5 Key Points Before Asking for a sample from a Knitwear Factory.

Many people always require samples from a factory. Knitwear is no exception. Why is this so? This is because they wanted to make sure that they purchase the right products that can help them achieve their clothing business goals and objectives.

That said, I listed 5 must-have points that you should know when it comes to requiring knitwear samples from a factory.

We are a friend of a knitwear designer.

No one compares to a good relationship between you and your knitwear designer. I searched “How to design knitwear?” on Google and the search results are mostly teaching you how to shape knitwear perfectly when you’re knitting it by hand. Many designers of clothing brand companies don’t have time to knit sweaters themselves, and companies don’t need them to do so.

So, are you. 

There are many elements you need to consider before designing knitwear. Developing or creating a new knitwear style takes time and energy. Last year, I saw a sweater designer break down into tears before the winter sweater release meeting. During that time, the company gave the designer the task of developing 80 winter sweater styles, but she can only release 60 styles on hand. How can she develop the remaining 20 styles in one week? That could be too much pressure for her. She told me that the 60 identified models are screened out from 100 styles. When I heard this, I was even anxious for her. How are they able to develop 20 models in 7 days, with an average of 3 models each day? What kind of knitwear factory proofing cooperation can complete this work in such a short time?

This may be a problem that designers often encounter in front of computer screens. I hope each of you can handle these things with ease and not as messy as the friend I mentioned above. I hope you all have sweater factories willing to cooperate with your various development proofing and stand in the same place with you to deal with every new product development season. 

Smooth communication, sample time, cooperation, strength, technical requirements, product quality, price positioning….. Every point needs to be considered.

As a salesman who has worked in a sweater factory for 10 years, I can deeply understand that your work is not easy, and I have been thinking about what I can do for you… Then I thought of writing this article. I will prepare some articles to follow this topic in the future. Hope it will help you in designing a sweater.

1. Suitable for bulk production

The sweaters you designed can be produced in larger quantities. Sometimes, a one-piece sample is not an issue for us to make, no matter how long, how complicit, and how expensive it will take. We will do our best to achieve it as your requirement. But we need to be combined with actual production. 

Solution: After the factory has finished the initial sample, please make sure that the factory quotes a rough price. Additionally, the factory should be able to predict the problems in bulk goods by experience and explain to the designer which problems are inevitable, which problems can be solved, and what methods can be used to solve them. That said, the designer can know this process. Although this communication is cumbersome, it is better than handling complaints from end customers in the later period.

2. Colorways

The sweater you designed not only integrates the unique style of your company brand but also joins the newest fashion trends. What is your theme colorway for this season’s collection? Which is the hot popular colorway in the market? It can be challenging to choose the right color in the correct season. Many designers Will ask for lab dips, for they are unable to confirm which is the correct one. It often takes at least one week to play the color board, and with the international express delivery time, it may take 15 days for the color board to reach you.

Solution: Do you consider using the color of spot yarn from the yarn factory? Nowadays, many yarn mills will stock up to meet the demand for quick return fashion. The so-called quick return fashion is to complete the quick turn-over shipment from proofing to shipment within 10 days. If your order quantity is not that large and the delivery time is urgent, we can suggest using the spot wool yarn color.

3. Yarn Material Choice

There are several yarn materials available in the Market: Cashmere, Merino Wool, Mercerized Wool, Lambswool, Wool Blend, Mohair, Alpaca, Cotton, Linen, Acrylic, Viscose, Nylon……… Which Yarn can be used this season? How about the yarn cost? Does the factory have available yarn in store? When is the lead time for sample yarn production if they do not have it? 

Solution: Try to give the factory sample clothes or small pieces. If there are no small pieces, please give them as detailed pictures and wool yarn components as possible. It is really not recommended to start proofing only by giving them a raw material ingredient, because it is also called 100% wool, and there will be dozens of different yarn materials. Such blind proofing wastes your time and yarns, and no one likes repetitive work.

4. Purchase Price and Sales Price

It is not a good thing, that you spend 10 days designing a lovely sweater, and you want your factory to achieve it. Come to think of this? Is the Purchase Price is much higher than your Sales Price?

Solution: If you can, please give a general idea of your acceptable price before asking for proofing, so that we can choose the appropriate wool yarn and adjust the production process according to the information you’ve provided to achieve your ideal sweater style.

5. What is the Gauge of the knitwear? 

Our Terminal Client may know little about the Gauge of knitwear. They only pay attention to light or heavy knitwear. For us, it is a basic question we meet in bulk production. As normal, 3GG, 5GG, and 7GG are heavy. 3GG is the roughest stitch in our mass production. 12GG, 14GG, and 16GG are light. 16GG knitwear will give you a tight close surface like woven fabric. 

Solution: This problem may be a bit professional. Many people can’t directly judge the needle shape of clothes from sweaters because it involves some knowledge of wool yarn and machine density. If you can, please take a ruler and measure how many needles/inch, because a 12GG machine has 12 needles in 1 inch, while a 7GG machine has 7 needles in 1 inch. You can roughly judge the needle shape of a sweater from this range. Thus, please let me know if there are any additional points you wanted to add. I will take every comment seriously. Your input is highly welcomed. 

Are you looking for a knitwear factory? I got you. Let me do some of the knitwear design work for you.

Have a nice design working day. I am Sherry, and I’m very glad to be of great help to you as you start your knitwear journey. You’re very much welcome to E-mail me at sherry@e-sonclothing.com for any knitwear sample development requirements. 

With 30 years of experience in knitwear production, we, the E-son Knitwear Factory, are glad to serve you.