How Clothing Manufacturing Works: Sample to Production | AKFA

How it works: from first enquiry to delivered order

Most people approaching a clothing manufacturer for the first time have the same two questions: how long will it take, and what do I actually need to send you?

Very few manufacturers answer either one in public. This page does. Below is the full process from your first email to a box of finished garments arriving, with the real timings at each stage, what we need from you, and an honest account of what tends to slow things down.

We're a UK company with our own production, so these are our own numbers rather than an industry average.

Stage 1: The enquiry

You tell us what you want made. You don't need a finished specification, and you don't need to know the technical vocabulary — most people who contact us are making their first garment.

What helps us quote quickly:

• What the garment is, and roughly how many you want
• Your artwork or logo, in whatever format you have it
• A reference garment — a hoodie or tee you already own that feels right

That third one does more work than people expect. Naming a garment you like tells us the fabric weight, the fit and the construction in one go, and it's far easier than describing them from scratch.

Stage 2: Quote and specification

We come back with a price per piece, a sample cost and a lead time. If anything in your brief is ambiguous we'll ask rather than guess — a question now is cheaper than a wrong sample later.

At this point we agree the specification: fabric weight and composition, colour, construction, branding method and placement. This becomes the reference we manufacture against, so it's worth being particular.

A note on artwork

Vector files (.ai, .eps, or a vector .pdf) are ideal because they scale to any size without losing quality. If all you have is a logo pulled off a website, send it anyway — we redraw artwork at no extra cost.

Stage 3: Pattern and sample

We make the pattern and produce one sample garment. This takes 2–3 weeks from the point your design and spec are approved.

This is a real production piece, made on the same machines, in the same fabric, by the same people who will make your bulk order. It is not a mock-up or a visual. What you approve is what you get, which is the entire point of sampling.

If you're working to custom measurements — a tall range, a plus-size range, or simply a fit you have in mind — this is where the pattern is cut to your specification rather than adapted from a standard size.

Stage 4: Sample review

You get the sample, wear it, wash it, and tell us what's wrong with it.

Genuinely — we would rather hear that the sleeves are half an inch short than have you approve something you're not certain about. Changes at this stage cost a revision. Changes after bulk production cost the whole run.

Most samples need one round of adjustment. Some need two. A second sample adds roughly a week.

This stage is the one most likely to stretch a project, and it's the one entirely in your hands. Brands that turn sample feedback around in a few days get their stock a month earlier than those who sit on it.

Stage 5: Grading the size range

Once you've approved the fit on one size, we grade the pattern up and down to create your full range.

Grading is a one-off. Once the graded pattern exists, every size costs the same to produce — a 3XL is no more expensive than a medium, and there's no per-size surcharge on reorders.

This matters most if you're building an unusual size range. Many manufacturers either won't grade outside standard sizing or charge for each additional size. We treat it as part of getting the pattern right.

Stage 6: Bulk production

With the sample signed off, your order goes into production. Fabric is cut, garments are assembled, branding is applied, and everything is checked against the approved sample.

Four to six weeks covers the whole run, whether that's 30 pieces or 3,000. Production time is driven far more by fabric availability and finishing than by unit count, which is why our minimum is low: a short run doesn't take proportionally less time, but it doesn't take dramatically more either.

Our minimum order

Our minimum order

30 pieces per style. That's per design, not per order, and you can mix sizes freely within those 30.

Stage 7: Checking, packing and delivery

Every garment is inspected before it's packed — measurements against the approved spec, print and embroidery placement, stitching, and finishing.

We handle labels, swing tags and packaging in-house, so if you want your own branded labelling it's built into the run rather than added afterwards by someone else.

Delivery is included in the price we quote you. There's no shipping charge added at the end, and we ship worldwide.

How long does the whole thing take?

Here's the full run, cumulatively, for a straightforward first order:

Stage	Duration	Running total
Enquiry and quote	1–2 days	Day 2
Spec agreed, sampling begins	2–3 weeks	Week 3
You review the sample	3–7 days	Week 4
Bulk production	4–6 weeks	Week 8–10
Delivery	Included	Week 8–10

Realistically: eight to ten weeks from first email to stock in hand.

Add roughly a week if the sample needs a revision, which is common on a first order and usually worth doing rather than rushing an approval.

A repeat order skips everything up to production. If the pattern already exists and nothing has changed, you're looking at four to six weeks.

If you're working to a launch date, tell us the date at the start. We'll say honestly whether it's achievable rather than agreeing and hoping.

What slows orders down

In our experience, four things account for almost every delayed order — and three of them are avoidable.

Waiting on sample feedback

The single biggest one. A sample sitting unopened for three weeks pushes your delivery date back three weeks. Nothing else moves until it's approved.

Artwork that arrives late or changes

Changing a logo after the pattern is cut is fine. Changing it after production has started is not. Lock your artwork before sampling.

Specification changes mid-run

Switching fabric weight or adding a colour after production begins usually means starting that element again. Decide at the spec stage, where changes are free.

Fabric availability

The one outside everyone's control. An unusual fabric or an exact Pantone match can add time at the sourcing stage. We'll flag it at quoting if we think it's a risk, rather than discovering it three weeks in.

Getting started

You need three things to begin: an idea of what you want made, your artwork in any format, and a rough quantity. That's it.

Everything else — fabric weight, construction, sizing, branding method — we'll work through with you. You're not expected to arrive with a finished technical specification, and most of the brands we work with didn't.

Send us your design and we'll come back with a price and a timeline.

Payment terms are 50% to begin production and 50% before shipping. Samples are paid up front and credited against your first bulk order.