Tech pack or RFQ brief: which do you need?
They do different jobs. An RFQ brief asks for a quotation: it names the style, the quantity, the destination and the branding. A tech pack instructs production: it records the measurements, the construction and the materials the factory must follow. You can request a quotation with a brief and a reference garment, then build the tech pack during sampling as decisions are confirmed.
If you are comparing suppliers, start with the editable RFQ and supplier comparison workbook on the OEM page so that each supplier answers the same questions. Move to a tech pack once you have chosen a development partner.
What a men’s underwear tech pack contains
- Style sheet: style name or code, season, size range, base (sample) size, date and revision number.
- Flat sketches: front and back views, with callouts for seams, stitching, labels and trims.
- Bill of materials: every fabric, elastic, thread, label and packaging item, with specification and colour.
- Construction details: seam types, stitch types and where each is used.
- Points of measure (POM) table: each measurement, how to take it and the tolerance.
- Grading: how measurements change from size to size.
- Labels and placement: size, care, content and brand labels and where they sit.
- Colourways: references for each colour and the placement of any print.
- Packaging and barcode specification.
- Test requirements: wash, colourfastness or other tests you want reported.
- Revision log: what changed, when and who approved it.
Points of measure for a boxer brief
Measure the finished garment lying flat on a table, smoothed but not stretched, unless the row says stretched. Circumferences are usually half-measurements taken edge to edge and doubled in the table; say which convention you use.
| Point | Name | How to measure |
|---|---|---|
| A | Waist, relaxed | Across the top edge of the waistband, flat and unstretched, edge to edge (double for circumference). |
| B | Waist, stretched | The same edge-to-edge measurement with the waistband stretched flat to an extension or force you agree in writing with your supplier (double for circumference). |
| C | Front rise | From the top of the waistband to the crotch seam, along the centre front, flat. |
| D | Back rise | From the top of the waistband to the crotch seam, along the centre back, flat. |
| E | Thigh width | Straight across one leg, measured about 2.5 cm (1 in) below the crotch seam. |
| F | Leg opening | Straight across the leg opening, flat and unstretched (double for circumference). |
| G | Inseam | From the crotch seam to the leg opening along the inner leg. |
| H | Waistband height | From the top edge of the waistband to its bottom edge, flat, at the centre front unless you agree another position. |
Other styles share most of these points. Trunks and briefs add or drop points: briefs have a side width rather than an inseam, and seamless garments need relaxed and stretched measurements at every point because the knit stretches more than cut-and-sew fabric.
Tolerances: agree them before sampling
A tolerance is the amount a finished measurement may differ from the spec and still pass. Without one, “close enough” gets decided at inspection. Brands set their own tolerances. As a starting point for knit underwear, many buyers discuss about ±1 cm (3/8 in) on most points and tighter limits on the points that decide fit, such as waist and rise. Treat that as a conversation starter, not a rule.
- Write the tolerance next to each measurement, as plus and minus, and say whether it applies to the flat half-measurement or to the doubled circumference.
- Say whether stretched measurements have the same tolerance as relaxed ones; elastic recovery makes them harder to hold.
- Agree what happens to a garment outside tolerance before production starts.
Grading: one approved size does not approve the size run
Grading is the rule for how each measurement changes from one size to the next. Take it from your own size chart. Choose a base size, usually the size most wearers fit, and approve the sample in that size. Then ask for graded measurements for the whole size set and check the smallest and largest sizes in a fit sample as well. A grade rule that is right for waist can be wrong for leg opening: thighs do not scale with waist in a straight line.
Bill of materials
The bill of materials lists every component so that a substitution is visible. Use one row per component.
| Component | What to specify |
|---|---|
| Main fabric | Fibre composition, knit or weave, weight in g/m², colour reference, finish, target shrinkage. |
| Waistband elastic | Composition, width, type (plain or jacquard-woven), whether the waistband is covered or exposed, logo method, colour. |
| Leg elastic or gripper | Type, width, placement. |
| Thread | Type and colour; contrast thread for visible stitching. |
| Labels | Size, care and content labels: size, material, position; brand label or printed label. |
| Hangtag and trims | Size, material, attachment method. |
| Packaging | Polybag size, header card, retail box, barcode and sticker positions, carton marks. |
Common tech-pack errors
- Describing leg length with a word instead of a measurement.
- Mixing relaxed and stretched measurements without labelling them.
- No tolerance column, so inspection has no pass or fail line.
- A bill of materials that omits elastic or thread details, which then change between sample and bulk.
- Updating the sketch but not the measurement table (or the other way round).
- Leaving the revision log empty, so nobody knows which version was approved.
A practical order of work
- Start with a reference garment and flat sketches of the garment you want.
- Measure the first sample against the table and mark every difference.
- Record fit comments against a point of measure or a photo, not a general impression.
- Revise the tech pack and the sample together, and note the change in the revision log.
- Wash and re-measure a sample before approving fabric behaviour.
- Freeze the approved version and use it for the pre-production sample.
Common questions
Do I need a tech pack to request a quotation?
No. A brief with a reference garment or sketches, your target quantities and your destination is enough to request a quotation. The tech pack takes shape during sampling.
Can YXLP draft the tech pack from my reference garment?
Send the garment, or photos with measurements, and we help draft the specification for you to review. You remain the approver of final measurements and tolerances.
Which file format should I use?
A spreadsheet or PDF with flat sketches is fine. The RFQ workbook on the OEM page is an editable starting point for the brief, but it is not a tech pack.
Which units should I use?
Both. State centimetres and inches for every measurement and say whether it is relaxed or stretched.
Ready to brief a style?
Send a reference garment or sketch, the quantities you are considering and your destination. The quotation will state what is included and how minimums are counted.