Course 2 · Apparel Systems Lab · Technical Design

Tech Pack
QA Checklist

A repeatable quality gate for your technical design deliverables — so nothing ships with a silent error, a missing measurement, or an ambiguous callout.

52 checkpoints across 5 zones → click any zone to open its checklist

Zone 1 · 10 items
📄 Document Setup
→
Zone 2 · 11 items
✏️ Flats & Sketches
→
Zone 3 · 11 items
🧵 Bill of Materials
→
Zone 4 · 10 items
📏 Measurements & Size Spec
→
Zone 5 · 10 items
🪡 Construction & Release
→
Quick Guide
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Run this before every tech pack release — or use it once to audit the template you already work from.

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💡
Two Ways to Use This

Per style: run zones 1–5 as a final gate before the pack leaves your hands. As a template audit: walk the whole checklist against your standard tech pack template once — anything missing there is missing on every style you produce.

✦ The 5 Zones of a Release-Ready Tech Pack
📄
Document Setup
10 checkpoints
✏️
Flats & Sketches
11 checkpoints
🧵
Bill of Materials
11 checkpoints
📏
Measurements & Size Spec
10 checkpoints
🪡
Construction & Release
10 checkpoints
⚠️ Top 5 Most Commonly Missed
1
Half-measure vs. full-measure left unstated
A chest spec that doesn't say whether it's measured flat or as a circumference is a 50/50 coin flip on a garment that's twice as wide as intended.
2
Thread missing from the BOM
Thread is a material, a cost line, and a color decision. Leaving it off means the factory picks it — and picks whatever is on the shelf.
3
Version number in the filename only
Printed pages lose filenames. Put the version and date in the footer of every page or expect a sample built from an old spec.
4
Tolerances omitted or copy-pasted from a different fabric type
A woven tolerance applied to a stretch knit creates a spec no factory can hit, which teaches them to ignore your tolerances entirely.
5
Callout language on the flat that doesn't match the construction page
When the sketch says 'binding' and the construction page says 'clean finish', someone in the sample room resolves it — usually not the way you meant.
"A tech pack isn't finished when it's complete. It's finished when someone who has never spoken to you could build the garment from it."
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Zone 1 · Tech Pack QA · Apparel Systems Lab

📄 Document Setup

A tech pack is a legal-adjacent document as much as a technical one. If the cover page, version, and identifiers are wrong, every downstream error traces back here.

Zone Progress
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What This Zone Covers

Cover page completeness, style identifiers, version control, revision history, and file hygiene — the housekeeping that keeps a factory working from the right document.

📄 Document Setup

📇 Cover Page & Identifiers
0 / 5
Style number appears on every page, not just the cover
Pages get printed, separated, and pinned to sample room walls — an orphan page with no style number is a guaranteed mix-up
Season, brand, and category are stated on the cover page
Factories run dozens of programs at once; the cover page is how yours gets routed to the right team
Sample size is called out explicitly and matches the size spec
If the sample size isn't stated, the factory picks one — and it's rarely the one you graded from
Fabrication summary (shell, lining, trims) is on the cover page
A one-line summary lets sourcing quote quickly without reading all 20 pages
Designer / technical contact and email are listed
Questions asked to nobody become assumptions made by somebody
🗂️ Version Control & File Hygiene
0 / 5
Version number and date appear in the header or footer of every page
Version in the filename only is not enough — printed pages lose the filename
A revision history table logs what changed, when, and who approved it
Without a change log, nobody can tell whether the factory is quoting the old or new spec
Superseded versions are archived, not left in the shared folder
The single most common cause of wrong samples is a factory working from last month's PDF
Filename follows a consistent convention: style_name_version_date
Consistent naming is what makes a five-year-old style findable
The document is exported flat as PDF with all fonts and images embedded
Linked images and unembedded fonts drop out on the factory's machine, silently
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Zone 2: Flats & Sketches →
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Zone 2 · Tech Pack QA · Apparel Systems Lab

✏️ Flats & Sketches

A flat that can't be read at print scale is decoration, not specification. Every line on the sketch should answer a question the factory would otherwise have to ask.

Zone Progress
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What This Zone Covers

Sketch clarity, proportion, callout accuracy, detail views, and making sure what's drawn matches what's written everywhere else in the pack.

✏️ Flats & Sketches

🖊️ Sketch Quality & Proportion
0 / 6
Front and back flats are both included, at consistent scale
A back view is not optional — half the construction lives there
Line weights distinguish outer edges, seams, and topstitching
Uniform line weight makes a flat unreadable at the size it's actually printed
Flats are proportionally accurate to the actual garment, not stylized
A fashion croquis-based flat produces a factory interpretation, not your garment
Sketches print legibly in black and white at 100%
Most sample rooms print grayscale; test it before you send it
Detail / blow-up views are provided for any complex construction
Pockets, plackets, closures, and gussets should each get their own enlarged view
Interior views are included when lining or bagging is involved
If the inside isn't drawn, the inside will be improvised
🏷️ Callouts & Cross-References
0 / 5
Every callout on the flat points to a specific, unambiguous location
'Topstitch here' with a floating arrow is not a location
Callout terminology matches the construction page word for word
Two names for one seam becomes two different seams
Trim callouts reference the BOM line item number
Linking the sketch to the BOM eliminates 'which button?' emails
Placement callouts include measurements from a fixed reference point
'Centered' means one thing to you and another to a cutter — give the number
No callout on the flat contradicts the size spec or construction notes
Contradictions get resolved by the factory's guess, not your intent
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Zone 3: Bill of Materials →
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Zone 3 · Tech Pack QA · Apparel Systems Lab

🧵 Bill of Materials

The BOM is where costing, sourcing, and quality all meet. An incomplete BOM doesn't just delay a sample — it produces a price that isn't real.

Zone Progress
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What This Zone Covers

Material completeness, supplier and reference identifiers, quantities and placement, colorways, and the labels and packaging that get forgotten until the last minute.

🧵 Bill of Materials

📦 Material Completeness
0 / 6
Every material that touches the garment has a BOM line — including thread
Thread, interfacing, and stay tape are the three most commonly omitted lines
Fabric entries state content, weight, width, and finish
'Cotton twill' is not a specification; 8oz, 58" cotton twill, enzyme washed, is
Interfacing, fusing, and stabilizers are specified by type and placement
Fusible choice changes hand, drape, and cost more than most people expect
Supplier name and supplier reference number are listed for each material
A material with no source is a material the factory substitutes
Substitution policy is stated: approval required before any swap
Silence here reads as permission
Trims are specified with size, finish, and material — not just a name
'Antique brass snap' needs a ligne size and a finish standard
🎨 Quantities, Colorways & Labels
0 / 5
Consumption / quantity per garment is listed for each line
Without quantities, costing is estimated — and estimates drift upward
Placement is noted for every trim and component
The same zipper in two places needs two lines or one clear note
Every colorway is broken out with per-color material references
One BOM covering three colorways silently assumes the same trims work in all three
Labels, hangtags, care labels, and size labels each have their own line
Labeling is a compliance issue, not an afterthought — care content is legally required
Packaging (polybag, hanger, carton) is specified if it's in your scope
If it isn't specified, it isn't quoted, and it shows up as a surprise charge
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Zone 4: Measurements & Size Spec →
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Zone 4 · Tech Pack QA · Apparel Systems Lab

📏 Measurements & Size Spec

The size spec is the part of the pack that gets measured against, argued over, and used to accept or reject a shipment. Ambiguity here is expensive.

Zone Progress
0 / 10 items
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What This Zone Covers

Point-of-measure naming, how-to-measure clarity, tolerances, grade rules, and keeping the spec consistent with the pattern and the flats.

📏 Measurements & Size Spec

📐 Points of Measure
0 / 5
Every POM has a number and a name used consistently across the pack
POM numbers are how a factory reports back — unnumbered specs produce unusable measurement reports
A how-to-measure diagram or description accompanies each POM
Chest measured at 1" below armhole and chest measured at armhole are different garments
Measurement method is stated: flat, laid, or circumference
Half-measure vs. full-measure confusion is the single most common spec error
Sample size column is clearly identified in the spec table
The graded chart must show which column the sample was built to
Units are stated and used consistently throughout — no mixed inches and cm
Mixed units in one document is how a 2cm placket becomes a 2" placket
📊 Tolerances & Grading
0 / 5
A tolerance is given for every point of measure
No tolerance means any deviation is technically a defect — which is unenforceable in practice
Tolerances are realistic for the fabric type and construction
Knit and woven tolerances are not the same; asking for ±1/8" on a jersey invites arguments
Grade rules are stated and applied consistently across the size range
Inconsistent grading shows up as fit breaking down at the extremes of the range
The full size range offered is present in the spec table
A spec covering S–L for a range sold S–2X guarantees the biggest sizes get improvised
Spec measurements are cross-checked against the actual pattern
A spec that doesn't match the pattern means one of them is wrong — find out which before the factory does
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Zone 5: Construction & Release →
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Zone 5 · Tech Pack QA · Apparel Systems Lab

🪡 Construction & Release

Construction pages tell the factory how, not just what. The release checks are what stop a pack with a silent error from becoming a sample with an obvious one.

Zone Progress
0 / 10 items
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What This Zone Covers

Stitch and seam specification, finishing, pressing and labeling instructions, plus the final review, approval, and distribution checks before the pack ships.

🪡 Construction & Release

🧷 Stitch, Seam & Finish
0 / 5
SPI (stitches per inch) is specified for each seam type
SPI drives both strength and appearance, and factories default to whatever is fastest
Seam type and allowance are specified for every seam
Seam allowance assumptions are the quiet cause of specs that measure out wrong
Edge finishes are called out: serge, bind, clean finish, or raw
'Finish as appropriate' means 'finish however is cheapest'
Topstitch distance from edge is given as a measurement
'Topstitch edge' is a request; '1/4" from edge' is a spec
Thread type, weight, and color are specified per seam or area
Contrast topstitching in a matching thread is a rework, not a variation
✅ Final Review & Release
0 / 5
Pressing, finishing, and packing instructions are included
Finishing instructions are where a well-made garment turns into a well-presented one
Label placement is specified with measurements, not just 'center back neck'
Distance from neckline seam matters, and it varies by label type
A second person — or a fresh read a day later — has reviewed the pack
Nobody catches their own contradictions on the same day they wrote them
Every page prints correctly at the intended size with no cut-off content
Content that runs past the page margin disappears in printing
The final pack is sent to a named recipient with confirmation of receipt
A pack sitting unopened in an inbox is not a pack that was delivered
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