You have submitted your final order, but a flash of inspiration strikes. You are afraid that you are locked in, and making any change now will be a costly, complicated nightmare.

A professional factory allows tweaks up to 24-72 hours before fabric cutting¹. Changes have tiered fees and will adjust your delivery schedule. Swapping fabric or washes mid-production is almost never an option.

Over my 20 years in this business, I have learned that creativity doesn't stop when the purchase order is signed. Ideas evolve.

As your manufacturing partner, my job is not to punish you for that, but to work with you.

A good factory partnership is built on clear communication. We can be flexible, but we also have to be realistic about the production process.

There are clear points of no return. Understanding these points is the key to a smooth and successful partnership.

Let's break down how we handle changes so you know exactly what to expect.

How late can I make design tweaks before cutting begins?

That amazing new idea for a pocket stitch just came to you. You are worried that you missed the chance and that it is too late to make such a small, but important, change.

You can make minor changes up to 24 hours before we cut the fabric. For major changes, we need 48-72 hours notice. Once the fabric is cut, the design is 100% locked in.

Think of fabric cutting as the point of no return. Before that moment, everything is still digital and relatively easy to change.

After that moment, we have hundreds of physical pieces of denim cut for one specific design.

Changing the design would mean throwing all that fabric away. Because of this, we have a very clear system.

For a minor tweak, like changing the color of the thread or moving a rivet by a few millimeters, we can usually accept that change up to 24 hours before the scheduled cutting time.

This gives my team enough time to update the instructions for the sewing line.

For a major tweak, like changing the shape of a pocket or resizing the entire pattern, we need a bit more time. These changes require my pattern maker to go back into the CAD file and make adjustments.

We usually need a 48 to 72-hour window for that. The key is to communicate with us as early as possible.

What fees are applied for last-minute changes?

You need to make a change right before production starts. You are bracing for a huge, unexpected bill that will completely ruin your budget.

We do not penalize you for changes, but we have to cover our costs. Early changes are free. Late-stage changes that cause rework will have a transparent fee, which we will always quote you for approval first.

I believe in transparency, especially with costs. Our fee structure² for changes is simple and based on when the change is requested.

If you request a change early in the process, before we have finalized patterns or ordered fabric, there is almost never a fee.

At this stage, it is just a simple digital update. If the change comes in just before cutting, there might be a small fee. This is not a penalty.

It is to cover the real costs we incur. For example, if we have to re-work a complicated digital pattern, we have to pay our pattern maker for that extra time.

A major pattern adjustment might cost 15-30% of the total order value because it disrupts our entire production schedule.

If a change is requested after the fabric is already cut, we would have to charge for the full cost of the wasted fabric and labor. We will always provide you with a clear cost for any change before we proceed.

Change Fee Structure

Stage of Change	Typical Fee	Why there is a fee
Early (Pre-Pattern Finalization)	$0	Changes are just simple digital edits. No resources used.
Late (24-72 Hours Pre-Cutting)	Low to High	Covers costs like pattern rework and production rescheduling.
After Fabric is Cut	Full Cost	Covers the now unusable fabric and labor already spent.

How do modifications impact my delivery schedule³?

You have just approved a necessary design change. Now you are in the dark, with no idea how this will affect your shipping date and your launch plans.

A minor change, like new hardware, may only add 3-5 days to your schedule. A major change that needs a new sample will likely add 7-14 days. We will always give you a new, updated delivery date.

Any change, no matter how small, will have some impact on your delivery schedule. It is important to be realistic about this.

Our goal is to make that impact as small as possible and to be completely transparent with you about it.

A minor change, like swapping a button style that we have in stock, might only delay the start of sewing by a few days. The total delay might be 3 to 5 days. However, a major change is more complex.

For example, if you want to change the fit, we need to adjust the pattern, cut and sew a new sample, send that sample to you, and wait for your approval. That entire process can easily add one to two weeks to the final delivery date.

The moment you request a change, my team will calculate the impact and provide you with a revised production schedule. This way, you can adjust your own plans and there are no surprises.

Can I swap fabrics or washes mid-production?

You have discovered a new denim fabric you love more than the original. You are hoping you can just swap it in, even though your production has already started.

No, this is almost never possible. The entire production process, from the pattern's size to the washing machine's settings, is custom-built around the specific fabric you selected at the very beginning.

This is one change that is almost impossible to make. The reason is very technical. Before we even create your final pattern, we test your chosen fabric for its specific shrinkage rate.

We then build that exact shrinkage percentage into the pattern. If you swap the fabric, that new fabric will have a different shrinkage rate.

All of our patterns would be wrong, and the final jeans would not fit correctly. We would have to start the entire development process over again, which is essentially a brand new order.

The same is true for the wash. Each wash recipe—with its specific chemicals, temperatures, and timings—is developed for a specific fabric.

Changing the wash mid-stream would create massive inconsistencies in the final look and could even damage the fabric.

For these reasons, the fabric and wash must be locked in before we start any production steps.

Conclusion

Flexibility is a key part of our partnership, but it requires clear rules. Understanding the hard deadline of fabric cutting allows for creative freedom while still ensuring a smooth and predictable process.

---