Where to start: the supplier ladder
SupplySeys guide · Updated November 2026
You've made samples and maybe sold a first capsule. Now you need more than a fabric store can give you, but less than a mill's minimum. The supplier ladder shows which suppliers fit the quantities you buy today, and where you'll go next.
The supplier ladder
- Step 1 · Buy by the yard148Stock services, jobbers and fabric stores. Buy a few yards or a whole bolt, often with no minimum.
- Step 2 · Low minimums3Converters and mills with stock programs or small-run minimums, often around 50–300 yards per color.
- Step 3 · Mill runs1,928Mills that make fabric to order. Expect minimums per color; ask about stock programs and sample yardage.
Numbers are suppliers in the directory today. Steps are estimated from listing data (business type, stock, cut yardage and stated minimums) until a supplier is verified. Step 2 grows as suppliers confirm their minimums.
Which step fits you?
- Under about 50 yards per fabric (samples, a few pieces, made to order): step 1. Stock services, jobbers and stores sell cut yardage, often the same day if you can walk in. Start with the NYC Garment District or LA Fashion District.
- About 50–300 yards per color (a small production run): step 2. Converters and mills with stock programs will often dye or finish smaller lots. Ask every step 3 mill whether it has a stock program too.
- 300+ yards per color, repeat orders or custom development: step 3. Mills make to order. Expect lab dips or strike-offs and longer lead times.
Most brands use more than one step at once: a mill for a core fabric, a stock service for a seasonal print, a jobber for a one-off deadstock drop.
What to ask in your first email
Suppliers answer short, specific emails. Every supplier page has a Write my intro email button that drafts one for you. Include:
- Who you are, your brand and where you're based.
- What you're making and the fabric you need: fiber, construction, weight and colors.
- Rough yardage and when you need it. To estimate: pieces × yards per piece, plus about 10% for cutting waste.
Then ask for:
- the minimum order per color, and whether they sell cut yardage or sample lengths
- price per yard at your quantity
- swatches or sample yardage, and the cost
- lead time for stock and for new orders
Sourcing terms
- MOQ (minimum order quantity)
- The smallest order a supplier will accept, usually per color and sometimes per style. Stock services may have none; mills often start in the hundreds or thousands of yards.
- Cut yardage
- Fabric cut to the length you ask for from a bolt or roll, often from 1 yard. The easiest way to buy for samples and tiny runs.
- Sample yardage
- A short length, often 1–5 yards, bought to make a prototype before a production order.
- Swatch card or header
- Small cut samples showing a fabric and its color range. Mills and converters send these to designers, sometimes for a fee.
- Stock service
- A supplier that keeps finished fabric on the shelf and ships quickly, often in small quantities.
- Jobber
- A company that buys surplus and deadstock fabric from mills and brands and resells it. Great prices, but limited and usually not reorderable.
- Deadstock
- Unused fabric left over from production. Good for small runs if you design around what is available.
- Converter
- A company that buys unfinished (greige) fabric and has it dyed, printed or finished to order. Often has lower minimums than a mill.
- Greige goods
- Fabric straight off the loom or knitting machine, before dyeing or finishing.
- Mill
- A factory that spins, weaves or knits fabric. Most make to order with minimums per color, though many run stock programs.
- Stock program
- A mill's range of fabrics kept in stock or made continuously, so small buyers can order lower quantities.
- Lead time
- The time from a confirmed order (or approved lab dip or strike-off) to the fabric shipping.
- Lab dip
- A small dyed sample a mill makes to match your color before dyeing production fabric.
- Strike-off
- A short test print of your design on the chosen fabric, to approve color and scale before printing yardage.
- GSM and momme
- Fabric weight. GSM is grams per square meter; momme is the traditional weight unit for silk (about 4.3 GSM per momme).
- Cuttable width
- The usable width of a fabric between the selvedges. It changes how many yards your pattern needs.
- OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100
- A label showing the product was tested for harmful substances. Check the label number on OEKO-TEX Label Check.
Keep reading
Buying small quantities of fabricFabric MOQs explainedMill vs converter vs stock serviceSmall-batch friendly suppliers
Frequently asked questions
What is the supplier ladder?
A way to group fabric suppliers by the quantities they sell: step 1 sells by the yard from stock, step 2 takes small runs with low minimums, and step 3 mills make fabric to order with higher minimums.
Where should an emerging designer start sourcing fabric?
Start at step 1 with stock services, jobbers and fabric wholesalers that sell cut yardage, then move to low-minimum converters and stock programs, and to mills when your orders reach their minimums.
What should I ask a fabric supplier in my first email?
Say who you are and what you are making, name the fabric, give rough yardage and timing, and ask for the minimum per color, price per yard, swatches or sample yardage, and lead time.
What does MOQ mean for fabric?
MOQ means minimum order quantity: the smallest order a supplier accepts, usually counted in yards or meters per color.