Preparing a Tech Pack for Embroidery Development: A Checklist for Designers

By the Charisma Fashion India team · Mumbai · November 4, 2026

Our Mumbai atelier has received tech packs from design houses since 2000, in every form from a full specification to a single photograph. Both can become beautiful work, but the complete pack saves a round of questions and corrections. This checklist is what our team looks for first, in the order our team opens it — and it feeds directly into the stages described in our guide to the sampling process from tech pack to approved swatch.

1. Artwork at actual size, with measurements

Send the artwork at the size it will actually be embroidered, or mark one true measurement our team can scale everything else from. Scale is not a detail in embroidery: a motif drawn small may need a single bead where the enlarged version needs a cluster, stitch lengths change, and fine lines that read clearly on screen can disappear at real size. Note the overall height and width of each motif, the spacing in a repeat, and whether edges are exact or can breathe slightly. Vector files, clear scans, and careful hand drawings all work — what matters is that size is unambiguous.

2. Placement on the garment or panel

Show where the embroidery sits: a bodice front, a yoke, sleeves, a hem border, a full panel. A flat sketch or garment photograph with the embroidery area marked is enough. Placement decides practical things our team must plan before stitching — how the fabric is stretched on the frame, where a motif must stop for a seam or a zip, and how a repeat meets at a join. If the embroidery crosses a seam, wraps a curve, or must match left to right, say so here rather than at the fitting stage.

3. Technique — or the effect wanted

For each element, name the technique if it is decided: tambour for flowing lines, aari for dense filled work, zardozi for raised metallic surfaces, thread work, bead and sequin work, or appliqué. If the technique is not decided, that is normal at development stage — share a reference image of the effect and note what matters most about it: the shine, the relief, the softness, the weight. Our team will propose a technique and prove it on the swatch. What helps most is honesty about priorities, because two techniques can look similar in a photograph and feel entirely different in the hand.

4. Materials and colours, with references

List the materials imagined for each element — bead type and size, sequin shape and finish, thread kind, stones if any — with colour references our team can match against: a standard colour code, a physical swatch, or a named reference from a previous development. Note where substitution is acceptable and where it is not. A note such as “matte, not shiny” beside a sequin prevents the most common first-swatch correction our team sees. If a material must be sourced specially, flagging it in the pack lets sourcing start while the artwork is still being interpreted.

5. The base fabric — named, and ideally supplied

Name the base fabric, and send a cutting whenever possible. Embroidery is built on its ground: the same design sits differently on tulle, organza, satin, crepe, or a heavier base, and stretch, transparency, and weight all change stitch choice, backing, and density. Sampling on the real base — or the closest available match — shows the true hand-feel and avoids approving a swatch that cannot repeat on the production fabric. If the base is still being decided, note the candidates and our team can advise which will carry the design best.

6. Construction and finishing notes

Close the pack with the practical notes that rarely appear in artwork: whether the piece will be lined, how edges will be finished, whether the garment will be dry-cleaned, and any areas that must stay free of embroidery for construction. A short checklist in the pack — artwork sized, placement marked, techniques or effects noted, materials and colours referenced, base fabric named, construction notes added — takes minutes to complete and removes most of the questions that otherwise travel back and forth across time zones before a frame is even prepared.

Frequently asked questions

What should an embroidery tech pack include?
Artwork at actual size with measurements, placement on the garment or panel, the technique intended for each element, materials and colours with references, the base fabric, and construction notes on seams, lining, and finishing.

Does artwork need to be at actual size?
Yes, or with one clear measurement to scale from. Bead size, stitch length, and motif spacing all change with scale, so artwork at the wrong size produces a swatch that looks right on screen and wrong in the hand.

What if a designer does not know which technique to specify?
Say so, and share a reference image of the effect wanted instead. Our team will propose a technique and show the choice on the first swatch, where it can still be changed.

Should the base fabric be sent with the tech pack?
Ideally yes, or a cutting of the same fabric. Weight, stretch, and transparency change how a design should be built, so sampling on the real base avoids a second round later.