One of the reasons a garment may fail to make a mark is because of its fabric. Fabric is the foundation of garments.

Based on your product, you can pick any fabric that best meets its needs. For designing and developing swimwear, nylon, spandex and polyester are great fabric choices. On the other hand, if you’re creating children’s clothing line, stick to natural fabrics, such as cotton or wool.

Your choice of fabric will depend on your product and your target audience’s requirements. However, one thing is certain: the fabric you select will affect your sales and revenue. Often, consumers reject a product if they are not satisfied with the content and quality of a fabric.

You need to make your choice wisely. Here are some common mistakes you can avoid when sourcing fabric:

Not considering price of fabric

Generally speaking, fabric accounts for nearly 60 percent of your garment costs. It’s crucial that you keep this factor in mind when selecting fabric every season. Select a high quality, proper fitting fabric that still suits your budget and pricing.

Ignoring fabric functionality

It really doesn’t matter how beautiful clothes look if the fabric isn’t comfortable and long lasting  Poor comfort and quality will fail to make a positive impression on your target audience.

In order to ensure the performance of your fabric, test it. You can perform digital printing, heat transfers, sublimation printing, or wet printing for testing.

Work on the finishing of the fabric. Temporary finish tends to wash and wear off quickly. Make sure it doesn’t bleed color as well. Every fabric is different. It’s crucial to choose the right base fabric.

Not confirming fabric availability

The majority of domestic fabric stores sell a certain amount of yardage. There’s a chance that the fabric you want won’t be available when you need it.  To be on the safe side, order the fabric beforehand for every upcoming season.  

Being inflexible

As a designer, you may have a specific fabric in mind for your design. It’s great that you know what you want. But, sometimes, a fabric may not look exactly as you expected.

Creating a new fabric from scratch can take a lot of time. Be prepared to consider other fabric samples in order to ensure product production on time.

Not working with a factory

Finally, leave all your fabric and trim sourcing to an apparel factory. At Lefty Production Co., we know where you can find the best fabric at the best prices.

As a one-stop accessories and apparel design, development and production factory, we create a variety of products, including men’s wear, children’s wear, women’s wear, swimwear and bikinis, athletic wear, bridal dresses, handbags and accessories and more.