Fabric Composition 101: GSM, Denier and Twill
Three numbers and one weave name carry more real information about a fabric than any adjective ever could.
Insights
Notes from inside the supply chain.
Tech packs, sourcing, timing, production — written from 20+ years actually doing this, not generated from a keyword list. Each piece links back to the reference pages (Method, Timing, Districts, Lexicon) instead of repeating them.
Latest · Sampling
Reading a Fit Comment Sheet Without Losing the Plot
Twelve comments come back from one fit session, on three different garment areas, in no particular order. Reading them well is its own skill — and most of the confusion is avoidable.
Concept & Materials
3 pieces
Why "I Like This Fabric" Isn't a Spec
"Nice hand, good drape" describes a feeling. A fabric spec describes something a mill, a factory and a costing sheet can all agree on.
From Moodboard to Material Library
Most collections don't fail on the runway — they fail three steps earlier, in material choices nobody ever wrote down.
Technical Development
4 pieces
Grading 101: Why One Wrong Size Breaks the Whole Run
A hoodie fits perfectly in the sample size and wrong in every other size. Nothing about the fabric changed — only the grading did.
DIBA vs BOM: Are They the Same Document?
In Italian production chains, DIBA and BOM often get treated as two separate documents. They're not — and knowing that saves a lot of duplicated work.
What Goes Into a Bill of Materials
A BOM isn't a fabric list with a few trims added on top. Treated that way, it's exactly why costing sheets keep coming back wrong.
Tech Pack vs. Spec Sheet: Two Different Documents
They get used as synonyms constantly. They are not the same document, and mixing them up is exactly how a production run slips.
Sampling
3 pieces
Why Fit Sessions Get Skipped — And What It Costs Later
A fit session gets pushed back a week to save time on a tight calendar. It rarely saves anything — it just moves the same problem to a more expensive stage.
Proto, Fit and Pre-Production Samples: Three Different Jobs
Three samples of the same jacket arrive in the same week, and someone asks why they're approving "the same thing" three times. They're not.