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The 13 different kinds of samples

Posted by Kathleen Fasanella on Apr 18, 2011 at 5:38 pm / Design, Glossary, Production, Sales andMarketing/ Trackback

There are three broad classes of samples, one for each phase. These sequential phases are design, salesand production. Design related samples are to model design ideas and (ideally) finalize the pattern forproduction. Sales related samples are used to predict orders from buyers. The last type of samples areintended to test consistency in production.

Technically (and optimally) speaking, all sampling should take place during the first phase of design(R&D) because you cant get to selling (second phase) if you dont have production (third phase) linedup. Im aware practices are all over the map these days but I have tried to cover every contingency.

This list may be overwhelming because Ive attempted to be all inclusive but it does not mean you willneed to have all of these kinds of samples produced. There is also quite a bit of overlap depending onyour operation. By way of example are fit samples. If youre managing your product development andhaving samples made from your patterns, your fit samples are the same thing as protos and would be

fitted during the design phase. However, if you are outsourcing to a full package contractor, fit samplingmight happen just before production. If you manage well, the different sample types can serve multiplepurposes. For example, ideally your proto (prototype sample) is a fit sample anda sew by (pre-

production) sample and maybe even a photo sample.

Sample name:MuslinSynonyms:dummy, mock-up, drape

Explanation:This is a concept sample, often a rough rendition of a drape sewn together. Usedprimarily by designers who prefer to convey design ideas in actual fabric as part of their creation processinstead of drawing a sketch. Or, they have an idea but cant articulate it so they put fabric to mannequininstead. Also see.

Sample name:Fit sample or First sampleSynonyms:original sample, sample test garment, development sample, design sample

Explanation:This is a sample made from the first (or production quality) pattern (which was made

from the muslin or mock-up) and intended to test the designers idea or concept in the chosen

fabrication. If design, fabrication and fit of this sample come out as planned and doesnt needcorrections, it is approved and becomes the prototype sample.

Sample name:Fit sampleSynonyms:style reference, parent pattern


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Explanation:[In addition to the context above in that fit and first sample are the same thing] In somecompanies, a fit sample can refer to an earlier proven style that fits well and is used as a point of

reference for design iterations, providing the basis of new style development and fit. In such cases, thispreceding fit sample would be called a style reference and its pattern would be a sort of parent patternor block.

Sample name:PrototypeSynonyms:proto

Explanation:This sample is the result of previous iterations, the version that meets the designers testfor execution. The fit should also be as expected so it would also be a fit sample for companies that use

a separate designation. Ideally, a proto sample is also a sew by as described below. If you sew in house,the prototype should be used for costing and become the production sew-by.

Sample name:Sew by

Synonyms:pre-production sample, pre-pro, costing sample,Explanation:This sample reflects all of the desired construction details and is used to solicit contractsewing bids (CM&T). It is called sew by because contractors use this sample to create a costing or pre-production sample. Again, ideally the prototype sample is also a sew by. Particular care should be taken

in designating a sample as a sew-by because for better or worse, the quote will be built on this. If one isproducing domestically in house, the prototype sample should be the sew by for in house use to makesales samples. It is in sales sampling that the pattern is proven and final costs calculated.

Sample name:Pre-productionSynonyms:pre-pro, P/P, costing sample, counter sample, salesmans sample, sales sample, duplicatesExplanation:This sampling stage is to prove the pattern, test cost effectiveness and consistency inproduction whether it is done in house or outsourced to a contractor. If the (counter) sample is approved,

it would become the production sew by. Ideally, pre-production samples (salesmans samples) are usedto pre-sell the product.

Sample name:Photo sampleSynonyms:model sizes, flat samples, editorial samplesExplanation:These samples are made in smaller sizes for photo shoots intended for editorial andmarketing, previously a size 4 but these days maybe a size 0. This may not be necessary if you can pin agarment strategically on the model. If you intend to shoot flats, you may need to cut the smaller size

because its hard to get close enough to fit garment attributes in the frame. Some people know they willneed smaller sizes for photography so they use this as their base size. Please dont do that.

Sample name:Salesmans samples

Synonyms:duplicates, sales samples, selling samples

Explanation: Ideally the pre-production sample above can be used for sales and marketing. You wouldhave duplicates of the approved pre-production or production sample made for each party. Domestic

producers should prioritize the making of the sales samples as the test production run.

Sample name:Show sampleSynonyms:showroom sample, merchandising sample, salesmans sample

Explanation:Primarily intended for showrooms (but not exclusively) that market directly to editorial

(fashion editors etc), you may need to have photo samples as above and for the same reasons. You mayalso need the mid range size for retail buyers who stop by. Confer with your showroom as to theirpreferences.

Sample name:Sizing samplesSynonyms:size run, size set

Explanation:Sample lot production of a style in all the intended sizes. Ideally you design sizes to target

your customer profile early on in product development. This may not be possible if your silhouettes varygreatly between styles, meaning you will need to test sizes of various styles.


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Sample name:Production sample

Synonyms:counter sample, spec sample

Explanation:This is the final approved version of a style produced by whomever is doing production.Often a production test run is done and the output is gauged for quality and the samples ideally used formarketing, promotion, pre-sales and perhaps trunk sales. The quantity of units produced will vary fromone to a percentage of the intended production lot size. This can be very expensive if the run includes all

colorways and sizes.

Sample name:Top of productionSynonyms:TOP

Explanation:A TOP sample is pulled from the first production run (above).

Sample name:Ship sample

Synonyms:shipment sample, fulfillment sample

Explanation:A sample that reflects what buyers will receive down to QC, folding, tagging, bagging,pre-packs (if applicable), labeling and final packaging included.

MISCELLANEOUS

Final SampleYou should always keep a final approved sample in house as a means to verify production results. Itshouldnt be loaned to anyone. In effect, your production counter sample should be the final sample butyour contractor may use it in production as a sew by so you will need two.

Revisedor Revision SampleA revised sample is any kind of sample that is a correction of an earlier sample that was not approved. Ifa revised sample is approved, it would become known as whatever kind of sample it is intended to be.

Counter SampleIn the broadest sense, a counter sample is akin to a counter offer and is produced by a full package

service or sewing contractor. The underlying theme being that the counter sample reflects thecontractors execution of what they perceive your expectations to be for whatever kind of samplingyoure doing at the time. Technically, a counter sample could be a prototype sample, pre-production,could become a sew-by for production, size run or whatever other kind of sample. As a practical matter,it is most often a pre-production or production sample used for costing. Ideally, it should be the final

version. WYSIWYG

Sample SalesAs you can see, samples are all over the map so product samples may not be typical of a designers

usual output. Samples can be a good buy (especially if theyre really a production over run) but buyer

beware. Previously, most sample sales were held by salesmen who were selling off the previous linessamples in order to recoup their purchasing costs.

Sample plan or sampling planTieing this together with my opening, youve read of three categories of samples, namely design, salesand production. Design samples test design interpretation and readies the pattern for production. Salesrelated samples test buyer acceptance. The last type of samples have the purpose of testing application

and consistency in production. Firms with large production runs have dedicated programs to test lotsusing mathematical formulas. These are called sampling plans. Ive written about sampling plans in acontext for smaller companies in Quality Control and SOW pt.1and Quality Control and SOW pt.2ifyou want to know more.

Summary:As anyone will tell you, sampling can be costly if not managed well. Most small companiesdont need this many nor of each kind. If I havent bored you senseless and would like a breakdown ofsampling suggestions appropriate for given scenarios say, small domestic manufacturer versus small

outsourced manufacturer and even as compared to larger firms, let me know in comments.


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PS.If anyone wants to know, yes this was a necessary homework post that took longer than youdimagine to write it.

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12 Responses to The 13 different kinds of samplesComments RSS feed

RocioApril 18th, 20117:23 PM

I think the secret to keeping sampling cost to a minimum is to get a competent pattern maker involvedfrom the earliest sampling stage

A good pattern maker should be able to identify potential issues and offer suitable options before thefirst sample is even cut

Carol KimballApril 19th, 2011

5:36 AM

Your trade show where you take orders for the line is after the show sample, and before the sizingsamples? As per your instruction that you dont grade out a line until after youve found where the

market is?

KathleenApril 19th, 2011

7:17 AM

Rocio (who said):

the secret to keeping sampling cost to a minimum is to get a competent pattern maker

involved from the earliest sampling stage A good pattern maker should be able toidentify potential issues and offer suitable options before the first sample is even cut

Yeah, well, thats my point in my book. I know you know that. People dont operate like this anymore,its all outsourced. If youre not hands-on, it costs more to have to check up on people (who are at armslength) with excessive sampling and production costs. Unfortunately, these costs are rarely rolled intoCOGS (total cost of goods sold) so people think it costs less than it does -and in part because theyprobably think theyll need similar if not costlier services domestically. If one is green, they havent

developed enough discrimination to know which problems and excessive costs are related to poorengineering (nor how much of an impact those have) vs typical problems one would have as a matter ofcourse, versus complications that are more likely in outsourcing relationships. For all these people know,there is no difference no matter where you do it so you may as well get it for the lowest price.

Im going through this now with my ex-step mom. Because shes so new to computing, she doesntknow the source of any problems. For example, shes unsuccessfully tried to download an ebook. Shedoesnt understand computing well enough to know if the problem is her operation of the unit (iPad), a

bandwidth/connection or browser conflict issue or whether the failure is due to the given site or itscoding. If she were at my elbow, it would be easy for me to help sort this out. At arms length (300


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miles away), I cant. It is the same for manufacturing. Its better to learn from a source as close aspossible. Once one knows more, they can more easily discriminate between issues that are specific to

the pattern and production engineering side vs the conflicts more typical of an outsourcing relationship.

Im not saying people should never outsource only that doing it close by in the beginning providesuseful lessons. And yeah, youd learn those from afar but if youre new, you dont know which lessons

are peculiar to the process itself (quality engineering) or which are due to outsourcing because you donthave a body of knowledge or a point of comparison. [And I know you know all this, this comment is for

visitors.]

Carol: I reiterate

Im aware practices are all over the map these days but I have tried to cover everycontingency Ive attempted to be all inclusive but it does not mean you will need to haveall of these kinds of samples produced. There is also quite a bit of overlap depending on

your operation.

Iow, my mention of given practices should not imply my endorsement of them.

ken simmonsApril 19th, 20118:17 AM

Kathleen, Too fabulous! Thanks for the list.

lloyd van der LindenApril 19th, 20111:11 PM

Rocio (who said):

the secret to keeping sampling cost to a minimum is to get a competent pattern maker involved from the

earliest sampling stage A good pattern maker should be able to identify potential issues and offersuitable options before the first sample is even cut

Kathleen (who said):

Yeah, well, thats my point in my book. I know you know that. People dont operate like this anymore,its all outsourced.

Sampling to sewing:

In my shop we do both, made to measure and have a sewing contractor sew one of our production lines.Made to measure are cut, fitted to a stage and then adjusted, more fittings if required therefore the finalfit is accurate to the customer. On our production lines we adjust the pattern (11 measurements taken)and then check the fit of the cut before it goes to the sewing contractor. We are fortunate our contractor

is a 5 minute walk away, ( I know not enough sustained cardio). I spent about 4 months developing myproduction patterns before turning on the production. After 6 years we have had 15 jackets per 1000 thatdid not fit, the 3 areas areas of concern that we learned were the measurement taker (1) ( measurements

or transcribing), the cutter (2) or the contractor error (3). With each production jacket, the contractor issupplied with 3 measurements to monitor. I would highly recommend that the pattern, fitting andsamples be carefully done in house. For those that dont know, educate yourself, how can you be themost Knowledgeable informed person in the project, no one else will be as diligent as you are all it is

your idea. As a note all of our work is in leather

Xochil


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April 20th, 20116:38 AM

Thanks for this list, Ill definitely point people here for reference! So many people interchange the typesof samples when they refer to them (and I didnt realize there were 13!), so this is good for getting us onthe same page. Your homework assignment is greatly appreciated!

Lauren

April 21st, 20112:46 PM

Im glad you posted this article because it brings up something Ive struggled with thinking about for awhile, specifically the photo samples.

Now Im assuming photo samples, made in a 0-2-4 whatever the designers inclination would also be the

samples used for runway, which would usually need to be made before the close of sales (admittedly Iknow the shows are towards the end, if not the end of the selling period for the collections, but thataside).

Doesnt this go against the rule of not grading until sales have been finalised and styles are definitelygoing into production? Or is there another way around this?.. Im a little confused.. I know runwaydoesnt come until later generally, Im just banking on the fact that my fashion schools pays for the top 4students to show at Australian fashion week and although thats a while and lot of hard work away, it

had me wondering

SheryApril 23rd, 2011

3:08 PM

Another name for your list In several workplaces Ive come across the nickname first off for aproduction sample. It could just be an Antipodean thing though.

KathleenApril 24th, 20115:53 AM

Lauren: yes this goes against the rule of not grading until sales are finalized. For higher end fashioneylines (who show at fashion week etc) it is unavoidable I suppose but then, this is a much smallersegment of the whole apparel pie and an associated cost of doing a bridge line. Ten years ago, fewerthan 50 designers showed at NY fashion week; last season there were more than 150 to say nothing of

fashion weeks held in most major (and not so major) US cities. [I wrote a whole entry about this buthaven't published it, maybe I will now.] Even companies that dont show at fashion week are cuttingsmaller sizes due to the change in how products are marketed over the web. Do I think it is necessary?

Mostly not (most do it because they think everyone else is or because they think they have to) butnobody listens to me.

Shery: thanks and youre right. Ive heard first off too. I should add that to my list. I had to look upantipodean to know what it meant!

Lisa Brazus

April 26th, 201110:01 AM

Very insightful. All my students need to be signed up to your blog. If I could I would make it arequirement.


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Fashion Incubator Whats a prototype and when do you need one?October 26th, 2011

2:38 PM

[...] years ago called Muslin, muslins & protos or in the post I wrote last year called the 13 differentkinds of samples. Im thinking we should revisit the subject since the word prototype is [...]

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April 11th, 20125:07 PM

[...] increasing complexity in this industry, I thought this would be a good subject to pursue, akin to the13 kinds of samples post I wrote previously. I have a lot of books and sources so I could probably writethis well enough on [...]

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