Comment rédiger un dossier technique de lingerie (même sans styliste)

A tech pack is the document that closes the gap between what you have in your head and what a factory produces. Without one, you are asking a manufacturer to guess at details that directly affect fit, quality, and cost. With a clear tech pack, you get more accurate quotes, faster sampling, and fewer revision rounds. This guide explains what goes into a lingerie tech pack and how to build one without a professional design background.

What Is a Tech Pack?

A tech pack (technical package) is a structured document that communicates every specification of a garment to a manufacturer. It is the single source of truth for your product — the reference that the factory uses to produce samples and, later, bulk orders. A complete tech pack eliminates the need for lengthy back-and-forth emails about basic specifications and reduces the risk of costly misunderstandings in production.

For lingerie specifically, tech packs matter more than in many other garment categories. Bras and fitted underwear have tight construction tolerances. A 5mm variance in underwire length, band length, or cup seam placement produces a noticeably different product. These details cannot be communicated through a mood board or a photograph — they require precise written specifications.

The Six Core Sections of a Lingerie Tech Pack

1. Design Sketch or Technical Flat

A technical flat is a front and back line drawing of your garment — clean, proportional, and without a model. It does not need to be professionally illustrated. A clear sketch made in Canva, Adobe Illustrator, or even drawn by hand and photographed will work, provided it accurately represents the silhouette, seam lines, strap placement, and closure position.

Label every element on the sketch: straps, underwire channel, cups, band, center front panel, hook-and-eye closure, and any decorative details. If you have a reference garment that approximates what you want, photograph it from front, back, and side and include it alongside your sketch.

2. Measurements and Size Specifications

This is the most technically demanding section. Specify measurements for your sample size (typically 75B or 80B for bras, Medium for panties) and define how measurements should be taken. Key measurements for a bra include:

• Band length: Unstretched and fully stretched
• Cup height: From wire channel to top of cup
• Cup width: Across the widest point of the cup
• Strap length and width: Including adjustment range
• Underwire length and projection: Width of wire and depth of cup at underwire
• Center front height: Height of the gore (center panel between cups)
• Back band height: At center back

If you are building a size range, include a grading table that shows how each measurement increases or decreases per size increment. If you are unsure about grading, ask the factory — most experienced manufacturers can propose a grading spec based on your sample size measurements.

3. Fabric and Material Specifications

Specify the fabric for every component of the garment. For each fabric, include:

• Teneur en fibres : e.g., 90% nylon / 10% spandex
• Weight: In grams per square meter (GSM) if known
• Finish: Matte, shiny, brushed, mesh, etc.
• Sens d'étirement : Two-way or four-way stretch
• Color reference: Pantone code preferred; physical swatches are even better

Also specify all trims: underwire type and gauge, hook-and-eye size and row count, elastic width and stretch ratio, padding thickness and shape, lace width, and any decorative elements. If you have a physical reference for any material — a swatch of lace you want to replicate, or an underwire from a garment you are using as a benchmark — send it with your tech pack.

4. Construction Notes

Construction notes describe how the garment is assembled. You do not need to know every technical sewing term, but you do need to specify anything that deviates from standard construction or that is important to the look and feel of your product. Common construction notes for lingerie include:

• Seam type for cup seams (overlock, flatlocked, or covered with lace)
• Whether underwire casing should be visible or hidden
• Strap attachment method (sewn, adjustable, or convertible)
• Padding: molded cup, foam insert, or lightly lined only
• Closure: hook-and-eye rows, front clasp, or pullover
• Finishing on cut edges: turned and stitched, bound, or raw cut with non-fray elastic

5. Labeling and Packaging Requirements

Specify every label that goes into and onto the garment:

• Brand label: Placement (center back neck, side seam, etc.), size, and attachment method
• Size label: Position and format
• Care label: Required washing instructions for your target market (EU and US have different requirements)
• Hang tag: Attachment point and lanyard type
• Poly bag: Size, self-seal or header card, barcode requirement

If you do not yet have artwork for your labels, note this in the tech pack and confirm when artwork will be provided. Factories need label artwork before production begins — do not assume they will wait until the last minute.

6. Quality Standards and Inspection Points

Define what acceptable quality looks like. This section can be brief for a first order but becomes more important as your volume grows. Minimum quality notes include:

• Acceptable color deviation range (e.g., within 1.0 Delta E of Pantone reference)
• Seam strength expectations for high-stress points (straps, underwire channel)
• Symmetry tolerance for cup seams and underwire placement
• Finishing standard: no loose threads, no skipped stitches, no pilling on cut edges

What You Can Skip on a First Tech Pack

New brand owners often delay starting a tech pack because they feel they need to know everything before putting anything on paper. In practice, a first tech pack does not need to be perfect — it needs to be clear enough to produce a sample that you can react to.

You can skip or simplify:

• Formal grading tables — specify the sample size only and ask the factory to propose grading
• Precise GSM for fabrics — describe the hand feel and send a reference swatch instead
• Detailed construction diagrams — a clear sketch plus a reference garment covers most cases
• Final packaging specs — these can be confirmed after sample approval

Tools for Building a Tech Pack Without Design Software

You do not need Adobe Illustrator or industry-specific PLM software to create a usable tech pack. Practical alternatives:

• Google Slides or PowerPoint: Effective for organizing sections, inserting sketches and photos, and sharing with factories as a PDF
• Canva: Useful for clean layouts if you are comfortable with the tool
• Excel or Google Sheets: Best for measurement tables and size grading; pair with a separate sketch document
• A physical reference garment: Often more useful than any document — send a garment that represents the construction or fit you want and annotate the deviations in writing

How TELIGE Works With Your Tech Pack

When you send us a tech pack, our sampling team reviews it for completeness before confirming a sample lead time. If specifications are missing or unclear, we flag them with specific questions rather than guessing. For buyers who do not have a tech pack, we provide a specification template and can work from a reference garment plus written notes to develop a first sample.

The goal of the tech pack review is to ensure that the first sample is close enough to your target that revisions are about fine-tuning, not correcting fundamental misunderstandings. This approach saves time and sampling cost for both sides.

En résumé

A good lingerie tech pack does not require a design degree. It requires a clear sketch, precise measurements for your sample size, complete material specifications, and enough construction detail to eliminate ambiguity. Start with those four elements and iterate. The best tech pack is the one you can produce now — not the perfect one you never finish.

If you are ready to start sampling and want to discuss your specifications, contacter TELIGE. We can review your tech pack or brief and advise on what additional information is needed before production.