How to Create an Apparel Tech Pack, Part 2: Mastering Technical Design Sketches

Written by Stephanie Beeching

Unlock Your Design’s Potential with Effective Technical Sketches

When it comes to garment development and production, a well-prepared technical package (tech pack) is the key to ensuring a smooth and error-free production process. Among the many components of a tech pack, the technical design sketch page serves as the blueprint that communicates your design’s construction details with precision.

 

Whether you’re working with a local factory or an overseas manufacturer, your technical sketches eliminate confusion, minimize errors, and help bring your vision to life exactly as intended.

 

In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about creating an effective Technical Design Sketch Page for your tech pack.

What are Technical Design Sketches?

Technical sketches—also called technical drawings, flat sketches, and fashion flats—are precise, black-and-white illustrations of a garment or product. They capture all essential details, from stitching and construction techniques to trims and placements, ensuring manufacturers and pattern makers have the information they need to create an accurate sample.


It is important to distinguish technical sketches from fashion illustrations. While fashion illustrations are more artistic and stylized, often featuring models and movement, technical sketches are functional and straightforward, focusing solely on the garment’s structure and technical elements.


A clear, well-executed technical sketches page is an essential part of your tech pack. If a detail isn't explicitly shown or labeled, there’s a risk it won’t be produced correctly—or at all.

Why Technical Sketches Matter to Your Tech Pack

Technical sketches are an essential tool for collaboration between designers, manufacturers, and pattern makers. They serve as a universal language, providing clarity on how a garment should be constructed.

Key Benefits of Technical Sketches:

  • Reduce costly errors: miscommunication in development or production can lead to expensive mistakes. Well-defined sketches promote accuracy.

  • Ensure design consistency: Factories and pattern makers reference these sketches throughout the process to maintain consistency

  • Clarify construction details: Features like seam placements, topstitching, and closures are visually communicated to eliminate guesswork

  • Save time: A detailed technical sketch minimizes back-and-forth revisions between the designer and the manufacturer

If your garment includes complex design elements, such as pleats, embroidery, or special closures, you may need additional sketches to highlight those specific components. The more details you provide, the better your final product will reflect your vision.

 

Apparel tech pack technical design sketch page showing multiple views of garments specifying trim and seam details.

Key Components of a Technical Design Sketch Page

Every Technical Design Sketch page should include the following elements:

  • Stitching Details

Specify top stitching placement, seam types, and finishing techniques to ensure structural integrity and aesthetic consistency

Pro Tip: When adding topstitching, always consider which side of the seam it should be on based on the seam allowance. Topstitching is typically placed on the side where the seam allowance is pressed, ensuring a clean finish and added durability. 

  • Shape & Fit

Your technical sketch should define the intended fit and silhouette of the garment, ensuring that the final product aligns with your vision. Indicate details like draping, gathering, or tailoring elements to guide the pattern-making process

  • Construction Details

Outlines how different pieces of your garment are assembled, including details like:

    • Darts, pleats, or tucks for shaping

    • Seams and panels that define the structure

    • Closures like zippers, buttons, or hook-and-eye fasteners 

  • Multiple Views

A single sketch is rarely enough to capture the full scope of a design. Your Technical Design Sketches Page should include:

  • Front view
  • Back view
  • Side view

Pro Tip: For more complex designs, additional views—such as interior details or close-ups of special features—may be necessary. Symmetrical garments may require fewer views than asymmetrical designs.

  • Fabric & Material Information

Specify the fabric type, weight, and texture, as these factors impact the construction techniques and garment behavior. Different fabrics may require adjustments to seams, reinforcements, or finishing methods. 

  • Details & Accessories

Sketches indicate all trims, fastenings, and embellishments, including:

    • Buttons

    • Zippers

    • Snaps

    • Embroidery

    • Labels & branding elements 

How to Create a Technical Design Sketches Page

Follow these steps to build a professional and effective technical sketch page:

  • Create flat, black-and-white sketches of your garment or product. Adobe Illustrator is commonly used for this purpose.

  • Include callouts and annotations for any details that aren’t immediately obvious 

  • Use schematics with arrows to indicate critical construction details, such as:

    • Stitch placement

    • Seam types

    • Hardware locations

      • Be as detailed as possible - every stitch, button, and seam should be accounted for.
      • Specify seam allowances and include stitches per inch (SPI) for sewing guidelines.
      • Follow standard sketching conventions:

        • Solid lines indicate seams

        • Dashes and dotted lines are used to point out stitching

Be as detailed as possible! Every stitch, button, and seam should be included for this process to work.

Pro Tip: Don’t over complicate your sketches! While detail is crucial, clarity is equally important. Make sure your sketches are easy to interpret by anyone involved in production.

Connecting the Pieces: Integrating the Technical Design Sketches Page Into your Tech Pack

Your Technical Design Sketches Page is one of the most important sections of your tech pack. It serves as a visual blueprint, ensuring that every construction detail is clearly communicated to pattern makers and manufacturers.


From stitches to silhouettes, every detail plays a role in ensuring your design is accurately brought to life. By providing precise, well-structured sketches, you minimize errors, save time, and create a seamless process.

 

Next up in the How to Create an Apparel Tech Pack series, The Colorways Page.

 

This article is part of our blog series, How to Create an Apparel Tech Pack. Other articles in this series are:

 

Part 1: Cover Page Explained

Part 3: Developing the Colorways Page

Part 4: Constructing A Graded Specification Sheet

Part 5: Building the Point of Measurement (POM) Page

Part 6: Crafting a Bill Of Materials (BOM)

Part 7: Assembling The Construction Details Page

Part 8: Forming The Renderings and Mockups Page

Part 9: Establishing The Labeling, Folding, and Packaging Information

Part 10: Understanding the Terminology