From Tech Pack to First Bulk Run: What a Sock Factory Needs

Key takeaways

• A tech pack is not a mood board. It is a set of numbers a machine operator can act on.
• Quantity has to be split by design and colour, because minimums apply at that level.
• Send a physical reference sock if you have one. It communicates faster than any document.
• Two sample rounds is normal. More than that usually means the original brief was incomplete.
• The signed approval sample, not the tech pack, becomes the reference for the bulk run.

What goes in the tech pack

If you have no tech pack, send a reference sock and describe the changes you want against it. That route is often faster and produces fewer misunderstandings than a description written from scratch.

The sequence

Enquiry. Send the specification above with your destination port and target Incoterm. FOB from a Turkish port is the common baseline for EU and US buyers.

Quotation. A usable quote restates the composition, needle count, size grading, packing and Incoterm alongside the price. If those lines are missing, you cannot compare it with anything.

Sampling. At EGE SOCKS this typically takes 5 to 7 days. Expect one revision round on colour or cuff tension.

Approval. Sign the sample, note the yarn lot and colour reference on the tag, and keep it. From here on this is the reference, not the tech pack.

Bulk. Typically 3 to 4 weeks depending on quantity, design complexity and yarn availability. Jacquard, multiple colourways and terry sole constructions sit at the longer end.

Inspection and shipment. Agree in advance whether checks happen in-line, pre-shipment, or both, and who pays. Details of the production sequence are on the sock manufacturing page.

Where projects stall

Three points account for most delays.

The first is artwork. Sending a logo as a screen colour rather than a Pantone TCX reference guarantees a shade discussion at approval. Sending a mark with strokes too fine for the needle count guarantees a second sample round. Both are avoidable in ten minutes at brief stage.

The second is quantity. Brands often give a total and expect a price. Minimums are set per design and colour, so a 6,000 pair order across four designs in three colours is twelve separate minimums. At EGE SOCKS that minimum is typically 1,200 pairs per design; the precise terms for your combination of yarn, construction and packaging come when you request a quotation.

The third is packing. Deciding between a polybag and a printed multipack sleeve after sample approval means new artwork, new assembly time and a revised schedule. It is the cheapest thing to fix early and one of the more expensive to fix late.

Building a range rather than an article

If you are briefing several articles at once, group them by needle count. A range mixing 156N and 200N is entirely possible, but the two run on different machines, so the delivery dates follow the mix rather than a single date. Business socks and sports socks frequently sit on different counts within the same range.

Order slightly deeper on your safest article and thinner on the experimental one. Treat the second order as the real range decision, once you have sell-through rather than opinions.

Technical buyer checklist

• Write the specification as numbers, not adjectives.
• Split quantity by design and by colour.
• Attach artwork with Pantone TCX references, not screen values.
• Prepare a simplified logo version for the knit.
• Send a physical reference sock where one exists.
• Confirm the Incoterm and destination port at enquiry stage.
• Fix packing format and carton markings before sampling.
• Agree the number of included sample rounds.
• Sign and retain the approval sample with the yarn lot noted.
• Group range articles by needle count when planning dates.

FAQ