How much does it cost to manufacture pullover sweater?

Custom pullover sweaters commonly fall in the $8–28+ per unit FOB range. Within that band, knitwear carries machine-programming setup and yarn minimums that cut-and-sew does not. A unit price quoted without fabric weight, construction details, decoration method and order volume is not comparable across suppliers.

What moves the number:

• Fabric — cotton and cotton-blend yarns for cut-and-sew knit programs; wool and wool blends for premium knitwear; cashmere-adjacent blends for the top of the range. Weight and composition are usually the single largest cost line.
• Construction and trims — yarn and gauge agreed against the target hand and season, and shrinkage behaviour confirmed, since cotton shrinks around 3–5% and wool more if not pre-treated.
• Decoration — jacquard patterns, embroidery, woven labels, patch branding.
• Volume — the same specification at 100 pieces and at 1,000 pieces does not carry the same unit cost, because setup is amortized differently.

A low quote is rarely a lower cost. When three suppliers quote different prices for the same garment, the difference is usually the fabric weight, a stock trim substituted for a specified one, or a decoration method quietly swapped. Compare quotations only after aligning fabric, construction, decoration, labels, packaging and quantity — and ask each supplier to state what is excluded.

Reference points across the range: sample fees are typically USD 50–150 for a simple garment and USD 150–400 where multiple fabric panels and custom trims are involved, usually deductible from the bulk order; sea freight adds roughly USD 1–2.50 per unit at volume, and air freight costs about 5–6 times more.

Send your fabric preference, target quantity per color and decoration method, and we will price the actual bill of materials rather than a category average — contact VANRD.