How to Write a Tech Pack for Bed Linen

A bed linen tech pack is the single document that tells a manufacturer exactly what to make: finished measurements with tolerances, the fabric and construction, colour references, stitching and finishing detail, and labelling and packing. Write it clearly and a supplier can sample straight from it. Write it loosely and the first thing you get back is not a sample but a list of questions, which is a week gone before any cloth is cut.

Most delays on a first order live at this stage, not in production. A vague brief triggers a round of clarification, then a sample, then a round of corrections, and each correction is another sampling cycle. Two brands can send an enquiry on the same day and receive approved samples weeks apart, purely on how completely the first one specified the product. This guide sets out what belongs in a tech pack for bed linen, and where buyers most often leave a gap.

Why the tech pack decides your sampling speed

Sampling is where mistakes are cheap. A wrong hem depth, a colour that reads too warm, a shrinkage figure you cannot live with: caught on a counter sample, each costs a week and a courier. Caught on a finished container, they cost the order. The tech pack is what lets that catching happen early.

Counter samples run in about a week on woven goods and about ten days on knitted, from an agreed specification. That last phrase is the point. The clock starts from an agreed specification, so the completeness of your tech pack sets the pace. Samples are chargeable and the charge is adjusted against your first bulk order, so a well specified sample is not wasted spend, it is the cheapest place you will ever fix a problem.

What a bed linen tech pack must contain

A workable tech pack for a bedding item covers seven areas. Treat this as a checklist and fill every row before you send it.

Section	What to include
Item and style	Product type, style name or code, intended market, size range
Fabric	Fibre and blend, construction, weight target, weave or knit type
Measurements	Finished dimensions per size, with a labelled diagram
Tolerances	Allowed variance on each critical dimension
Colour	Pantone TCX reference or a physical standard, plus placement
Construction detail	Hem type and depth, stitch type, closures, trims, embroidery
Labelling and packing	Care and content labels, folding, polybag, carton and carton marks

The two sections buyers most often skimp on are tolerances and packing. Both feel like detail you can settle later. Both come back as disputes when a bulk delivery is measured or opened, so they belong in the document from the start.

Measurements and tolerances

Give finished measurements, not cut sizes, and give them for every size in the range. A flat sheet, a fitted sheet, a duvet cover and a pillowcase each need their own set of dimensions, and a fitted sheet also needs a pocket depth, which varies by market and by the mattress the range is aimed at.

Bed sizes are not standardised across markets, so state which market each size serves. A "king" is not one dimension worldwide.

Market	Note for the tech pack
UK	UK king and super king differ from US equivalents; label them explicitly
US and Canada	Queen and king dominate; deep mattresses drive pocket depth
Europe	Duvet sizes and single sizes differ from UK; specify in centimetres
Australia and New Zealand	Own size names again; do not assume UK or US carries over

Then set tolerances. Cloth relaxes, shrinks and is cut by hand, so no woven or knitted item finishes to an exact millimetre. A tolerance tells the maker how much variance is acceptable on each critical dimension, and it tells your QC team what to pass. Specify it yourself rather than leaving it open, and pair it with a shrinkage expectation after a stated wash, since a sheet measured off the finishing table and the same sheet after a home wash are two different measurements.

Colour, and how to reference it

Never describe a colour in words alone. "Warm ivory" means one thing to you and another to a dyehouse. Give a Pantone TCX reference or send a physical colour standard, and expect a lab dip or strike off back for approval before bulk. The colour matching loop exists so that what you approve is what you receive, and it only works if your starting reference is precise.

State placement as well as shade: which panel, which thread in an embroidery, which contrast on piping. If a design uses more than one colour, number them and map each to its own reference. AZO-free dyes are standard here, so if your market has specific restricted substance requirements, note them in the tech pack so they are designed in rather than checked after.

Construction, stitching and finishing

This is where a generic sheet becomes your product. Specify the weave or knit, the hem type and its depth, the stitch type and, where it matters to you, the density. Call out closures on duvet covers, buttons, ties, zips or a hidden placket, and specify trims such as piping, cording or a flange with their dimensions. If the item carries embroidery, quilting, a foil print or a washed finish, describe it and attach a reference sample or artwork rather than a description.

Fabric width is worth checking early for wide bedding. Woven widths here run to 136 inches, so a wide duvet cover or a large flat sheet can be made without a centre seam. If seamless matters to your design, say so in the tech pack, because it constrains the fabric and is far cheaper to plan than to retrofit.

Where you can, attach a reference sample. A physical sample of a hem you like, or a competitor product whose hand you are matching, tells a manufacturer more than a paragraph can. It does not replace the written spec; it anchors it.

What not to over-specify

A tech pack should be complete, not rigid on the wrong things. If you are not yet sure of a construction, say what the product must do rather than dictating a method the factory may improve on. Fixing a weight or a count you copied from an unrelated product, without knowing why, can force a worse result than describing the hand and drape you want and letting the maker propose the cloth. Concede the choices you do not have a reason to make, and hold firm on the ones tied to your brand and your market. See private label for how specification, minimums and sampling sit together on a first programme.

Common questions

Do I need a full tech pack for my very first sample?

The more complete it is, the faster and truer the first sample. A partial brief will still get a sample, but usually after a round of questions, and the sample is more likely to need correction. If you do not yet have a tech pack, send measurements, a colour reference and a physical example of what you want, and build the formal document from the first sample.

What is the difference between a tech pack and a specification sheet?

They overlap. In practice a tech pack is the fuller package: measurements, tolerances, colour, construction, labelling, packing and any artwork or reference samples, gathered per style. A specification sheet is often just the measurement and construction table within it. For manufacturing, aim for the fuller version.

How do I set tolerances if I have never done it before?

Start from the critical dimensions a customer or a QC inspector would actually measure, such as overall width and length and fitted sheet pocket depth, and set a realistic variance on each rather than demanding an exact figure. Pair each with a shrinkage expectation after a stated wash. If you are unsure, ask the manufacturer what is achievable for the fabric and construction before you commit the numbers.

Can you help me build a tech pack from scratch?

Yes. Send what you have, even a mood board or a reference product, through contact and the specification can be developed together during sampling, then documented so your reorders run from a fixed standard.