Women's knitwear is the largest single category in US sweater retail — and also the most demanding in terms of fit, silhouette variety and seasonal responsiveness. The brands that do it well aren't necessarily working with the biggest factories; they're working with manufacturers who understand the technical requirements of women's construction: accurate grading, intentional silhouette shaping, finished details that read as considered at the retail floor. Turkish flat-knit manufacturing, calibrated on European women's brand export, brings this orientation to US brand partnerships at a 250-piece MOQ.

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

Where Kiwi Giyim Sits in Women's Knitwear

Contemporary and Contemporary-Luxury

This is our primary zone — brands retailing women's knitwear at $120–$350, with a defined aesthetic, a considered fabric story and a customer who looks at labels and fiber content. Quality calibration, EU-standard chemistry, traceable fiber and construction precision at fine gauge are the relevant factors at this tier. If your brand is building or defending a positioning in this space, the manufacturing quality needs to match.

Boutique and DTC Brands

Small-run boutique brands and DTC labels find our 250-piece MOQ viable where larger factories would require 1,000+ per colorway. We've worked with European boutique labels and the quality requirements from that market (tight construction tolerances, consistent color lot, hand-finishing details) translate directly to what US boutique buyers need. DTC brands benefit from the same — a smaller run that doesn't sacrifice quality to hit an inflated MOQ.

Mass Market

Honestly: high-volume, lowest-cost women's basics is not where we're oriented. A factory optimized for EU contemporary export is calibrated differently than one optimized for $25 retail. If the brief is the lowest possible unit cost at 5,000+ pieces per style, we're not the right manufacturer — and we'd rather say so clearly than waste your development time.

Performance and Active-Adjacent

Technical women's knitwear — merino base layers, performance pullovers, studio-to-street styles — is a growing area that fits our fine-gauge and WHOLEGARMENT capability well. Merino and merino-nylon at 12gg–14gg, with WHOLEGARMENT seamless construction for maximum mobility and no side-seam irritation, suits the performance-lifestyle category where US women's brands are growing.

WHOLEGARMENT and Fit in Women's Knitwear

Fit is the most frequent complaint in women's knitwear retail — and the hardest to solve in manufacturing. WHOLEGARMENT (Shima Seiki 3D knitting) eliminates side seams, so the garment conforms to the body's curves without the bunching, pulling or bulk that panel seams create. The drape of a WHOLEGARMENT piece on a real body is qualitatively different from its cut-sew equivalent. For women's silhouettes — particularly fitted styles, bodycon ribs, and any garment where the fabric needs to move with the wearer — this matters. It also affects size consistency across a run: fully-fashioned and WHOLEGARMENT construction have tighter dimensional tolerances than cut-sew.

Grading for the US Women's Market

US women's sizing is not standardized, and vanity sizing has shifted nominal sizes significantly over the past two decades. We grade to your brand's size chart, not an assumed standard. A full US women's run (XS–XXL or 00–16) is achievable; specify the size chart at the tech pack stage and confirm with a proto in a mid-size before committing to bulk grading. We can also develop extended-size grading (1X–3X) where the silhouette and structure support it — extended-size knitwear requires different shaping decisions than simply scaling up standard sizes.

Silhouettes We Produce

The full range of women's flat-knit silhouettes is within scope: oversized pullovers, fitted crewnecks, cropped styles, longline cardigans, open-front cardigans, vests (knit vest trend continues to hold in US contemporary), turtlenecks, mock-necks and polo necks. Construction details — neckline rib depth, sleeve shaping, waist placement, hem treatments — need to be specified in the tech pack. Send a reference garment alongside the tech pack if you have one; the physical reference resolves ambiguities in spec interpretation faster than any written description.

Women's Knitwear Manufacturing in Turkey for US Brands