How to read (and fill in) an outerwear tech pack

Published 2026-07-15 · Teresita Piacentini, industrial pattern maker

What an outerwear tech pack is

The tech pack is the document that turns a design idea into production instructions. It is not a fashion sketch: it is a data package that allows anyone — pattern maker, manufacturer, quality control — to work on the same garment with the same information. For outerwear, which by construction is among the most complex garments in fashion production, an incomplete tech pack equals months of avoidable corrections.

In a pattern-making studio, the tech pack is the starting point of the work. When it arrives incomplete, the first phase of the job becomes filling the gaps — which stretches timelines and increases the risk of misunderstandings between what the designer imagined and what the pattern maker builds.

Mandatory sections

An outerwear tech pack must contain at least these elements:

• Technical flat sketch, front and back, with correct proportions. The fashion sketch is not enough: the pattern maker works on clean lines, not stylised poses.
• Bill of materials: main fabric, lining, interfacings, fills (for down jackets: down type and fill weight, baffles, hood fabric if present). Each material with its reference and, if available, the supplier.
• Size table: base development size and production range. For men's outerwear the standard range is 46–58; for women's, 38–50. If the base size is not 48 (men) or 42 (women), state it explicitly.
• Key measurements on the base size: total length, shoulder width, chest width, armhole, sleeve length, cuff. These measurements define the garment's balance and are the first things a pattern maker checks in fitting.
• Construction details: type of opening (buttons, zip, magnets), collar (with or without stand, with lapel, with hood), pockets (position, type, depth). For down jackets: number and layout of channels, baffle closure method (stitching, heat-sealing).
• Special processing instructions: heat-sealed seams, water-repellent treatments applied after making up, wind flaps at openings, layer attachment systems (in a multi-layer garment).
• Sample reference: if a sample or reference garment exists, state it. Working with a physical reference drastically reduces fitting iterations.

The difference between a base tech pack and a production tech pack

The tech pack that arrives at a pattern-making studio (base tech pack) is not the same one that goes to production (production tech pack). The base pack contains the design intentions; the production pack contains the operational instructions for the manufacturer.

The pattern maker produces the production tech pack as the output of their work: adding seam allowances (often missing from the base pack), assembly notches, grainline and stitch indications, pressing times, instructions for laying on the fabric. For technical outerwear, the production tech pack can reach 20-30 pages.

A frequent mistake by companies outsourcing pattern making for the first time is thinking the base pack is enough to start production. It is not: the transition from base pack to production pack is an integral part of the pattern-making work.

Common mistakes in the technical brief

After years of working on outerwear for Italian and French maisons, these are the errors that recur most often in the documentation we receive:

• Measurements taken from the sketch, not the finished garment. The sketch has stylised proportions (often an elongated neck, narrow waist). Measurements must be taken on a standard mannequin or a real fit model, not derived from the drawing.
• Unspecified fills. "Goose down" is not enough: you need fill weight (grams per square metre), feather/down percentage, and distribution type across the channels. These variables significantly change the finished garment's behaviour.
• Missing tolerances. The pattern maker works to precise measurements, but the client rarely specifies acceptable fitting tolerances. Without this information, it is impossible to know whether a garment can be approved or must be corrected.
• Generic material references. "Waterproof technical fabric" can be fifty different things with very different behaviours on the cutting table and in production. The precise reference (or at least weight, composition and treatment) is needed to build the pattern correctly.

How to structure the brief before contacting a pattern maker

A technical brief that lets the pattern maker quote precisely and start work without rounds of questions contains:

1. Front/back flat sketch with real proportions (not a fashion sketch).
2. A prose description of the garment: type, intended use, season, target market.
3. Bill of materials with references or technical specifications.
4. Base size and desired development range.
5. 3-5 key measurements on the base size.
6. Any production constraints: available manufacturer, specific machinery, target industrial cost.
7. Timeline: expected fitting date, sample delivery date, production date.

With these elements, work can start from the first meeting. Without them, the first session becomes an interview instead of progress on the project. What to ask a pattern-making studio about these points before committing to the work is here.

Frequently asked questions

What must an outerwear tech pack contain?

A technical flat sketch, front and back, with correct proportions; a bill of materials (for down jackets: down type and fill weight, baffles, hood fabric); a size chart with development base and production range (standard 46-58 men's, 38-50 women's); key measurements on the base size; construction details for opening, collar and pockets; special manufacturing instructions; and a sample reference where one exists.

Is a fashion sketch enough instead of a technical drawing?

No. The pattern maker works on clean lines, not stylised poses: a tech pack is not a fashion sketch but a data package that lets pattern maker, manufacturer and quality control work on the same garment with the same information. When it arrives incomplete, the first phase of the job becomes filling the gaps — longer timelines and more risk of misunderstanding.