Start from anything
Bring rough sketches, reference photos, an existing tech pack or a garment you want improved. Our CAD team turns it into dimensioned drawings, specification tables and a full bill of materials, usually within 3-5 days.
Custom Garment Development Services
Request a quoteCustom garment development engineered from sketch to sample
Every new uniform starts as an idea, a sketch or a frustration with what staff wear today. Benjima offers custom garment development for brands, uniform companies and organisations that want a new silhouette designed properly, tested on real people and ready for production, without having to coordinate a design studio and a separate factory.
We run the whole development for you: technical drawings, tech packs, CAD patterns, fabric choices, lab dips, prototypes, fit sessions, grading and costing. One contact person guides the project from your first sketch to the sealed sample, and every decision that changes the design, fit or cost is put to you before it is made.
New garments usually fail on things nobody tested: a pocket staff cannot reach, a fabric that pills in a month, a size 5XL that looks nothing like the medium. Development is where those problems are cheapest and quickest to solve, long before any bulk fabric is cut.
Custom garment prototypes developed before full bulk production
Drawings only tell part of the story. Our sample room builds a fully assembled prototype in 7 to 10 days, using production-grade fabric so the colour and handle match what bulk will feel like. Give it to your team, put it to work in real conditions and see how it behaves.
Fit sessions on standard forms and live models reveal pulling at the shoulders, a tight seat or an awkward pocket reach. Up to 2 revisions are included to fix those issues, and every change is recorded against the pattern, so the final version carries everything you learned along the way.
Watch a new garment move from sketch to sample
The video follows a development project from start to finish: a rough sketch turned into a CAD drawing, patterns drafted and graded, fabric tested in the lab, a prototype sewn in the sample room and a fit session on a live model. Your project takes the same route, with photos and notes shared at every stage.
Development decisions involve designers, buyers and the people who will wear the garment, and they rarely see the work in the same room. Share the video with them early and use it to agree on what matters most, whether that is a particular fabric performance, a range of movement or a target cost per unit.
Have a sketch or a problem garment already? Send it over and we will talk through the options and likely timings together on a call.
Why teams develop new garments with Benjima
Technical drawings, real prototypes and production under one roof, guided by one contact from sketch to bulk.
Real fit testing
Prototypes are tried on forms and live models, so problems with movement, reach and comfort are found before production, not reported by your staff afterwards. Each round of feedback is written up.
Costs engineered in early
We review seams, hardware and fabric yield on each style and show you a transparent cost breakdown, with suggestions if you have a target budget. You decide which changes to accept.
No handover gap to bulk
Development and production happen under one roof, so the sealed sample and graded markers go straight to our floor. Nothing is lost between a design house and a distant factory, and you keep one contact the whole way through.
Tested for the job before it is made
A new garment proves itself after months of real work, so we test before anything is sewn in bulk. Every developed fabric is checked for tear strength, tensile strength, pilling and shrinkage, and finishes such as stain repellent or antimicrobial treatment are chosen for the role.
Prototypes then show how embroidery sits on curved panels, how pockets handle a full load and whether seams stay comfortable through a long working day. Anything that fails is changed on the pattern before the next sample is made.
Request a quoteRecent development projects
Prototypes, fit samples and finished garments from recent development projects for brands and uniform teams.
Development services you can choose
Use the full service or just the stages you need. Each one is documented so your files stay usable anywhere.
Tech pack creation
Detailed drawings, construction callouts and measurement tables for every size you plan to make.
CAD patterns
Patterns drafted in Gerber AccuMark or Optitex, with balanced proportions across standard and extended sizes for your whole workforce.
Fabric development
Custom fibre blends, weave structures and finishes, adjusted until comfort, durability and cost balance.
Prototypes
Physical samples in production-grade fabric, ready for hands-on fit, drape and wear trials.
Lab dips
Colours matched to Pantone TCX references with spectrophotometer readings, checked under different lights.
Costing
Design for manufacturing reviews that cut fabric waste and sewing time while protecting the look you approved.
Comprehensive garment development services for custom apparel collections
A new garment should look like it belongs to your brand from collar to hem. We plan logos, labels, branded buttons and trims as part of the design, and can develop custom moulds for snaps, zip pullers and silicone badges, so the details are as distinctive as the silhouette.
Everything we create during development belongs to you. CAD patterns, tech packs and grading specs are handed over when the project is complete, in DXF, AAMA, Gerber or PDF formats that work with most factory systems, so you are never locked in to one supplier.
If you produce with us, the people who developed the garment already understand every detail of it. Your sealed sample, markers and specs stay on file, so reorders and new colourways start from a proven base rather than starting from scratch.
How do you develop a new uniform garment the right way?
Good development balances how a garment looks, how it performs and what it costs to make. Before you start, it helps to think about three things: what the wearer actually does, what the fabric has to survive and what budget each piece must meet. Everything else follows.
Start with the wearer
Watch how staff move, reach, sit and carry things during a normal day, then design around it. Shoulder movement, pocket position and seat room matter more than any sketch. Prototypes worn on live models show whether the design works before you commit to patterns for every size you need.
- List the tasks staff perform daily and the tools they carry with them.
- Note what they dislike about their current uniform first.
- Agree a target cost per piece before fabric and trims are chosen by the team.
Fabric before style
Standard fabrics sometimes fail under heat, spills or constant movement. Custom blends of cotton, polyester, nylon and spandex can be tuned for each role, with finishes such as wrinkle-free or flame-retardant treatments added where needed.
The best uniform designs come from watching people work, not from guessing what they need.
Grading every size
A garment that fits well in medium can look distorted in extended sizes if grading is careless. Proportional grade curves keep collar height, sleeve pitch and pocket placement balanced from XS upwards, and custom measurement sets cover staff outside standard charts. Your whole team then looks consistent, whatever their size or shape.
See a prototype come alive
Follow one garment from rough sketch to signed-off sample, step by step.
Comfort designed in from the first sketch
Comfort is easiest to fix while the garment is still on paper. These four areas are reviewed on every development project we run.
Room to move freely
Fit audits check range of motion at the shoulders, elbows and seat, so staff can reach and bend without the garment pulling.
Fabrics matched to the work
Blends and finishes are chosen for heat, spills or movement, then tested for strength, pilling and shrinkage before you approve them.
Pockets that work
Pocket size and position are tested with the real tools and devices your staff carry every day.
Balanced across sizes
Proportional grading keeps comfort and shape consistent from the smallest size to the largest one, including custom measurement sets.
Development for every kind of uniform garment
One team for design, fabric, patterns and prototypes, so ideas move smoothly from the first sketch into production.
- Workwear and coveralls
- Hospitality and chefwear
- Medical and clinical scrubs
- Corporate suiting
- Security uniforms
- School and academy wear
How custom garment development works with us
Five steps from first idea to a sealed sample ready for production. You approve each stage before the next.
Start your orderShare your idea
Send sketches, photos, an existing garment or simply a description of the problem you want solved, with quantities and timing. We reply with a plan and quote.
Drawings and tech pack
Our CAD team drafts technical drawings, patterns and a full bill of materials, usually within 3 to 5 days.
Prototype and fit
A prototype is built in 7-10 days and tested on forms and live models, with revisions included.
Seal the sample
Your approved prototype becomes the sealed golden master sample, and the patterns and markers are locked.
Move into production
A pilot run from 50 sets confirms quality, then bulk follows in 18-25 business days.
Frequently asked questions
What do I need to start custom garment development?
Very little. You can start with concept sketches, reference photos, an existing physical sample or rough notes on what you need the garment to do. Our design team turns them into professional CAD drawings and tech packs. If you only have a problem to solve, such as a uniform that wears out too quickly, describe it and we will suggest a starting point.
How long does a tech pack and pattern take?
Tech packs and CAD patterns are usually ready within 3 to 5 business days after your first consultation and specification review. Complex garments with many components can take a little longer, and we will give you a clear date at the start.
How many prototype revisions are included in your development service?
Up to two rounds of physical fit and specification changes are included. That is usually enough to resolve fit, comfort and styling issues, and we will tell you honestly if a design needs more work than that.
How long does a physical prototype take to make?
Prototypes are built in our sample room within 7 to 10 business days, using production-grade fabrics and real hardware. That way, what you test feels and performs like the bulk garment will, rather than a rough mock-up made from whatever fabric is to hand.
Can you develop custom fabrics for us?
Yes. Our textile lab works with mills to develop custom yarn blends, weave constructions and functional finishes such as antimicrobial and stain-repellent treatments. Each developed fabric is tested for strength, pilling and shrinkage before we recommend it, and we explain how the choice affects price and lead time before you decide.
How does design for manufacturing lower costs?
We review seams, pattern nesting and fabric yield to remove waste and reduce sewing time. Every suggestion is explained, so your team can accept or decline it while keeping the look you approved. Removing bottlenecks also shortens lead times.
Do we own the patterns and tech packs?
Yes. All CAD pattern files, tech packs and grading specs created during development belong entirely to you, and we hand them over when the project is complete. You are free to produce with us or elsewhere, though producing with us means the team that developed it also makes it.
How does a prototype move into bulk production?
Once you sign off the prototype, it is sealed as the golden master sample and the production markers are locked. Bulk starts with a pilot run from 50 sets, and line supervisors compare output with the golden master throughout, so every unit matches what you approved.
Custom garment development at a single glance
| Accepted starting points | Sketches, photos, tech packs or garments |
|---|---|
| Tech packs | Drawings and bill of materials in days |
| Prototype timing | 7 to 10 business days |
| Fit revisions | Up to two rounds included |
| Files you own | Patterns and tech packs handed over |
Have a new garment you want developed?
Send your sketch, sample or idea and we will reply with a development plan, timings and a quote.