Short answer: a clothing factory manages a bulk order by turning the approved sample into a controlled sequence: a pre-production meeting, fabric receipt and inspection, cutting, sewing on a planned line, finishing, packing and final inspection. Each step has its own checks, and most quality problems in bulk can be traced to one of them being skipped or rushed. This page walks through the steps inside the factory and what a buyer can reasonably ask to see at each.
For how factories in China plan capacity, price breaks and staged deliveries on large orders, see how China factories handle large orders. For keeping the specification under control as volume grows, see bulk clothing production in China.
1. Pre-production meeting
Before cutting, the merchandiser, production, pattern, quality and often the buyer’s representative review the approved (golden) sample, the tech pack, the bill of materials and the open comments. The purpose is to agree what will be made and how it will be checked. Ask for the meeting record: approved sample ID, specification revision, known risks and the agreed inspection points. See sample approval.
2. Fabric and trims in, and inspected
- Quantity and identity: rolls and trims checked against the purchase order, lot and colour.
- Fabric inspection: a sample of rolls inspected for defects, commonly with a four-point grading system. See four-point inspection of knit rolls.
- Shade: rolls grouped by shade so one garment is not cut from two shades. See shade bands.
- Weight and shrinkage: fabric weight against specification and a wash test before cutting, so the pattern can allow for shrinkage. See GSM tolerance.
- Relaxation: knit fabric is often left to relax off the roll before spreading, so it does not shrink back after cutting.
3. Cutting
The pattern pieces for all sizes in the order are laid out in a marker to use fabric efficiently. Fabric is spread in layers, cut, and the pieces are numbered and bundled by size and shade so that parts of one garment come from the same layer. A buyer can ask for the cut plan by size and colour and the cut-quantity report, which shows early whether the order will ship short.
4. Sewing line
- Line set-up: operations are split into steps and balanced across operators and machines. The first pieces off the line are checked against the sample.
- Inline inspection: roving checks during sewing catch stitch, seam and measurement problems while they can still be fixed.
- Measurements: a sample of garments per size measured against the graded chart and tolerances.
- Decoration: print or embroidery may happen on cut panels before sewing or on finished garments, often by a separate department or subcontractor.
Ask for a top-of-production (TOP) sample from the first output and inline inspection reports. Defect classification, for example whether an open seam is major or minor, should be agreed in advance; see open seams and broken stitches.
5. Finishing and packing
Thread trimming, pressing, attaching hangtags, folding, polybagging and cartoning to the packing list. Some buyers require needle or metal detection at this stage. Packing errors (wrong size in a bag, wrong ratio in a carton) are common; carton audits catch them.
6. Final inspection and shipment
Final random inspection is normally done when most of the order is packed, using an agreed sampling plan such as ISO 2859-1 and agreed acceptance levels. The inspector needs the golden sample, the specification and the defect list. See choosing an AQL level.
What a buyer can ask for at each step
| Step | Document or evidence |
|---|---|
| Pre-production meeting | Meeting record, approved sample ID, spec revision |
| Fabric in | Fabric inspection report, shade grouping, shrinkage test |
| Cutting | Cut plan and cut-quantity report by size and colour |
| Sewing | TOP sample, inline inspection reports, measurement records |
| Packing | Packing list, carton audit |
| Final | Final inspection report against the agreed sampling plan |
How much of this you get depends on the factory and the order, and some of it may be shared as photos rather than reports. Agree the list at order confirmation. If delivery dates start slipping, see what to ask each week.
Fact, advice and uncertainty
Fact: bulk production runs through fabric inspection, cutting, sewing, finishing, packing and final inspection, with checks at each. Advice: agree the evidence you want from each step at order confirmation, and look at the cut-quantity report and TOP sample early. Uncertainty: factories organise these steps differently; the names and order may vary, so confirm how your factory does it.
Knitwear Base runs bulk knitwear orders through these steps. For the whole sequence from brief to shipment see the custom clothing production process, or contact us through the contact page.
Sources and further reading
- ISO 2859-1:2026, Sampling procedures for inspection by attributes (AQL)
- ASTM D3776/D3776M, Standard Test Methods for Mass Per Unit Area (Weight) of Fabric
- AATCC TM135, Dimensional Changes of Fabrics after Home Laundering
- ISO 6330:2021, Domestic washing and drying procedures for textile testing
- ISO 5077:2007, Determination of dimensional change in washing and drying
Rules and standards are summarised from their official pages for general guidance; this is not legal advice. Check the current version and the requirements of your own market before you rely on them.
