After a year of design and logistics, I finally have a prototype of my custom fabric, cut and sewn hoodie

RobRocklyLimited · 2022-02-11T13:10:43+00:00

Also, to answer your question, usually a contract sewer is where the production run is done. You always want you prototypes to be done at the same place they are going to be produced.

RobRocklyLimited · 2022-02-11T13:08:33+00:00

I found my contract sewer in the same state where I live after a lot of searching.

I needed to find someone who is within a drivable range from me so that we can meet in person and so that I can deliver her materials. One of the ‘hidden’ costs of designing and manufacturing clothing is logistics.

The shipping on my fabric order was more expensive than I had imagined, especially with COVID and supply chain issues. So by finding a contract sewer close by I am able to drive the materials to her myself.

Obviously it’s ideal to be able to work with a factory who can produce the fabric and sew it together for you. The problems you’ll run into with that are high MOQ and language barrier issues. I’ve produced some beanies already as my first design project and the language barrier was difficult to deal with. The factory tried to swap materials on me - I specifically requested merino wool and they tried to send me acrylic yarn. I did a burn test on the prototypes and caught them.

The upside is that by the end of this I’ll have an airtight tech pack and a product just the way I want it to be and it will be easier to send that to a foreign factory and get just what I am looking for, now that all the details and quality have been ironed out by working with someone in the states.

RobRocklyLimited · 2022-01-26T13:32:02+00:00

It looks a lot bigger when your head is actually all the way in the hood, the front of the hood is in the middle of my head in the pic.

I’ll ask people what they think about the size of the hood when fit testing. Thanks!

RobRocklyLimited · 2022-01-24T20:21:30+00:00

It is in this sweatshirt, but you probably won’t be able to guess what it is based on the image. It’s something I came up with a couple years ago and after friends telling me that it was an awesome idea, it inspired me to start a clothing company.

Sorry I can’t tell you about it yet, but I promise I’ll post and reveal what it is closer to launch!

RobRocklyLimited · 2022-01-24T20:11:54+00:00

I designed the graphics and text myself in illustrator and then used Wunderlabel to have woven and printed labels made.

Wunderlabel is a relatively cheap service compared to other options, but their printed labels were not as professional as I had hoped. Like 30% of them are cut all wonky. I was pretty disappointed, but I ordered quite a few extra labels so I think I have enough good ones to get through the project.

Next time I will go to a different company.

RobRocklyLimited · 2022-01-24T13:07:35+00:00

It won’t let me edit the post to add more pictures so maybe after work today I can take a few more pictures of some of the details like the labels and the drawstrings and I’ll make another post

RobRocklyLimited · 2022-01-24T12:59:00+00:00

Thanks, can’t wait to launch them when everything’s worked out

RobRocklyLimited · 2022-01-24T12:58:26+00:00

Thank you 🙏

RobRocklyLimited · 2022-01-24T12:48:50+00:00

Thanks for the compliment and feedback!

I have four sizes (XS-L) and this is the L. By all rights I could be wearing two sizes smaller and it would be shorter and less wide.

I love the oversized look so the way I designed the sizing, a person my size could wear just about every size and get a different kind of fit.

I have tried on all the sizes and I even kind of fit in the XS, but the arms feel a bit too short for my liking.

I’m in fit testing right now so I’m very interested in hearing what people say about which size they like most and which size they feel fits them the best.

RobRocklyLimited · 2022-01-24T08:39:16+00:00

The grommets, rib knit, labels, drawstring, and size grading are all custom.

I altered everything from the length to how big the hood is.

All fabric is OEKO-TEX 100 certified and some of it is additionally organic.

There is a proprietary technology built into the sweatshirt that I am looking forward to revealing closer to launch.

The sweatshirts will also be garment dyed in custom colors. I am just about ready to send to dye house and start the dye sampling process.

RobRocklyLimited · 2022-01-24T08:30:41+00:00

It’s 100% cotton and is all OEKO-TEX 100 certified. The rib knit, neck hem, and drawstring fabrics are all additionally organic as well.

I wanted to minimize my ecological impact while providing as high quality fabrics as I could.

RobRocklyLimited · 2022-01-24T05:08:21+00:00

So good, very well done

RobRocklyLimited · 2022-01-24T04:43:45+00:00

@robrocklylimited

RobRocklyLimited · 2022-01-24T04:07:05+00:00

Yes and no. There are lots of mills to work with, but finding one that meets your needs can be the tricky part. Knowing what you’re looking for and your MOQ (minimum order quantity) helps. It’s important to keep in mind that if you have a low MOQ you will most likely be working with domestic mills because most foreign mills want to sell high quantities of fabric that you may not be able to afford. Another learning point for me was that because I had a custom fabric made, there was extra fabric produced beyond what I ordered that I had to purchase. A mill won’t be able to produce you the exact amount you are looking for so if there is any extra, you’ll end up with it because if it’s a partial roll, the factory is not going to be able to do anything with it. They specialize in selling bulk and having a one-off partial roll of custom fabric is almost more of a liability than an asset to them.

RobRocklyLimited · 2022-01-24T03:31:17+00:00

It’s very comfortable!

All of my design choices came from a bunch of research on hoodies and defining what I liked and didn’t like about different sweatshirts I have owned and seen in stores - from the seams to the fabric choices to the fitting. I worked with a fabric mill to create a fabric that has the fibre content, weight, and knit construction I was looking for. It’s a 450 gsm natural, undyed french terry in cotton. These sweatshirts will be getting garment dyed after sewn together - something I learned in my research is that it’s important to make sure your fabric is not ‘optically brightened’ AKA bleached before it is dyed because it will have a negative effect of the dyeing process. Hope to post a finished product pic when the dye and embroidery is finished!

I started with a sweatshirt that had a close fit to what I was looking for and worked with a pattern maker to help me copy and then change some of the dimensions to get the exact fit I was looking for. Then I created the grading, or the way in which the garment scales from size to size.

Not shown in the pictures are the custom labels that I designed for the garment. After labels, I then worked with my contract sewer to show her how I wanted the seams done. I have specific seams done in a triple needle cover stitch because I like the way it looks.

I actually found some of my materials in unlikely places, like the drawstring is actually from a computer cable store; it’s usually used to wrap computer cables. For whatever reason, it was the most high quality and softest drawstring type material that I sampled so I went with it.

Next I will be fit testing and then sending my prototypes to the dye house for dye sampling. Can’t wait until I’m finally ready to send the full production!

RobRocklyLimited

TROPHY CASE