Small production runs done as real production: we knit sweaters, cardigans and WHOLEGARMENT pieces at 250 per colour, per size — sampled first, made in our own Turkish factory, shipped to the US in roughly two weeks. And we're honest about the floor: below 250 total, we'll tell you straight.
"Small batch clothing manufacturer" usually means one of two things: a sewing studio that makes 30 pieces at boutique prices, or an export factory that says "low MOQ" and then quotes 1,000 units per colour. We sit in the useful middle — a real knitwear factory (22 flat-knit machines, in-house QC) with a production floor that starts at 250 pieces per colour, per size. Small enough to test a style; large enough to be made properly, priced like production and labeled as your own brand.
Honest, up front: 250 per colour is our real minimum, not a negotiating position. If you need 50–100 pieces total, a local sewing studio or a different route will serve you better — and we'll say so. If you can plan a 250-piece colourway, everything on this page is built for you.
Flat knitwear is knitted to shape, piece by piece, from a machine programme — there's no fabric marker or lay to optimise, so a small run doesn't carry the cutting-waste economics that punish small cut-and-sew orders.
Every size is knitted from a separate machine programme, so the 250-piece minimum applies per size — an XS–XL run in one colour is five 250-piece programmes. Use our size run calculator to plan quantities across the curve.
Small batches run fastest on stock yarns from our yarn library — mill yarn minimums (often 10–25 kg per colour) are easiest to meet there. Custom dye-to-match shades carry higher dye-house minimums and extra lead time — we'll tell you which side of that line your colour sits on.
Even seamless WHOLEGARMENT — knitted in one piece on Shima Seiki machines, with almost no offcuts — carries the same 250-piece minimum, per colour and per size, as the rest of our flat-knit production.
The smallest production order we run. The 250 splits across your size run — on a balanced XS–XL curve that's roughly 25–75 units per size, every one knitted to your spec.
One sweater in navy and ecru = 500 pieces, because yarn is bought and machines are programmed per colourway. Two colours is the sweet spot for most first small batches.
Three styles in two colours each = 1,500 pieces. That's no longer a small batch — which is why we usually suggest launching with one or two styles, reading sell-through, then extending.
A top seller restocks in 65–80 days as a repeat programme — sample approved, machine programmes on file. Small first run + fast reorders beats one big guess — that's the whole strategy.
Want the numbers for your own plan? The cost calculator estimates your first-run budget and the size run calculator splits each colourway across sizes.
In-house flat-knit on Shima Seiki WHOLEGARMENT and Stoll CMS machines (3–14gg): sweaters, cardigans, pullovers, knit tops, vests, knit dresses and knit accessories — in merino, cashmere blends, cotton, alpaca and recycled yarns. Built to US size specs and graded to your fit block, with your woven label and packaging applied at the factory. Made in Turkey means no Section 301 exposure and UFLPA-clean cotton origin — a supply-chain story a small US brand can put in front of any retailer.
In knitwear, a small batch is a genuine production run kept to a tight style, colour and size range rather than warehouse volumes. Our floor is 250 pieces per colour, per size — each size knitted as its own programme — which makes a real small-batch run workable for a growing brand.
Honestly, no. If your total order is under 250 pieces across all styles and colours, we're not the right factory — and we'd rather tell you that up front. Sampling has no minimum (protos are single units), but production starts at 250 per colour, per size. Here's our honest take on the under-250 options.
Yes, modestly. At the 250 MOQ the unit price runs higher than at 500 or 1,000 pieces, because machine set-up, programming and yarn minimums spread across fewer units. It's the fair trade for launching small — our cost calculator shows the effect by quantity.
Yes. The 250-piece minimum applies to each colour-and-size combination, because every size is knitted from its own machine programme. So one style in one colour across an XS–XL run is five separate 250-piece programmes — 5 × 250. Our free size run calculator helps you plan quantities across the size curve above that floor.
First sample in 10–14 days ($80–180 including shipping), bulk production in 45–60 days from sample approval, then roughly two weeks by ocean to the US East Coast. For a first programme, budget about 3–4 months from approved tech pack to goods landed.
Yes — that's the point of starting small. A top seller can be restocked in 65–80 days as a repeat programme, with the approved sample and machine programmes already on file. Start at 250, read the sell-through, reorder the winners.
Send a tech pack, a sketch or a reference sweater. We reply within one business day with feasibility, indicative pricing and an honest read on whether a 250-piece run fits your plan — no obligation.
Small-Batch Sourcing Guides
MOQ
The full math of MOQ — styles, colours, sizes and what your first order actually totals.
Read guide →Boutiques
Wanting 50–100 pieces? What's actually possible, and when 250 starts to make sense.
Read guide →Launch
From concept to first drop — budget, tech pack, sampling and the first small production run.
Read guide →Pricing
Where a small batch's money goes — yarn, CMT, accessories, freight and duty.
Read guide →