Repeat orders: keeping colour, fit and quality consistent

For a workshop, repeat orders are the most valuable work: no development, no sample rounds, known patterns and consumption. For the client they come with one requirement: the product must be identical to the last one. An employee given a new uniform next to one from last year's order notices immediately if the yellow is lighter or the sleeves are shorter. Consistency does not come from memory, but from documentation and checks.

The order archive: what to keep

When each order closes, create an archive file containing:

• the final tech pack, with the revision actually used in production;
• the graded patterns in the version used, with file name and date;
• the marker and actual fabric consumption;
• the fabric article, supplier, weight, colour and lot number;
• the approved lab dip or a piece of the production lot;
• the trim card: labels, rib, thread, buttons, packaging, with codes;
• the sewing method and relevant machine settings;
• photos and measurements from final inspection;
• one production garment, kept as a reference sample.

Without this archive, a repeat a year later becomes a reconstruction from memory.

Patterns: lock the version

The most common cause of fit differences on repeats is using a different pattern version. A pattern maker made a small adjustment for another client, and the pattern changed for this one too. Simple rules:

• every approved pattern is saved as a final version, separate from working files;
• every change creates a new version, with date and reason;
• on a repeat, use exactly the version in the order archive;
• if the client asks for a change, treat it as a new product with its own approval.

Colour: the biggest challenge

Fabric for a repeat almost always comes from a new lot. Even with the same recipe, dyeing varies between lots. To keep it under control:

1. Give the supplier the exact reference: article, colour and ideally a piece of the previously approved lot.
2. Ask for the new lot to be checked against the approved reference before dispatch.
3. On receipt, compare the new fabric with the archive sample under the same light source.
4. If the difference is visible, tell the client before cutting and ask them to approve the new lot.

Strong, saturated colours such as yellow, orange or red show differences more easily than neutrals or melanges. For uniforms in identity colours, for example a polo in our mustard yellow 200 g piqué, always keep a piece of every lot and ask the supplier to check against the approved sample. It is the difference between an accepted repeat and an argument about last year's yellow.

Planning repeats

Uniform clients usually have a predictable rhythm: new hires, annual replacements, new site openings. Ask them at the outset for their estimated annual requirement. With that information you can:

• buy or reserve fabric for several repeats at once, from the same lot;
• keep a small stock of finished garments for very small orders;
• schedule production in the workshop's quieter periods.

One larger fabric lot, produced once for the whole year, reduces shade differences between repeats.

Checks before cutting a repeat

• the pattern version matches the archive;
• the new fabric has been compared with the sample and approved;
• trims carry the same codes and colours, and label text is updated if requirements have changed;
• first pieces are measured and compared with the previous final-inspection measurements;
• the archive reference garment is on the line, next to the operators.

Communicating with the client

Even when the product is identical, confirm the repeat in writing with a reference to the previous order. If anything has changed, such as a label supplier or a fabric lot, say so in advance. Clients readily accept changes they are told about; they dispute the ones they discover themselves.

For repeat uniform programmes, look at our piqué range and our 220-colour card. Made-to-order production starts from 150 kg per colour per article, and every lot is checked against the approved sample.