Knitwear MOQ Explained: Why 250 Is the Sweet Spot
MOQ is the number that decides whether a factory will even take your order. Here's what it means, why it exists, and why 250 pieces is the line between accessible and out-of-reach for most brands.
If you've emailed factories for quotes, you've hit it: the MOQ, or minimum order quantity — the smallest run a manufacturer will produce. For new and growing brands it's often the single biggest barrier to getting made at all. Here's how it really works in knitwear, and how to work with it.
Why factories set a minimum
A knit production run has fixed set-up costs that don't shrink with order size: programming the knitting machine for your style, dialling in tension and gauge, yarn procurement (mills have their own minimums), and the linking, finishing and QC set-up. Spread those costs over 1,000 pieces and they're trivial per unit. Spread them over 30 pieces and each garment is uneconomical. The MOQ is simply where the factory's economics start to work.
The detail that trips brands up: per colour, per size
MOQ is almost never "per order" — it's per colour, per style, and yarn is usually dyed to a minimum per colour too. So a 250 MOQ means 250 of one style in one colour, then split across your size run.
Example: One sweater, 3 colours, 4 sizes at a 250 MOQ = 250 × 3 = 750 pieces total, roughly ~62 per size per colour. Plan colourways with that maths in mind — every extra colour is another full minimum.
Typical MOQs, by region
- China: commonly 500–1,000 per colour — built for volume, often out of reach for a first run.
- Vietnam / Bangladesh: similar or higher, geared to large basics.
- Turkey: typically lower and more flexible — we work to 250 per colour.
- Small EU workshops (Portugal): can go below 150 for couture runs, but at a steep price premium.
Why 250 is the sweet spot
250 sits at the point where the factory's set-up is still economical and the order is small enough for a brand to fund and actually sell through. It lets you:
- Launch without dead stock — test a capsule instead of gambling on 1,000 units per colour.
- Run more colourways for the same total commitment as one big single-colour Chinese minimum.
- Reorder the winners — scale the styles and colours that sell, drop the ones that don't.
- Protect cash flow — capital isn't frozen in a warehouse for a year.
How to work within MOQ
- Consolidate colours. Fewer, stronger colourways beat many half-hearted ones — and each colour is a full minimum.
- Share a yarn across styles. Using one base yarn in several styles can ease the yarn minimum.
- Start narrow, then expand. Launch two or three styles well, prove demand, then broaden the range on reorder.
- Ask about trial runs. For prototypes or simple constructions, smaller trial quantities can sometimes be arranged — just ask.
The bottom line
MOQ isn't a factory being difficult — it's the maths of set-up cost. The question is whether a manufacturer's minimum matches the way real brands launch. A 250-piece minimum does, which is why it's our standard. If you're sizing a first run, see how private label works with us or read how to prepare your tech pack.
Ready to make it?
Send a tech pack, a reference garment or a brief. We respond within one business day with a capacity check, indicative pricing and a sample timeline — direct with the founder.