GSM cotton versus a 300 GSM polyester, and the factory cannot guess which base your costing assumed.
What are the most common tech pack mistakes?
These six omissions account for most avoidable sample failures and inspection disputes in home textiles. They are also the items factories rarely flag — they simply proceed with their own cheapest defaults. Check your pack against each one before you send it.
- No tolerances on measurements. The most common omission, and the one that causes the most inspection disputes.
- Construction method missing. “Throw blanket” without woven/knitted/tufted/printed specified — the factory picks the cheapest method that matches the photo.
- Color by photo only. Screen colors shift; without a Pantone or lab dip reference, shade disputes are unwinnable.
- No care instructions. The care label content should be decided in the tech pack, not improvised at packing time — wrong care advice generates returns, and in the US care labeling is required by law (see the FTC Care Labeling Rule in Sources).
- Packing as an afterthought. Polybag thickness, pieces per carton, and carton markings affect freight cost and retail receiving; spec them up front. See roll packing vs vacuum packing for how packing method changes freight.
- Mixing units. Pick metric or imperial and use it everywhere — a chart that mixes cm and inches will produce a wrong-size bulk sooner or later.
What specs should you confirm when requesting a quote?
Send the tech pack first, then ask the factory to confirm these commercial specs in writing before sampling starts. The answers you get now become the written assumptions behind the quote — and your leverage if bulk pricing or timing shifts later.
- MOQ per colorway and per order
- Sample lead time and bulk production lead time
- Fiber content verification method (is a lab test report available?)
- Certifications available (e.g., OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100, GOTS) with certificate numbers
- Standard measurement tolerances the factory can hold
- Lab dip cycle timing for custom colors
- Packing options and carton specs (pieces per carton, carton dimensions)
- Payment terms and price validity period
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a tech pack for a simple reorder?
Yes — but it can be short. For reorders, the tech pack is the record of what was approved last time: the construction, measurements, colorways, and packing that worked. Factories change staff and subcontractors; the tech pack is what keeps your fifth reorder identical to your first. Working with a factory for the first time? See first trial order with a new textile factory.
How long does it take a factory to quote from a tech pack?
Meaningfully faster than quoting from photos. Complete tech packs let the costing team price materials and processes without a clarification round — and clarification rounds are where most quoting time is lost. If a quote is dragging, the missing spec is usually the cause, not the factory’s speed.
Should the tech pack include the target price?
It can help. A target price band tells the factory which grade of material and which processes to cost — without it, factories often quote a middle grade that may miss your positioning in either direction. State it as a target with your expected order quantity, not as a demand.
Who owns the tech pack — me or the factory?
You do. The tech pack is your product specification, and you should keep the master copy. Factories may keep working copies with their internal notes, but version control sits with you: date every revision, and confirm the factory is working from the latest version before bulk cutting starts.
Can a factory make the product without a tech pack?
They can make something — the question is whether it is your something. Experienced factories will ask for the missing specs; less careful ones will fill the gaps with their cheapest defaults. Either way, the sample rounds multiply. A tech pack is the cheapest quality insurance in the sourcing process.
Write the tech pack before you ask for the quote, not after the sample disappoints you. Send us your product idea — even as rough notes or a reference photo — and we’ll help turn it into a factory-ready specification with construction, measurements, and colorways defined, then quote it against the right materials the first time.
Sources & Further Reading
- FTC Care Labeling Rule — US legal requirements for care labels on textile products: ftc.gov
- OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 — independent testing and certification for harmful substances in textiles: oeko-tex.com
- GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) — the worldwide processing standard for organic textiles: global-standard.org
- Throw blanket construction methods explained (cornovohome.com/)
- Color consistency across reorders: the lab dip guide (cornovohome.com/)
- Roll packing vs vacuum packing for freight (cornovohome.com/)
- First trial order with a new textile factory (cornovohome.com/)