Lingerie Manufacturers That Understand Band and Cup Grading
Most apparel is graded on one axis. Lingerie is graded on two. A 34C and a 36B hold roughly the same cup volume on a different band, and if your grade does not account for that, your best-selling size will be the one that gets returned. Mega Apparel is a custom lingerie manufacturer producing bras, panties, shapewear, and sleepwear for brands in the United States. We have been making intimate apparel since 2012, with more than 2,000 clients through our factory, and we start at 50 pieces per style. Send a tech pack, a sketch, or a bra you want improved. We will tell you at the quote stage which parts of the spec will work and which will cost you more than they are worth.
Why Lingerie is a Different Manufacturing Job
A t-shirt has four pattern pieces and one thread. A molded underwire bra has more than twenty separate components, and every one of them has to be sourced, matched in color, and tested against skin. A typical bra bill of materials:
- Cups, either molded foam or cut and sewn in two or three panels
- Underwire and wire casing, sized separately per cup
- Cradle and gore at the center front
- Wings in power net, usually a firmer fabric than the cup
- Band elastic, plush backing so it does not abrade
- Picot and fold-over elastic at the neckline and leg
- Straps, rings, and sliders, matched in width and finish
- Hook and eye tape, two by three or three by three depending on bandwidth
- Bows, charms, and label trims
That is the real reason lingerie minimums sit higher than t-shirt minimums and why a lingerie quote takes longer to come back. Every one of those components has its own supplier, its own lead time, and its own color match. When a factory quotes you a bra in an hour, it has not sourced anything yet.
Intimate Apparel We Manufacture
Every piece is made to your spec and your grade. Nothing here is a stock garment with your label added.
Custom Bras
Underwire, wireless, plunge, balconette, T-shirt, push-up, bralette, and nursing styles, in molded or cut and sew cups, graded across your chosen band and cup range.
Custom Panties and Briefs
Thong, cheeky, bikini, hipster, brief, and high-waisted, with bonded, picot, or fold-over elastic edges and a cotton gusset.
Custom Sports Bras
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Light, medium, and high support builds with power mesh backs, encased elastic under the bust, removable pads, and adjustable straps.
Custom Shapewear
Bodysuits, waist shapers, and shaping shorts and slips in power net and double-layer construction, with graduated hold rather than flat compression.
Custom Corsets and Bustiers
Boned constructions with spiral or flat steel boning, lacing or hook and eye closure, and a lined interior for comfort against the skin.
Custom Sleepwear and Loungewear
Chemises, slips, robes, camisoles, and pyjama sets in satin, modal, and cotton blends.
Custom Seamless Intimates
Knitted whole on circular seamless machines, so there are no side seams to show under clothing. Higher setup cost, noticeably different feel.
Custom Lingerie Sets
Matched bra and panty sets produced in the same dye lot, which is the only reliable way to keep the two pieces the same shade.
Custom Camisoles and Slips
Built with a shelf bra or lightweight cup, adjustable straps, and lace or bonded hems.
Molded Cups or Cut and Sew, and What Each One Costs You
This one choice moves your minimum, your tooling cost, and your retail price more than the fabric does.
| Molded cup | Cut and sew cup | |
|---|---|---|
| How it is made | Foam pressed into shape on a heated mould | Two or three fabric panels stitched into a cup shape |
| Look under clothing | Smooth, no seam lines | Seams visible depending on fabric |
| Shape and support | Consistent shape, holds form on the hanger | Better lift and separation at larger cup sizes |
| Setup cost | A mould is needed per cup size, so tooling adds up fast | No tooling, but more sewing time per unit |
| Minimum | Higher, because the tooling has to be justified | Lower, which is why most new brands start here |
| Best for | Everyday and T-shirt bras, smooth silhouettes | Full bust ranges, lace styles, first collections |
If you are launching, cut and sew almost always makes more sense. It lets you test the fit and the market before you commit to moulds. Once a style sells, moving it to molded cups is a straightforward second step, and we keep the pattern on file for it.
Fabrics and Trims
Lingerie fabric is chosen for recovery and for how it behaves against skin, not for weight alone. A fabric that does not spring back is a bra that stops fitting by month three.
| Fabric | Used for | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Power net | Wings, bands, shapewear panels | Firm hold with recovery, the workhorse of the category |
| Power mesh | Sports bra backs, vent panels, linings | Support with airflow, lighter than a power net |
| Stretch lace | Cups, panties, trims | Decorative with give, available in galloon and all-over |
| Rigid lace | Overlays, corsetry | Holds shape, used where stretch would soften the line |
| Nylon spandex tricot | Cups, panties, bodysuits | Smooth face, strong recovery, soft against skin |
| Microfiber | T-shirt bras, everyday panties | Invisible under clothing, matte finish |
| Modal and micromodal | Sleepwear, loungewear, everyday briefs | Very soft, breathable, and resistant to pilling |
| Cotton and cotton spandex | Gussets, everyday basics | Breathable, required for the gusset in most markets |
| Satin and charmeuse | Chemises, robes, slips | Fluid drape and sheen |
| Bamboo blends | Everyday and sleep ranges | Soft, breathable, natural odor resistance |
Trims matter as much as fabric here. We match plush elastic, picot edging, rings, sliders, hook and eye tape, and straps to your fabric color, which is a step cheaper factories skip. Mismatched trim on a black bra is invisible in a photo and obvious in the hand.
Sizing, Grading, and Fit Every Brand Should Know
Fit is where lingerie brands succeed or quietly bleed money on returns. Three decisions settle most of it.
How wide to launch
Most new brands launch too wide. A core band range of 32 to 38 with cups A to DD covers the majority of the US market and keeps your inventory manageable. Extended and full bust ranges can be added once the fit is proven on the core, and adding them later is far cheaper than clearing sizes that never sold.
Grading across two axes
Band and cup grade independently. Cup volume steps up as the letter increases, and the same letter behaves differently on a different band. We grade from your fit base size, usually a 34B or a 34C, and check the extremes of the range rather than assuming the middle scales cleanly.
Fitting on a body
Bras are approved on a live-fit model, not on a dress form. A form has no soft tissue and will tell you a bra fits when it does not. Expect two or three fit rounds on a first style. That is normal, and it is cheaper than a return rate.
Send us your size chart if you have one. If you do not, we will build the graded spec, and you will own it, so it goes with you if you ever move production.
Private Labeling for Intimate Apparel and Packaging
Every order ships under your brand. Nothing in the box points back to us.
For intimates the label choice matters more than in other categories, because it sits against skin all day. Most of our lingerie clients use a printed satin or tagless heat transfer label at the center back rather than a stitched woven one. Woven damask is still the better choice for a hang loop or an outer brand tab.
Care and content labels are printed with fiber content, country of origin, and care symbols in the format US retail expects under the FTC Care Labeling Rule, and we will print your RN number if you have one. Packaging runs the same way. Branded poly bags, boxes, tissue, hang tags, and UPC or EAN barcodes applied per unit, ready for a boutique account or an FBA shipment.
Who We Manufacture for
- Startup lingerie and intimates brands producing a first collection
- Established labels adding a season or replacing a supplier who missed a delivery
- Full bust and extended-size specialists
- Shapewear and bodywear brands
- Sleepwear and loungewear labels
- Boutiques and retailers building a house label
- Wholesalers and distributors stocking for onward sale
- Ecommerce and subscription brands who need consistent reorders rather than one drop
Frequently Asked Questions
50 pieces per style for panties, sleepwear, and simple bralettes, and 100 pieces per style per colorway for cut and sew underwire bras and shapewear. Molded cup bras sit higher because a mold is needed for each cup size.
A bra has more than twenty components, and each one has its own supplier, lead time, and color match. Underwires, hook and eye tape, rings, sliders, and elastics all carry their own minimums, so the garment minimum has to cover them.
Cut and sew for a first collection, almost always. There is no tooling cost, the minimum is lower, and it lets you prove the fit before committing. Molded cups give a smoother line under clothing and are the natural second step once a style sells.
A core band range of 32 to 38 with cups A to DD covers most of the US market and keeps your inventory manageable. Extended and full bust sizes are easier to add later than to clear when they do not sell.
Usually two or three rounds on a first style. Bras are approved on a live-fit model rather than a dress form, because a form has no soft tissue and will tell you a bra fits when it does not.
The first sample takes 15 to 20 business days from an approved tech pack, plus fit revisions, and then the bulk takes 20 to 25 business days after you approve the pre-production sample.
Yes, and it is the easiest brief to work from. Send the garment. We take the pattern apart, identify the fabric, the elastics, and the hardware, and produce a sample you can compare side by side.
They do if they are run in the same dye lot, which is how we produce sets. Ordering the two pieces separately at different times is the usual reason a set arrives slightly off shade.
Yes. Printed satin, tagless heat transfer, and woven labels, custom hang tags, branded poly bags and boxes, and barcodes applied per unit.