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Short answer: A bill of materials (BOM) in fashion lists every material and component needed to make one garment: fabrics, linings, interlinings, trims, thread, labels and packaging, each with its supplier, colour, quantity per garment and placement. It sits inside the tech pack and is what the factory sources and costs from. A missing or vague line is one of the most common reasons a sample comes back wrong.
A BOM answers three questions for the factory: what to buy, how much per garment, and where it goes. It usually covers:
| Column | What to write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Item / component | The material or trim | Shell fabric |
| Description | Composition, weight, construction, finish | 100% cotton single jersey, 180 GSM, enzyme washed |
| Supplier and code | Who supplies it and their reference | Mill name, article 12345 |
| Colour | Colour name or code per colourway | Black / Pantone 19-4007 TCX |
| Size / dimension | Width, length, ligne, gauge | 150 cm usable width |
| Quantity per garment | Consumption including waste | 1.2 m |
| Placement | Where it goes on the garment | Body and sleeves |
| Unit cost (optional) | For costing | Per metre / per piece |
| Item | Description | Placement | Qty per garment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shell fabric | 100% cotton single jersey, 180 GSM | Body, sleeves | Per marker |
| Rib | Cotton/elastane 1x1 rib, colour-matched | Neckband | Per marker |
| Thread | Polyester core-spun, colour-matched | All seams, coverstitch hems | As consumed |
| Neck tape | Cotton twill tape, 10 mm | Back neck | 0.2 m |
| Main label | Woven, brand logo | Centre back neck | 1 |
| Care/content label | Printed satin, care symbols and composition | Left side seam | 1 |
| Size label | Woven or printed | With main label | 1 |
| Polybag | Recycled LDPE with suffocation warning | Packaging | 1 |
A manual tech pack, BOM included, takes 4 to 16 hours, and a sample round costs US$200 to US$1,500 (State of AI Fashion 2026).
Prices and features checked on each vendor's own website on 8 November 2026; time and sample-cost figures from the State of AI Fashion 2026 report.
A bill of materials: the list of every fabric, trim, thread, label and packaging item needed to make one garment, with supplier, colour, quantity and placement.
Yes. The BOM is one section of the tech pack, alongside points of measure, construction notes and artwork.
The BOM lists materials and quantities; the costing sheet adds prices, labour, overheads and margin to reach the garment cost.
Vague fabric descriptions, missing small items such as thread and labels, wrong consumption figures, and a BOM that disagrees with the construction notes.
Yes. The F* Word drafts a BOM as part of a tech pack from a sketch, photo or brief, first draft in 8 to 10 minutes, and checks it against the construction notes before a technical designer reviews it.
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