What Small Brands Asked a Knitwear Factory For in September 2026

Quick answer: In September 2026, small brands contacting a knitwear factory in Dongguan arrived far more often with photos than with tech packs (about one in three vs fewer than one in ten). Four in ten raised sampling in their very first message. Zip-front pieces and knitted-in motifs each came up in roughly one in five enquiries, cardigans were the most-requested garment, and cotton was mentioned slightly more often than all animal fibres combined, even at the start of the autumn season.

Most sourcing guides describe what buyers *should* prepare. This is a record of what they actually sent. We have been making knitwear in Dongguan since 2018. Our minimum order is 30 pieces per colour, and sizes can be mixed inside those 30, so most of the people who write to us are small and new brands. That is the group this data describes. It does not describe large retailers.

About one in three buyers sent a photo, a screenshot, a mockup or a flat sketch. Fewer than one in ten arrived with a finished tech pack.

That is not a problem; it is the normal starting point for a first collection. A good photo already tells the factory a lot: the stitch, roughly how heavy the yarn is, the neckline, the closure, and where the colour changes. What a photo cannot tell us is size, how much the knit will stretch, or the exact colour. So the first job after a photo is to agree a gauge, a yarn and a size chart. Then one sample is made and becomes the reference.

If you are at the photo stage, send:

• the photo itself, plus any close-up of the stitch;
• your size range (for example XS–XL) and one measurement you care about, such as body length;
• the fibre you want, or the hand-feel you are after if you do not know the fibre.

Our guide to preparing a sweater tech pack covers the rest. You do not need it before the first message.

About 40% of enquiries raised sampling in the first message. They asked what a sample costs, how long it takes, or whether they could see one piece before committing. For a small brand this is the sensible order. You find out what a factory can do from a sample, not from a price list.

Our sampling takes 15–25 days, and bulk takes 30–45 days after the sample is approved. How sampling lead time works explains what drives that range.

• Zip-front pieces came up in about one in five enquiries: full-zip cardigans, knitted jackets, half-zips and quarter-zips. Buyers often specified the zip itself: metal or matte, two-way, or a branded puller. See our half-zip and quarter-zip guide.
• Motifs knitted in, not printed, came up in another one in five: animals, crests, lettering and Christmas scenes, worked through jacquard or intarsia. Many buyers said explicitly that they did not want a print. Jacquard and intarsia have the same 30-piece minimum as plain knits here. How we knit motifs in shows the difference between the two methods and what each can hold.

Cardigans were the most-named garment, in about a quarter of enquiries, ahead of crewneck pullovers. Womenswear brands made up about one in five enquiries, even though most of our published catalogue is menswear. Brands search by the knit they want to make, not by the factory's main customer.

Cotton or a cotton blend appeared in about one in five enquiries. Wool, merino, cashmere, mohair and alpaca together appeared in about one in six. September is when autumn programmes ship, so we expected the reverse. Two kinds of buyer drove it. Some were planning spring/summer knits early. Others wanted a soft, easy-care knit they could sell all year. The cotton vs wool comparison sets out the trade-offs.

Nearly one in four asked about shipping to their own country in the first message, and nearly one in five asked about their own labels: woven main labels, care labels and hang tags. Holiday or Christmas knitwear was about one in twelve. Some of those buyers were already planning for Christmas 2027, which is the right lead time for a holiday drop.

1. A photo is enough to start. Add your size range and target fibre, and the factory can quote and sample. 2. Ask for one sample first. Four in ten of your peers do. Any factory that suits a small brand should expect it. 3. Ask about the minimum for the specific technique. Jacquard, intarsia and zips sometimes carry a higher minimum than plain knits. Ours do not: it is 30 pieces per colour for all three. 4. Put shipping and labels in the first message. Then the first quote is a landed price, not just an ex-factory one.

We read the buyer's own first message in every valid enquiry received in September 2026, from email, WhatsApp and our website form. Duplicates from the same buyer were counted once, and spam was excluded. Each theme was counted at most once per enquiry, and themes overlap, so the shares do not add up to 100%. No buyer names, brands or order details are published. We plan to repeat this count so the shares can be compared over time.

Do I need a tech pack before contacting a knitwear factory? No. In our September 2026 enquiries, about one in three buyers started with reference photos and fewer than one in ten had a finished tech pack. A photo plus your size range and target fibre is enough to start sampling.

What do small brands most often ask a sweater factory for? In September 2026, about four in ten raised sampling in their first message. Roughly one in five asked for zip-front pieces, the same share asked for motifs knitted in through jacquard or intarsia, and cardigans were the most-requested garment.

Is cotton or wool more requested for custom knitwear? In September 2026, cotton or cotton blends came up in about one in five enquiries. Wool, merino, cashmere, mohair and alpaca combined came up in about one in six.

What is the minimum order for jacquard or intarsia knitwear? At Licheng it is 30 pieces per colour, the same as plain knits, and sizes can be mixed within the 30. Samples take 15–25 days and bulk 30–45 days.