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A Guide To Sourcing Wholesale Fabric

by Nov 8, 2020Fabrics0 comments

A Guide To Sourcing Wholesale Fabric
As it turns out, it’s possible to source fabrics wholesale the wrong way. If you’re looking into sourcing wholesale direct fabric online or by some other means, it is a good idea first to learn what you need to do and not do before diving in.

Sourcing fabrics can be overwhelming, but it does not have to be an exhausting task. After all, if you are sourcing fabrics wholesale, it means you are sourcing them for your business, and the fabrics need to fit in with your collection. Most of all, they need to sell. Taking that into account, let’s consider the process involved in choosing fabrics for your collection.

1. The Fabric You Choose is Crucial to Your Collection

The fabric you choose will be essential to your collection because it will determine how your garments look, how they feel, fall, and flow. With that in mind, it’s only reasonable to start with what you need as a designer. A significant aspect of this will rely on your personal taste. However, it will also highly depend on what you intend to do with the material. For instance, an elegant evening gown will have very different fabric needs from an outdoor sports jacket.

Tip: Have a clear purpose and mission for your business. When you do, it’s much easier to make decisions regarding your business operations.

Study Seasonality

If you are working on a line for a specific season, like fall or winter, for instance, you will need heavier materials. On the other hand, if you are working for spring or summer collection, you will need something lighter. Once you get a good grasp of seasonality in clothing, it will be easier to decide which materials to choose.

Ponder on the Purpose of the Collection

When considering the purpose of your collection, you would want to take into account functionality, rigidity, and durability – all of which are essential for the proper execution of your design.

Give Thought to the Type of Garment

The type of garment you will be making will have a massive impact on the nature of the fabric you need to choose. Cotton is more prone to wrinkling than polyester, but it has incredible breathability, which is perfect for undergarments or lighter garments like dresses or shirts.

Give Thought to the Type of Garment

2. You Need to Have a Solid Plan

After figuring out what materials you want and what you want to do with them, the next process is to figure out the execution to make your operation more efficient, saving money while putting your collection together. When figuring out how to execute your design, the first thing you need to decide about is how you will use the materials.

Consider the How

The way you use the fabrics you choose is a great deal. While you may have figured out what garment you want to make and which fabric to buy, you also need to come up with a plan for using that fabric.

You may need to order 5 square feet of fabric to supply trim, or you may opt to order 500 square feet to use as a basis for the bulk of your design. Either way, it will benefit you much to have a solid plan for using the fabric and not wasting anything. Once you figure out the “how,” you will also know “how much.”

Decide Whether You Are Going to Treat the Fabric

After coming up with a clear strategy on how to use the fabric, the next thing you should decide is whether you are going to treat the fabric, and how you would do it. Do you want to dye it? It’s best if you considered this question upfront, as some fabric suppliers can do it for you, saving you a great deal of time and hassle.

Anticipate How Much You Will Need

Another essential thing to think about is how much fabric you will need. Knowing how much material you require is vital for narrowing down what your choices right from the beginning, so if you know the quantity you need, you will be saving a huge deal of time and money. As you may well know, buying more fabric generally brings down its price. However, you may end up with additional surplus inventory.

Figure out the needed quantity, and it will be easier for you to determine whether a supplier can fulfill your order or not.

  • Here are some questions to ask prospect fabric suppliers:
  • What are your lead times?
  • What fabrics do you have in stock?
  • What is your minimum order quantity per color or design?
  • What are the sample price and production per yard?
  • What is your cuttable width?
  • What weight do you work with?
  • How frequently do you purchase?
  • What are your terms of payment?
Anticipate How Much You Will Need

3. Choose Your Supplier

Upon answering the design questions, you should consider how and where to find a supplier to fulfill your needs.
This task comes with some degree of difficulty. Most fabric suppliers have quite high minimum order quantities, which is not ideal if you are putting together a small-scale collection for retail. However, this needs not to be exhausting if you know where to look.

Look in the Right Places

Location matters. Consider these places when sourcing some of these fabrics:

Cotton – one of the best types of cotton in the world, the extra-long staple (ELS) cotton, comes from Egypt, hence Egyptian cotton. Other good types are the Pima cotton from Peru and Supima from the United States.

Wool – New Zealand’s merino sheep provides some of the best wools in the world.

Ensure Your Supplier’s Reliability

Choosing a supplier who will stock the materials you need and deliver on them consistently when it’s time to produce your line is crucial. The worst thing that can happen is getting a piece of fabric for samples, and making your samples, but be told by your supplier that they do not have any more in stock when it’s time for your production.

Solution: Spandex Fabric Wholesale Source on the Web

Spandex Warehouse is your number one source of fabric on the web! We carry a wide selection of fabric, and we can ship your order anywhere serviced by Federal Express and the United Parcel Service. We can be your one-stop online source for textiles for women’s, men’s, summer, or fall and winter garments.

For your fabric needs, give Spandex Warehouse a try and experience the difference.