The 6 rhythms — every project, every path
01
1 WEEKon hand
Sampling: One Week When the Fabric Is on Hand. Longer When We're Sourcing.
Most factories quote sampling in weeks because they don't separate the two clocks. We do.
If the fabric is in our stocked library or already on a mill's shelf, your first sample ships in seven days from the moment a brief is locked — pattern, cut, sew, finish, photo. If the fabric needs sourcing, the clock for sampling itself is still a week — but you add +1 week upstream while we pull swatches and confirm the right base (2 weeks total). We tell you which clock you're on at proposal stage, not after the timeline slips.
Sample cadence: 1 week with fabric on hand. 2-4 weeks if sourcing required. Hangzhou facility, 30+ specialty mills accessible.
What depends on you: a clear reference, a rough fabric direction, and a target price. Without a price target we can sample, but we'll be guessing at the construction grade.
02
IN-HOUSEthree sources
The hardest part of manufacturing isn't production. It's the space between your vision and a finished garment.
Fabric Sourcing as a Built-in Step, Not an Outside Vendor Hop.
The space between vision and garment is fabric. Most of the time, that's where projects die — or where they get translated.
We don't outsource sourcing to a third party and wait. Our pattern team works against three sources in parallel, and we tell you upfront which one a brief is going to land in:
01 — Stocked library
Our own high-end fabric library
Curated over a decade of premium womenswear development. Strongest in dress fabrics — silks, fine wools, cotton voiles, linen blends — with substantial coverage across woven tops, bottoms, and casual outerwear. If your reference fits something on our shelves, your sample lead time drops to a week and your cost stabilizes earlier.
02 — Factory mill network
The mills our factories use for the brands they already serve
Direct access to the same premium womenswear-tier mills our manufacturing group already buys from on standing relationships. Better hand, better consistency, better price than a cold sourcing search would find.
03 — Local market
The Zhejiang fabric market when speed or price needs it
For fast turnarounds, test runs, or unusual constructions — China's deepest fabric market is forty minutes from our pattern room. Lower minimums, faster sampling, when the brief calls for it.
How a fabric brief actually moves
- 1You send a target price and a fabric direction (or a reference garment).
- 2We search across the three sources and pull candidates.
- 3Swatches ship to you. You feel them. You confirm.
- 4We commit fabric and start sampling against the confirmed base.
- 5Production runs against the confirmed fabric — no surprise substitutions.
Deepwove sources fabric from three integrated channels: an in-house library, factory mill networks, and the Zhejiang local market. Two fabric sourcing specialists work full-time in Hangzhou. Swatch confirmation precedes sample production on every brief.
What we don't do: source from anywhere we haven't vetted. If a reference fabric is from a mill outside our network, we'll quote the swatch round but won't promise a one-week pull.
What depends on you: hand the swatch yourself before bulk. Photos miss too much. We'll express-ship anywhere.
03
3 MOproduction lead time
Six clocks run on a Deepwove project. Sample: 1 week, fabric on hand. Bulk after sample approval: 6–8 weeks, first order. Reorder: 2–4 weeks once pattern is locked. Ready Styles: 4 weeks. OEM with brand fabric: 3–4 weeks. Private Label: 5 weeks. Shipping: yours to choose — air to North America 7–10 days; sea to USWC or AU 3–4 weeks; sea to USEC 4 weeks; sea to Europe 4 weeks.
3 Months Production Lead Time. 6-8 Weeks Phase 2 Bulk After Sample Approval. Construction Complexity Shifts the Window.
A simple jersey dress and a hand-finished silk gown don't share a clock. We don't pretend they do.
From the moment you sign off on a sample, a standard woven dress in our group ships in roughly six weeks. A heavily constructed piece — embroidered, hand-finished, multi-fabric blocked, pieced knit — pushes to eight, sometimes more. We give you the realistic window at proposal stage, broken down by construction stage, not a single number designed to win the brief. Reorders move faster: with the pattern locked and fabric on hand, production compresses to two to four weeks before goods leave Hangzhou.
End-to-end to your warehouse depends on your shipping choice — that part is yours to decide, not ours to bundle. Air freight to North America runs 7 to 10 days; sea freight to USWC or AU lands at 4 weeks; sea freight to USEC 4 weeks; sea freight to Europe 4 weeks. We can recommend forwarders or run DDP at your request.
Production lead time at Deepwove runs 3 months from approved brief to ship-out from Hangzhou on a typical custom development run. Phase 2 bulk takes 6-8 weeks from approved sample to packed goods on first orders, within that 3-month window. Reorders compress to 2-4 weeks of production with fabric and pattern on hand. Construction complexity, embroidery, and multi-fabric blocking extend the first-order window. 30+ factories in Deepwove's manufacturing group support the timeline. Shipping to your warehouse is separate and your choice — air to North America 7-10 days; sea to USWC or AU 4 weeks; sea to USEC 4 weeks; sea to Europe 4 weeks.
What we don't do: quote 4-week production on a complex construction to win the brief. The catch-up cost lands on the next style.
What depends on you: sample sign-off speed. A week of sample review delay is a week added to your shipping date.
04
48H+ weekly
48-Hour Brief-to-Proposal. Weekly Production Updates Through to Shipping.
Most brands describe their last manufacturer with one phrase: "I never knew what was happening." We optimize against that.
Within 48 hours of a complete brief, we send a proposal — recommended fabrics, construction approach, FOB price range, sampling timeline. Once production starts, you receive a weekly update from one named contact: what stage the order is at, what's on schedule, what isn't, and what's coming next. Pre-shipping, you get a final check window — packed photos, garment count, dispatch confirmation — before anything leaves Hangzhou.
Deepwove returns a development proposal within 48 hours of a complete brief. Weekly production updates run from sample approval through to shipping. One named point of contact handles each project end-to-end.
What we don't do: route you through a sales-rep layer once production starts. Same person, brief to ship.
What depends on you: a working email address you check within a working day. Production decisions stall on slow inboxes.
05
AQL 2.52-stage typical / 3-stage at 500+
Hard gates
AQL 2.5 Inspection Standard. Lab Dip and Sample Approvals as Hard Gates.
QC isn't a final check. It's a series of gates we don't pass without your written sign-off — the same discipline brands like Reformation expect from any manufacturing partner they work with at scale.
Two approvals are non-negotiable before bulk fabric is committed: lab dip (color match against your reference) and sample (construction, fit, finish). Both require explicit sign-off from your side — no implied approval, no factory-side override. The factory floor inspects to AQL 2.5 — the working benchmark across our manufacturing group. For a typical 100-300 piece order, QC runs in two stages: pre-production sample approval first, then final inspection on the full bulk before ship at 30% sampling rate by default. For an order of 500 pieces or more, it expands to three stages — a pre-production meeting, mid-production inspection, and final pre-ship inspection. Brands working to higher-grade specifications can request AQL 1.5 or 0.4 inspection; we route to the audited partners equipped for it. Pre-shipping, we run a full count and packing audit, and we'll coordinate third-party QC inspection (SGS, Bureau Veritas, your in-house QC team) when your brand or retailer requires it.
Deepwove inspects to AQL 2.5 standard across the manufacturing group. 100-300 piece orders run 2-stage QC: pre-production sample approval, then final pre-ship inspection at 30% sampling rate. Orders of 500 pieces and above run 3-stage QC: pre-production meeting, mid-production inspection, final pre-ship inspection. AQL 1.5 or 0.4 inspection available on buyer request. Lab dip approval and sample approval function as hard gates before bulk fabric commitment. Third-party QC coordinates on request — SGS, Bureau Veritas, or brand-side teams.
What we don't do: ship past a missing sign-off because the schedule is tight. The schedule loses to the standard.
What depends on you: sign off on lab dip and sample within the agreed window. Late sign-offs push the shipping date, every time.
06
4 PATHSsame discipline
What We Need From You — Different per Path, Common Discipline.
The five rhythms above are ours to run. This one is yours.
What we ask of you depends on which path you started from. The discipline is the same — clarity, target price, a working response window — but the inputs differ.
Deepwove accepts four entry paths: ODM from a moodboard, OEM from a tech pack, Ready Styles from the catalog, and Private Label as a brand-identity layer on any of those three. Minimum order is 100 pieces per style across all paths.
What we don't do: accept a brief without a target price. Price shapes construction; without it we're guessing.
What depends on you: a single decision-maker on your side. Brief-by-committee adds weeks to every rhythm above.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does sampling take at Deepwove?
Deepwove produces samples within 1 week, subject to fabric availability. Hangzhou-based facility, direct access to Zhejiang fabric mills. In-house pattern makers drive development from brief to first sample. Sample timelines extend by +1 week (2 weeks total) when fabric sourcing is required.
How does Deepwove source fabric for a custom project?
Deepwove sources from three integrated channels: an in-house high-end fabric library, the mill networks our manufacturing group already buys from, and the Zhejiang local market for speed-driven projects. Two fabric sourcing specialists work full-time in Hangzhou. Swatches ship for client confirmation before sample production starts.
What is the production lead time on a custom development run?
Production lead time at Deepwove is 3 months from approved brief to ship-out from Hangzhou on a typical custom development run. Phase 2 bulk runs 6 to 8 weeks from approved sample to packed goods on first orders — that sits inside the 3-month window. Reorders compress to 2 to 4 weeks of production once the pattern is locked and fabric is on hand. Construction complexity, embroidery, and multi-fabric blocking extend the first-order window. 30+ factories in Deepwove's manufacturing group support the timeline. Shipping to your warehouse is your choice and runs separately: air freight to North America 7 to 10 days; sea freight to USWC or AU 4 weeks; sea freight to USEC 4 weeks; sea freight to Europe 4 weeks.
How often will I hear from Deepwove during production?
Deepwove sends weekly production updates from a single named point of contact, from sample approval through to shipping. Pre-shipping, clients receive a final check window with packed photos, garment count, and dispatch confirmation before goods leave Hangzhou.
What QC is in place before garments ship?
Deepwove inspects to AQL 2.5 standard, the working benchmark across the manufacturing group. Typical 100-300 piece orders run a 2-stage QC: pre-production sample approval, then final pre-ship inspection on the full bulk at 30% sampling rate. Orders 500+ pieces run a 3-stage QC: pre-production meeting, mid-production inspection, and final pre-ship inspection. AQL 1.5 or 0.4 inspection — typically tied to higher-grade buyer specifications — is available on request. Lab dip and sample approvals function as hard gates before bulk fabric commitment. Third-party QC inspection (SGS, Bureau Veritas, brand-side teams) coordinates on request.
What information does Deepwove need to prepare a development proposal?
Deepwove requires a style reference, fabric direction, target price, and rough quantity. The in-house team builds the proposal from moodboards or reference images. A target retail or wholesale price helps Deepwove align fabric and construction recommendations. Proposals return within 48 hours of receiving a complete brief.