When you have an idea for a clothing line, or you’re working as a freelance fashion designer, you might have to source fabric.
Fabric sourcing is the industry way of saying finding a supplier who has the fabric you need for sale. This is how fashion designers get their fabric. They source – or find and buy it – from varying suppliers. This guide is going to tell you exactly how to do that, step-by-step, whether you’re looking to source fabric in the USA or online.
Unless you’ve been in the fashion industry for a while, knowing how to source fabric (and trims!) can be really overwhelming.
This guide is going to walk you through how to source fabric with low minimums, where to find suppliers, and the pros / cons of different types of vendors and fabric options.
How to Source Fabric: The Simplified Step-By-Step ProcessThere are many options to source fabric when starting a clothing line. Let’s start with a 10,000-foot view of what the process looks like:
Now this is a reeeally, REEEALY, REEEALY zoomed out view. There are a lot more details to this process, and this guide will go through all of them!
(Psst! You can also use these exact strategies to source trims + findings like zippers, buttons, ribbon, etc!)
We’ll go through all the details about types of fabric, types of suppliers, and must-know terminology first. Then I’ll share a simple step-by-step process you can easily follow to source fabric today.
Where NOT to Source Fabric for your Fashion Brand or your ClientsLet’s get this out of the way first, because it’s a mistake TONS of designers make.
Project Runway feels glamorous, and it may be your only exposure to “real” fashion. But the problem is that it’s pretty, well, unreal.
Sourcing fabric at Mood (or the Garment District, Joann’s or your local craft store) is exactly what you don’t want to do. You’re paying FULL RETAIL, which is at least 2x what you should be paying.
Retail stores have markups, and you and your clients don’t need to pay them. This guide is going to show you where and how to buy fabric wholesale (even if you only need a few yards) no matter where you live.
The best way to figure out what fabric you need for your fashion brand or your client’s line is to see what’s already in the market and find a reference sample. This is called counter sourcing, and it’s the easiest way to find the materials you need.
Once you have a reference sample (or a few), you know what fabric you’re trying to source wholesale.
Must Know Fabric Sourcing Terms ↑↑ Pin this so you can find it later! ↑↑Before you start to source fabric for your clothing line or your freelance clients, here are some basic details you should be familiar with.
This is fabric that is in stock and ready to buy. The colors, quality and any finishes are done and you buy it off or by the roll as is. This may feel limiting, but it’s actually a great option.
This is fabric that is leftover or rejected. It may be an overrun from another brand, or didn’t pass quality control inspections.
There’s controversy about whether deadstock fabric is sustainable. Do your own research to see if it’s the right choice for you.
Greige goods/yardage is raw fabric that is unbleached and undyed, ready for custom colors, finishes or treatments. (It’s a neutral color combo of grey + beige = greige!)
Typically you’ll buy a large quantity from the fabric mill and then have smaller cuts dyed and finished per your specifications.
Types of Suppliers to Source Fabric from (plus pros / cons of each)Fashion Startup Advice: In-stock or deadstock fabrics are a great low risk and low minimum place to start. Buying greige goods is a huge investment, can incur big liabilities and typically isn’t worth it for small or startup fashion brands.
A fabric mill takes the raw materials and creates fabric by weaving, knitting, etc. MOQs are often very high (500-1000+ yards) but they do allow for complete customization.
A fabric house takes the raw fabrics (greige goods) and dyes, finishes or treats them.
A factory is where the fabric is cut and sewn into finished products.
Unless you’re an established brand ready to order 1000’s of yards, you probably won’t be working directly with a fabric mill.
Pros of Buying from a Mill:
Cons of Buying from a Mill:
A fabric agent is a representative of many fabric suppliers and is a liaison for you. Their fee is usually built into the fabric cost, so you will pay a little more (in my experience about 3-5%), but their relationships, knowledge and time they’ll save you can be worth it.
If you can’t find the right fabric, get ghosted by mills, or aren’t sure what you’re looking for, an agent can simplify and streamline the process.
Think of a fabric agent like this:
↑↑ Pin this so you can find it later! ↑↑Pros of Buying from an Agent:
Cons of Buying from an Agent:
Fashion Startup Advice: Agents can be amazing. You can find them either at trade shows or through online research, and when you’ve get a good one who understands your needs and serves you well, hold on to them! I’ve worked with many in my career who helped source fabric for tons of products ranging from outerwear to underwear.
A converter buys greige goods (raw fabric) directly from the mill, dyes / finishes it, and then sells it. They tend to stock on-trend colors + prints that are sold with lower MOQs (sometimes just 1 roll). Some converters will also offer custom dyeing / finishing of greige goods with lower MOQs than you can get from a mill (a few hundred yards).
Pros of Buying from a Converter:
Cons of Buying from a Converter:
Fashion Startup Advice: Converters are a great middleman for low MOQs and on-trend fabrics.
Jobbers have been around in fashion for a really long time. They buy mill ends or small lots of leftovers from fabric mills and resell it for a profit.
Pros of Buying from a Jobber:
Cons of Buying from a Jobber:
Fashion Startup Advice: You can find good jobbers, but they’re hard to come by. They have a reputation for “misleading” and saying things will be in stock or continuous when they won’t.
An FPP is a provider who can take you from napkin sketch to finished production for your startup clothing line, including sourcing your fabric and trims. When you’re working with an FPP, all you need to get started is an idea.
That’s because they’re a one-stop shop that will help you through every step of the fashion startup process (which of course costs more). However, the time and mistakes they’ll save you from can quickly make up for the additional expense.
I’ve interviewed a few great FPP providers on my podcast. Here are a few episodes to help you learn more about how they work:
Where to Find Low Minimum Fabric Suppliers for My Clothing Line?There are a few places to find fabric mills, jobbers, converters, agents or FPP providers for your clothing line. The two best options are trade shows and online. Each of these offers plenty of low minimum options.
Often, there is a sourcing section at fashion trade shows. But there are specific fabric sourcing shows too.
If you can’t physically go to a trade show, look through the list of vendors (you can find this on the trade show website) and contact them directly.
The easiest place to start is looking through the vendors listed at trade show websites. But if you still can’t find what you need, dig deeper online.
A lot of wholesale fabric suppliers are old school and don’t have the greatest online presence, so this can be a rabbit hole. But with some digging and googling you can find great options. Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and call them. It can be a lot easier to quickly get what you need than waiting for an email (that may never get answered).
The next step is to ask for sample swatches. If you know the specs (weight, construction, finishes, etc), the supplier may be able to send you swatches from that info.
Otherwise, you’ll send them swatches of your reference fabrics (the garments you bought or pulled from your closet, and yes this means you have to cut those garments up). The supplier will find similar fabrics and send you samples.
Most suppliers do charge for swatches + shipping, so be prepared to pay for this. (If you’re sourcing for a freelance client, the client should pay for any hard costs like these.)
Once you have swatches, decide which fabrics you like or get approval from your client and buy sample yardage. The price per yard may be higher than buying for bulk, but do not skip this step. Sew up some samples for wash / wear testing to make sure the fabric is perfect before ordering bulk yardage (use a tech pack for sample / bulk production).
Must Know Fabric Details for SourcingYou’ll be talking to a lot of people and looking through a lot of swatches when sourcing. Make sure to keep detailed notes about who you talked to, where swatches came from, and all the fabric details.
Most suppliers will send their swatches on header cards or hangers. These informational cards are attached to the fabric and include details like the supplier, content, weight, etc. They look like this:
Photo credit: Vend Fabrics LTDIf the header card doesn’t include the following details, ask for the information and take your own notes:
You’ll want all this information for your tech pack!
Payments + Timelines for Custom Wholesale FabricIf your fabric is being custom dyed or developed, pay 50% down and 50% when the shipment is ready. Do not pay 100% up front. (For in-stock, deadstock or other available fabric, you’ll simply order what you need and pay up front.)
Custom development can take a few months. While your fabric is being developed, keep in touch with your supplier every couple of weeks to see how things are going and get status updates.
(In fashion, it’s very typical to check up on your factories and suppliers frequently to make sure things are on track. Don’t feel like you’re pestering!)
If you’ve been ghosted by fabric suppliers, chances are it’s because:
There are a lot of people out there who want to start a clothing line, and suppliers get a lot of inquiries. Your message may get pushed to the bottom and never answered.
Here’s what you want to include in your email:
This guide covered a lot of types of suppliers, processes and steps along the way for sourcing fabric. It can be an overwhelming part of the whole process of starting a clothing line but it’s an important step to make sure you’re ready to reach out to factories!
*There are a lot more steps to launching a clothing line, such as marketing, pre-selling, etc. that you’ll need to explore as well! But this guide is about sourcing, not marketing, so we’re keeping it super simple and focused on getting fabrics and trims for your clothing line. Make sure to check out the Successful Fashion Freelancer podcast to learn more about how you can help your clients kickstart their brands!
Now that you understand the process of sourcing low minimum fabrics and trims for a small clothing line, it’s time to take action! Don’t overthink it. Use the links and free email templates I’ve provided to reach out to suppliers who are a good fit for you and your clients, and keep track of what you learn! Before you know it, you’ll be another step closer to your freelance biz goals and getting your fashion designs into production.
Starting a clothing line involves countless moving parts. Beginning with a great foundation and high-quality materials can set you apart from other fashion brands. But fabric sourcing can be overwhelming. There are various types of fabric qualities—knit, woven, yarn dyed, and printed—as well as many techniques for knitting, weaving, and printing. Where do you start?
For many fashion designers, sourcing fabric is the first step of the design process. The next step is designing garments around that fabric. Choosing the right materials for your products can make an impact on your sales and customer satisfaction—no one wants a scratchy t-shirt or pants that shrink in the wash.
In this article, you’ll learn how to source the right fabrics in a few steps, the different types of fabrics and suppliers, and the right questions to ask when you’re choosing fabrics for your clothing line.
Fabric sourcing is the process of finding a supplier who produces the fabric you need and managing the supply chain and delivery to get the required goods on time, within budget, and without any damage.
Understanding how fabric is constructed and what fabric type is best for the product you’re designing is a crucial step in the design process.
While there are many different ways fabric can be constructed—two of the most commonly used fabric construction types are knits and wovens.
Knitted fabrics are usually lightweight, comfortable, and don’t require much care to keep up their appearance. Knits tend to resist wrinkling making them a more popular fabric choice. Knitted fabric is used when designing soft, comfortable tops, bottoms, and undergarments. Their elastic nature also works well for active clothing.
Today, knits are available in various fibers, such as linen, silk, wool, Tencel, polyester, cotton, and cotton blends.
There are two fundamental ways that knits get made:
This article in Threads Magazine gives you an in-depth look at knit fabric construction. Real Simple’s glossary of t-shirt fabrics is a helpful resource to learn more about knit fabric types that brands use for t-shirts.
Woven fabrics are made with two or more sets of yarns interlaced at right angles to each other and are constructed on a machine called a handloom or power loom. Frequent characteristics of woven fabrics are opacity, abrasion resistance, and pill resistance. The higher the thread count, the higher the quality and strength. Uses for wovens include denim and formal pants, button-down shirts, and jackets.
Two classifications of woven fabrics are:
Learn more: Tune in to Shopify Masters to hear from retailer Yanal Dhailieh, founder of Peace Collective, about how a single breakout moment helped them drive lasting growth for their two retail stores.
Finding reliable fabric suppliers is a critical step in starting a clothing line. It’s best to find partners that can guarantee the stock you need as well as on-time delivery.
There are three different types of fabric suppliers that are defined based on how they operate and what kind of fabric they stock.
Sourcing fabric in person at fabric trade shows allows you to see and touch the materials. However, you can also find fabric suppliers online and order fabric hangers (a.k.a. swatches or samples) that you can review at your studio or office. Depending on the fabric mill, they may charge you a fee, usually around $5 to $10 for each fabric hanger.
Fabric trade shows can be overwhelming. Rows and rows of supplier booths, sometimes hundreds, are a lot to look at in a few hours. You can research the exhibiting fabric mills before the trade show and make a list of your top 10. Leave yourself a few extra minutes, just in case you discover fabric suppliers that you didn’t find during your online search.
Two fabric trade shows that you can start with are:
Here’s a list of textile trade shows in the US, in chronological order.
If you can’t make it to a fabric trade show, searching trade show websites for fabric suppliers that meet your criteria is the next best option. These days, many fabric suppliers, if not all, have a fabric catalog on their website. You can peruse at your leisure and then request fabric headers (sometimes called hangers) that you can review in the comfort of your office.
Knowing the right questions to ask and what to look for when sourcing fabric for your clothing line is crucial. Many brands create a spec sheet template, a form that lists specific information about each fabric quality. In some cases, the fabric supplier may already have a spec sheet that they can share with you.
Here are 10 questions to ask fabric suppliers while you’re sourcing fabric for your clothing line.
Just like finished products that you sell through your ecommerce store, fabric suppliers create article or item numbers for each fabric quality that they sell. The fabric article number is usually found on the fabric hangers. Take note of this number, as you’ll need it when you order the sample and bulk fabric yardage.
It’s important to think about the fabric weight of each garment you are designing. You most likely will not use the same fabric weight for every product in your collection. Often, bottoms use a heavier-weight fabric than tops. However, it depends on each specific garment and how you want the fabric to drape or lay over the wearer’s body.
Fabric weight gets listed in grams per square meter (GSM or GR/M2). Below are a few examples of fabric weights used for different types of knit garments.
Please note, these fabric weights are suggestions based on experience. The fabric weight you choose may vary for your clothing line.
Fabric content refers to the makeup of the fibers that are used to knit or weave the fabric. Commonly used fibers are rayon, cotton, polyester, and silk.
Fabric construction involves the conversion of yarns and sometimes fibers into a piece of fabric that is then used to make an end product. Fabric characteristics are determined by the materials and methods used to construct the fabric. Presently, most fabric production uses interlacing methods, such as weaving or knitting.
Fabric width is the measurement across the width of the fabric roll from edge to edge. Fabric suppliers will provide you with two points of measurement (if they don’t, ask for it).
The two measurements to consider are the total width and the cuttable width. The edges of the fabric can be skewed or damaged during production and transportation, so it’s best to refer to the cuttable width for a more precise measurement of fabric that is usable.
Depending on your target retail price for the garments that you will sell to consumers and the fabric yield for each garment, you can determine your target fabric price per yard or meter for each fabric. Keep this target price in mind when you are sourcing new materials to ensure that you are within your budget.
Typically, fabric pricing per yard or meter can change from year to year, depending on the market and the cost of resources to make the fabric. Also, buying fabric in bulk usually costs less than purchasing sample yardage. You can ask the fabric supplier for their sample and bulk price per yard. The cost per yard for sample fabric can be $3 to $5 more, and in some cases double the bulk yardage price.
MOQ refers to the minimum amount of fabric yardage that you must buy per order from a supplier. In most cases, fabric mills have an MOQ for sample yardage, usually at least five yards, and a different MOQ for bulk yardage. Depending on the supplier you are working with, bulk fabric yardage MOQs vary.
For example, if a supplier requires an MOQ of 500 yards, you must purchase at least 500 yards to be able to deal with that supplier. In some cases, the fabric supplier will allow you to order less than the MOQ by applying a surcharge to the price per yard.
You can ask if you can apply the bulk MOQ across multiple colors of the same fabric quality or if it’s per fabric, per color. Applying the MOQ across more than one color is a way to maximize your buying options if you are unable to buy 500 yards of one color.
The time between the initiation of a fabric order and the completion of a production and delivery process is the fabric delivery lead time. Some fabric suppliers keep stock of the fabric that they sell, resulting in quick turnaround time from the moment you place your order to the delivery at your factory. Other suppliers have delivery lead times ranging from four weeks to eight weeks. You can ask for fabric delivery lead times for sample yardage and bulk yardage. Sample yardage usually has a shorter delivery lead time.
The country of origin or COO is the country where the production of the fabric and shipping takes place. It’s important to ask for this information as it must go on the inside label of your garments and it will also affect the cost of your fabric. Here is an overview of key terms to know if you are importing your fabric from overseas.
The recommended method for washing fabric varies for each fabric type and depends on the fabric content and construction. Fabric care instructions are provided to uphold fabric integrity over time. Some fibers get damaged in high heat, or they have higher shrinkage rates than others when placed in the dryer. Other fabrics, like silk, are often dry clean only. Here is an overview of care symbols and what they mean.
Like most industries, the fashion industry has its own language for sourcing and manufacturing. These nine terms can help you navigate fabric sourcing like a pro.
Fabric hand refers to the way the fabric feels when you touch it with your hand. There are no definitive fashion industry terms for fabric hand, but commonly used words to describe fabric hand are soft, cool, dry, and silky.
The selvage is the finished edge of the fabric. It keeps it from unraveling and fraying. The salvage runs the entire length of the material.
The grainline of the fabric is broken up into three options:
Fabric drape is one of the most important factors to consider when constructing a garment. Drape refers to how the fabric hangs or falls on the body. You can decide whether you want a dress to hug the body or hang away from the body.
A fabric hanger, also referred to as a fabric header, serves as a fabric sample. It’s a small cutting of the fabric so buyers can see and feel the material firsthand. You can also use the swatch as a reference during the design process.
Sample yardage is the fabric that you order when designing and developing samples. Typically it costs more than bulk fabric yardage that you buy for production. Most fabric suppliers require a five-yard minimum order for sample yardage.
Bulk yardage is the fabric that you order after you have designed, developed, and approved your garments. Bulk yardage refers to the more significant quantity of fabric yardage that you buy to manufacture your products. Depending on the supplier, there may be sizable minimum order requirements, or you can order a small quantity at a higher price per yard.
Greige is an unfinished woven or knitted fabric in its raw state, before being bleached, dyed, or printed.
Shrinkage is the process in which a piece of fabric becomes smaller than its original size, usually through the process of laundry. Typically represented as a percentage, it’s up to you to decide what your tolerance level is for fabric shrinkage. Confirming the shrinkage rate before you go to production can help you determine if you need to adjust the fit specifications of a garment to account for shrinkage.
Now that you have a better idea of the fabric sourcing process and commonly used terms, it’s time to visit trade shows, order samples, and look at what other comparable retailers are using for their products to spark ideas and inspire your next collection.
Fabric sourcing is the act of finding fabric or a fabric supplier that helps you gather the best fabric options for your clothing line.
To source fabric for your clothing line, you’ll need to attend trade shows or look online to find the best fabric supplier to fit what you’re looking for. Then, you’ll reach out to create a partnership and add them into your supply chain so you’ll have a steady supply of stunning fabrics.
Fabric sourcing and ensuring you have a wide variety of fabrics available helps to ensure that your clothes are unique, comfortable, chic, and appealing to your target audience.
Many designers source their fabrics directly from manufacturers. They’re able to view a collection once it’s been created and choose the fabrics they want to use in their next line.