Almost no knit factory publishes a CMT price or a sample fee. We do — because no brand can plan a collection around “contact us for a quote”. Here are our real bands, what sits inside them, and what moves your number.
There is no single price for knitwear. A 3-gauge chunky cable cardigan and a 12-gauge seamless base layer use different machines, different yarn weights and very different machine hours — which is why most factories hide behind “request a quote”. What we can publish are the ranges by construction, and the rules that decide where inside a range your style lands. These are our working bands for flat-knit production on 22 machines in Gaziantep — 15 Shima Seiki and 7 Stoll CMS, 3–14gg.
CMT means cut, make, trim. In flat knitting nothing is cut from fabric — panels are knitted to shape — but the term survives as shorthand for the making price without the yarn. What sits on each side of that line is what makes two quotes comparable.
Full line-item detail: the unit cost breakdown and how to read a quote.
All figures are CMT only, in USD, per piece; yarn is additional. A firm figure follows once gauge, stitch structure and construction are confirmed.
$8–14 CMT
Fully-fashioned at 7–12gg, one stitch structure (jersey, 1×1 rib), standard linking. Cotton basics and entry-price merino.
$14–22 CMT
Cable, jacquard, intarsia or structural texture. More programming, slower throughput, tighter inspection.
$18–30 CMT
One closed piece on Shima Seiki WHOLEGARMENT. No linking, but far more machine time per unit.
$12–20 CMT
Heavy yarn at 3–5gg. Visually simple, slow on the machine at low gauge. Outerwear-weight knits.
Every one of these is a design decision, not a negotiating lever. Turning a set-in sleeve into a raglan at the sketch stage does more for your margin than any pressure applied once the tech pack is frozen — which is exactly what our process is built to catch, while the drawing is still cheap to change.
A sample uses the same machine, programmer and linker as a production run — it is a one-piece production, not a favour. Charging for it is what buys it real machine time and holds the 10–14 day turnaround. Stage detail: sampling guide.
$80–180 including shipping. One colourway, one size; yarn may be substituted with the closest available. 10–14 days from tech pack approval.
$120–250 by construction. Production-spec yarn and construction, for showroom or buyer meetings. 14–21 days from proto sign-off.
$60–100 per extra size from the approved sample. For fit approval across the size run — advisable on fitted shapes and washed garments.
Included with bulk. One unit as the line starts, confirming production matches the approved sample. No extra charge.
The cheapest garment we will make for you is the second run of one we already make. On a repeat, the machine programme, the graded measurements and the approved sample are on file — no development, no sampling cycle, no first-run learning curve. A first bulk order runs 45–60 days from sample approval; a repeat skips approval altogether and sits lower in its band. Hence the case for launching narrow: one or two styles, read the sell-through, reorder the winners.
CMT plus yarn plus trims gives an ex-works figure; freight, insurance and your own tariff line turn it into a landed cost. Into the European Union the Turkey–EU Customs Union applies with an A.TR certificate, and TIR road freight reaches EU destinations in 5–7 days — short enough to hold less safety stock than a long ocean lane demands. Buyers elsewhere should price in their own duty and freight mode: the Incoterms guide covers who pays for what, lead times covers the calendar.
Payment: samples in full up front, bulk typically 30% on order confirmation and 70% before shipment, against a pro forma invoice. We quote in USD or EUR.
CMT runs $8–14 for a fully-fashioned crew neck at 7–12gg, $14–22 for cable, jacquard or intarsia work, and $18–30 for WHOLEGARMENT seamless. Chunky 3–5gg pieces sit at $12–20. Yarn is quoted separately, because fibre and count move the total far more than the making cost does.
CMT covers turning yarn into a finished, packed garment: programming, knitting, linking, finishing, in-house quality control, pressing, packing and factory overhead. It excludes the yarn, dye-to-match dyeing, special trims, freight and import duty. A quote that mixes these together cannot be compared with another factory's.
A proto is $80–180 and takes 10–14 days because it occupies the same machine, programmer and linker as production work. Charging for it buys real machine time instead of squeezing it between bulk runs, which is how the 10–14 day turnaround holds.
Yes. The minimum is 250 pieces per colour and per size, and at that floor you sit at the top of the band, because set-up spreads over the fewest units we will run. Above 1,000 units per colour the CMT improves, and we quote that without being asked.
Usually. On a repeat of an approved style the machine programme, the graded specification and the signed-off sample are on file, so there is no development and no sampling cycle. The saving shows up in the price and the calendar.
Because the labour you save costs less than the machine time you buy. A seamless garment is knitted as one closed three-dimensional piece and occupies the machine far longer than the panels of a comparable sweater, which is why the band is $18–30 rather than $8–14.
Send a tech pack, a sketch or a reference garment with the gauge and yarn in mind. You get a CMT range within one business day. We make flat-knit knitwear only — if a style really needs cut-and-sew construction, we will say so rather than quote it.
Cost & Sourcing Guides
Pricing
Yarn, gauge, technique, finishing and order size — and how to design a garment for cost.
Read guide →Buying
What a quote should itemise, and how to compare two factories like for like.
Read guide →MOQ
The minimum explained, and the arithmetic behind what a first order really totals.
Read guide →Calendar
Sampling, bulk and shipping — how a knitwear season fits a delivery date.
Read guide →Service
How we work as a production partner, and what runs in-house versus through partners.
Read more →Service
Your labels, your packaging, your specification — produced under your brand name.
Read more →