Small Batch Custom Clothing: How a 100-Piece Order Works

A small run is counted per style and per colour, not per order. One style in one colour starts at 100 pieces, and sizes mix inside that colourway, so 100 pieces can be one style, one colour and five sizes. A second colourway is counted on its own, and bonded or seam-sealed builds start at 200 pieces per style per colour. Sampling takes 3–7 days and bulk takes 15–25 days after written approval, with both figures excluding shipping. Custom trims carry their own minimums and run alongside the garment count instead of adding to it.

How the minimum is counted: style, then colour, then size

Three levels are counted in a fixed order, and only the last of them is flexible. A style is one garment made to one pattern; the same fabric cut to a different pattern is a second style and carries its own minimum. Inside a style, each colourway is counted separately, because each colour is its own fabric booking and its own cutting run. Sizes are the level that mixes: a full size spread fits inside one style and one colour without changing the counted quantity.

So the question to answer first is not how many pieces you want in total, but how many style-and-colour units the order needs. Each additional unit adds another 100 pieces, or another 200 where the construction is bonded. Set the size spread last, inside each colourway, since it does not change the count.

The rule as it applies across categories is set out under minimum order quantity, and the reasoning behind small-run minimums is covered at greater length in realistic minimums for custom clothing.

Six ways to cut a small order

The table below applies the same 100-piece rule to the structures buyers ask for most often. Read the second column as the number of counted units, and the last column as the stage that structure is built for.

What the table shows is that the total is an output rather than a target. Decide the style count and the colour count, and the piece total follows. Two styles in one colour each and one style in two colours both come to 200 pieces, but they are different decisions: the first gives two silhouettes to compare, the second gives one silhouette in two colourways.

When 100 pieces is not the right number

Two things push the number above 100. The first is construction: bonded and seam-sealed garments start at 200 pieces per style per colour. If the design uses adhesive film joins or taped seams, that is the figure to plan around from the first conversation, because no colour or size decision changes it. Treat the bonded sample as a step of its own as well, since it fixes the film, the parameters and which joins are bonded before bulk cutting starts.

The second is how many patterns the order contains. A style is defined by its pattern rather than by its fabric, so two bodies cut from the same cloth still count as two styles at 100 pieces each. Where a first drop needs more than one silhouette, the comparison to make is 200 or 300 against a single-style 100. That arithmetic is worked from the brand side on the first order for startup clothing brands.

Trims are a separate decision on a small run

Custom trims run alongside the garment minimum and do not increase it, but they carry their own quantities. Woven labels and hangtags start at 1,000 pieces each; jacquard labels and silicone badges start at 300 pieces each. Those numbers hold whether the run is 100 garments or 300, which is what makes trims the line item that most often surprises a small first order.

The decision is therefore which identification elements are custom on this run and which are applied another way. Neck information can be applied by heat transfer rather than as a sewn label, and that is one reason the trim quantity is settled separately from the garment quantity. Whichever combination is chosen, the artwork version, colour reference, placement and finished size belong in the order file, so that sewing, decoration and packing all work to one signed reference.

Sampling fees, the 300-piece credit, and which run size to plan

Sampling is charged. When the first order for that style reaches 300 pieces, the sampling charge is credited against the value of that order. Sampling takes 3–7 days and bulk takes 15–25 days after written approval, with transport outside both figures.

The credit turns 100 and 300 into two strategies rather than two sizes of the same order. A 100-piece run settles whether the fit, the fabric and the market work at the lowest counted quantity, and its sampling charge stays as a cost. A 300-piece run of the same style puts that charge back into the order, and it can be reached either as a single colourway of 300 or as three colourways of 100, because the credit is counted per style.

Choose between them by what is still unresolved. If the silhouette itself is the open question, 100 answers it with the least commitment and leaves the sealed sample in place for the next drop. If the silhouette is settled and the question is how many units will move, 300 recovers the sampling charge in the same order.

Fabric and colour: the constraint that reaches small runs first

Fabric is booked by colour reference, and the number of colourways in an order affects how much fabric has to be purchased. On a small run this can bind before the sewing minimum does. Three colourways of one style means three fabric bookings against 300 garments, while one colourway means a single booking against 100.

Settle the colour references in writing before cutting starts. Fabric composition and the mill documents are confirmed with you at that stage, and where you have a nominated supplier, the fabric is sourced from them. Where the choice is between weights, compare swatches before committing, because the same stated weight can feel different once the yarn or knit structure changes.

Everything that follows is checked against two references: the approved order file and the sealed pre-production sample. Inspection covers incoming materials, cutting, in-line construction, finishing, measurements and packing, and finished cartons are sampled to AQL 2.5.

To move a small run forward, send the style link or tech pack with the quantity wanted per colour, the size range, the fabric and the processes involved, and the structure, the counted quantity and the lead time will be confirmed in writing. Start from contact SLSPOLO, or pick the closest reference from the T-shirt catalogue.

Frequently asked questions

Can 100 pieces be split across two different styles?

No. The minimum is counted per style and per colour, so two styles are two counted units of 100 pieces each, or 200 each where the construction is bonded or seam-sealed. A style is defined by its pattern, so two bodies cut from the same fabric still count separately. Sizes are the only level that mixes: a full size run fits inside one style and one colour at no change to the counted quantity.

Can sizes be mixed within one colourway on a 100-piece order?

Yes. Sizes are mixed within one style and one colour, so 100 pieces can be spread across the full size range intended for sale. The colour is what is counted rather than the size, and each extra colourway of the same style is counted as its own 100 pieces. Set the size split after the style and colour decisions are fixed, since it does not change the number of counted units.

When does a small order start at 200 pieces instead of 100?

When the garment is bonded or seam-sealed. Those constructions start at 200 pieces per style per colour, and that figure applies before any colour or size decision is made. It covers validation of the film, temperature, pressure and dwell time for the fabric in use, and the bonded sample then fixes those settings as the reference for bulk. Plan that bonded sample as a step of its own in the sequence.

Do custom labels and hangtags raise the garment minimum?

No. Trim minimums run alongside the garment minimum and do not add to it. Woven labels and hangtags start at 1,000 pieces each, and jacquard labels and silicone badges start at 300 pieces each, whether the run is 100 garments or 300. That is what makes trims an independent decision on a small order: choose which elements are custom now and which are applied another way, such as neck information applied by heat transfer instead of a sewn label.

Is the sampling charge credited against the first order?

Yes, once the first order for that style reaches 300 pieces. Sampling is charged, and when the same style hits 300 pieces on that first order the charge is credited against the value of the order. Because the credit is counted per style, one style across three colourways of 100 also reaches 300. Sampling takes 3–7 days and bulk takes 15–25 days after written approval, with shipping outside both figures.