The most common mistake US brands make when sourcing overseas knitwear is starting the process too late. The knitting itself is the fast part — bulk flat-knit production runs 2–3 weeks from an approved pre-production sample. What stretches the calendar is everything around it: sampling rounds, approval gates, ocean transit, and customs. Once you factor all of it in, the timeline from "let's make a sweater" to "it's on the shelf" is typically 4–6 months. For Fall/Winter retail — where shipments arrive in July-August for an August-October floor date — the conversation needs to start no later than February of the same year, and ideally in Q4 of the prior year for complex programs or allocated yarns.

Kiwi Giyim flat-knit manufacturing — Tekstilkent, Gaziantep, Turkey — 22 flat-knit machines (15 Shima Seiki, 7 Stoll CMS) — in-house production in Tekstilkent industrial zone

This calendar assumes a Fall/Winter US retail floor date of late July / August. If your floor date is later (September, October), shift all milestones back by the same number of weeks.

The F/W Production Milestone Calendar

Feb

Tech Pack and Yarn Selection

Deliver finalized tech packs (construction, stitch detail, fiber spec, colorway) to the factory and confirm yarn selections. For F/W knitwear, yarn sourcing — especially for merino, lambswool, or cashmere blends — should be locked by February to ensure availability. Popular F/W yarns can be allocated months in advance by Turkish yarn mills, so for a large or specialty-yarn program start this step in Q4 of the prior year.

Mar

Proto Sample

Factory produces first prototype samples. These are not for approval — they're to verify gauge, construction, and fit. Expect 10–14 days for proto production, then 1–2 weeks shipping time to you (typically express air). Review fit, construction, and stitch quality. Send corrections back.

Apr

Pre-Production (PP) Sample

After any proto corrections, the factory produces PP samples — made in bulk yarn and bulk colorways, representing exactly what bulk production will look like. PP sample approval is the critical quality gate. Do not authorize bulk production until PP samples are approved in writing. Request actual lab dip approvals for each color at this stage.

Late Apr

Bulk Production Authorization + 30% Deposit

Send written bulk production authorization with the approved size specs, colorway breakdown, and quantity by style. Transfer the 30% deposit. Factory orders remaining yarn for full production run. This is the point of no return — changes after this point affect delivery and may incur costs.

May

Bulk Production

Flat-knit bulk production takes 2–3 weeks from the approved PP sample on a typical order, and scales with volume: under 500 pieces 2–3 weeks, 500–2,000 pieces 3–4 weeks, 2,000+ pieces 4–6 weeks. A 2,000+ piece program therefore needs its authorization in mid-April rather than late April to hold this calendar. During this window: follow up weekly on production progress, confirm lab dip approvals for all colors if not done at PP stage, and finalize packaging specs and care label artwork.

Late May

Final Inspection + Balance Payment

Request an inspection report or pre-shipment inspection (conducted by the factory QC team or a third-party inspector if specified). Once inspection passes, transfer the 70% balance payment. Factory packs and ships to Mersin port.

Jun – early Jul

Ocean Freight: Mersin → US East Coast (3–5 Weeks, Port to Port)

Sailings from Mersin to New York/NJ, Savannah or Charleston run 3–5 weeks port to port, depending on the service and whether it transships. Sail in early June to land at the port in late June or early July. Your customs broker files the ISF before loading and the entry summary on arrival. Add 5–7 days on top of the port-to-port figure for customs clearance, port handling and drayage to your warehouse or 3PL — that time is not included in the transit number.

Mid Jul – Aug

Warehouse Receipt → Retail Floor

Goods arrive at your 3PL or warehouse in mid-July, which leaves a two-to-three week cushion before the floor date. Receiving, quality check, tagging, and floor allocation. Target floor date met if the calendar held.

Turkish Public Holidays That Affect Your Timeline

Apr

Eid al-Fitr (Ramazan Bayramı)

3-day national holiday — factories are closed. The exact date shifts annually with the Islamic calendar. In recent years it falls in late March or April. Build a 5-day buffer around Eid dates — the days immediately before are often disrupted by early departures.

Apr 23

National Sovereignty and Children's Day

One-day national holiday. Factories close. Minor disruption unless it falls on a critical delivery day.

May 1

Labor and Solidarity Day

National holiday. Factories and logistics operators closed.

Jun

Eid al-Adha (Kurban Bayramı)

4-day national holiday — the longer of the two Eid holidays. Falls in June in recent years. This is the most impactful holiday for F/W production timing — it lands in the same late-spring window as F/W bulk production, packing and port loading (May into early June). Confirm your factory's holiday schedule at the start of the order and add a week buffer if your production overlaps with Eid al-Adha.

What Happens When You Start Late

A common scenario: a brand decides in April that they want F/W knitwear on the floor in August. They contact a Turkish factory in May. Proto, corrections, PP sample and lab dips run into July, and by then the late-spring production slots are booked, so bulk falls into August. The knitting is still only 2–3 weeks — but an early-September sailing plus 3–5 weeks at sea and 5–7 days in customs puts the goods in the warehouse in October, too late for most F/W retail. Notice where the time actually went: not on the knitting machines, but in the sampling loop and on the water. Options at that point are expensive: air freight (4–6x ocean cost), a compressed sampling and approval cycle (more QC risk), or missing the season. The right time to contact a factory for F/W knitwear is Q4 of the prior year or February at the very latest.

Fall/Winter Knitwear Production Calendar: Planning from Turkey