Clothing Sample Production Service

The sample types and what each one proves

Not all samples do the same job. A proto sample tests the idea: it proves the pattern and construction, often in a substitute fabric or colour, and exists to generate fit comments. A fit sample refines measurements on the corrected pattern. A pre-production sample, made in the actual fabric with the actual trims, labels and decoration, is the contract: bulk production must match it.

Some buyers also need salesman samples in small multiples for showrooms or photography, and a size set to verify grading across the range. We produce whichever combination your project genuinely needs rather than pushing every stage on every style.

Skipping stages is sometimes reasonable: a simple tee from a proven block can go straight to a pre-production sample. Skipping the pre-production sample itself is not; approving bulk against a photo instead of a physical garment is how expensive disputes start.

How sampling runs in our workflow

After the technical review of your tech pack, sketch or reference garment, patterns are prepared and sample fabric is pulled, either from stock close to your target quality or from the actual sourced fabric when timing allows. The sample room cuts, sews and finishes the garment, decoration included when it affects your decision.

Each round takes one to two weeks. You receive photos and measurements first, then the physical sample by courier, typically two to four days to Europe or North America. Your fit comments come back to us in plain language and we translate them into pattern and construction changes.

Once you approve the pre-production sample, its measurements become the quality control standard for bulk. Every inline check and the final inspection is measured against what you signed off, which is what keeps bulk honest.

• Proto, fit, pre-production, size set and salesman samples
• Real fabric and trims at pre-production stage
• Photos and measurement charts before shipping
• Courier delivery worldwide in 2-4 days
• Approved sample becomes the bulk QC standard

Sampling costs and how to keep them down

Samples are charged per piece and cost more per unit than bulk garments, because a sample room makes one garment through every operation that a line would split across many operators, and sample fabric is often bought in small cuts at higher prices. This is normal across the industry, and sampling charges are commonly credited or reduced against a confirmed bulk order.

The biggest cost saver is a clear brief. A complete measurement chart, honest reference photos and decisive comments per round reduce the number of rounds, and rounds are where sampling budgets go. Two focused rounds are cheaper than four vague ones.

Decoration on samples is priced realistically: a screen printed sample may carry setup cost for the screens, so for early rounds we sometimes simulate placement prints with DTF transfers and reserve exact screen printing for the pre-production sample.

When to sample and when you are over-sampling

Always sample before a first bulk with a new style, a new fabric or a new factory. Always re-sample when you change fabric composition or a core measurement, because knits behave differently at different weights and a pattern is only correct for the fabric it was drafted on.

You are over-sampling if you request full rounds for trivial changes such as a label position, or if you restart sampling for a colour change on an approved style. Those are checked with photos, strike-offs or lab dips instead of full garments.

For reorders of an unchanged style, no new sampling is needed; production runs against the retained approved sample and its measurement chart.

Why sample in Turkey rather than by mail-order

Speed is the obvious reason: one to two weeks per round plus a few days of courier beats the month-long cycles common with distant suppliers, and a compressed sampling calendar is often the difference between hitting a season and missing it.

Depth is the less obvious one. Because Turkish mills, print houses and sample rooms sit close together, a sample can use the real fabric and the real decoration technique early, so what you approve is close to what bulk will be. Approving a sample in a stand-in fabric from a different supply chain proves much less.

Our production management keeps sampling and bulk in the same hands, so nothing gets lost between the sample room that made your garment and the factory that will make three hundred of it.