Custom Fair Isle Cardigan Manufacturer
Fair Isle is built from horizontal bands, and a cardigan puts a vertical opening through all of them. The bands have to be charted to meet at the placket, not cut and hoped for.
Technical specifications
Bands and openings pull in opposite directions
A Fair Isle pattern is a stack of horizontal bands. A cardigan front is a vertical edge. Where they meet, the band has to end on a deliberate line or it looks like the pattern ran out.
Cheap cardigans finish the band by cutting through it and binding the edge, which leaves half-motifs staggered down the front.
We chart each band to close cleanly at the placket, so the pattern looks finished rather than interrupted.
What you customise on a wholesale Fair Isle cardigan
Colour count is the main cost driver, and the band order is the main design decision.
- Band sequence — the order, width and spacing of each horizontal band
- Colour count — most mills cap around 4–6; our machines run up to 13 per chart
- Yoke — circular yoke, straight band, or a chest band only on a plain body
- Closure — button front, zip, or open front
- Yarn — wool, wool blend, cotton, acrylic, cashmere blend
- Labels and packaging — woven neck label, care label, hang tag, polybag
Every option you choose on this style
Anything not listed is still worth asking about — send the reference and we will tell you whether it can be knitted, and what it changes in the quote.
How a custom Fair Isle cardigan is made here
Bands are mapped edge to edge, then the opening is built into the chart.
- Chart and program — bands mapped across the full body width and closed at the placket line
- Sample — a physical sample in 72 hours showing the band alignment at the edge
- Knitting — panels knitted with the bands continuous and the placket planned in
- Finishing — placket finished, buttons set, washed and pressed
- Inspection and dispatch — band alignment checked against the chart, photographed, packed
Wholesale order terms
Why we don't publish a price
A custom product has no universal price. Two orders for what looks like the same sweater can land far apart, because the number is built from the specifics below — and a factory that quotes you a figure before asking these questions has not costed your order at all.
- Yarn and material — acrylic, cotton, wool and cashmere are different products, not the same product at three prices — the fibre decides hand feel, weight and cost together
- Size and fit — a kids' size and an adult 2XL draw different yarn on a different machine setup, and a full size curve spreads the fixed cost differently
- Knitting structure — a plain jersey knit and a textured relief or intarsia panel run at different speeds on different machines — the construction is the single biggest driver of machine time
- Colour count — every additional colour in a jacquard chart means another yarn feed and another colour change on every row, so a 3-colour motif and a 13-colour all-over pattern are not close in cost
- Wastage and yield — complex charts, textured structures and cut-and-sew patterns lose more material on the machine. That loss rate is a real line in the cost, and it moves with the design
- Quantity — pattern charting and machine programming are fixed costs — the longer the run, the thinner they spread across each piece
- Trims and packaging — woven labels, hang tags, foil boxes, polybags and Pantone-matched yarn all add per piece, and each one is a separate quote line
Send us your design (a sketch or a phone photo is enough), your size range, your quantity and your delivery destination. We come back with a costed quote against the actual product you are buying — usually within one business day. No charge, no commitment. Request a quote →
How much does it cost? A made-to-order product has no single list price, but there is a published starting point: 100% acrylic with a three-colour jacquard, DDP to the USA. Everything above that is built from your yarn and material, your size range, the knitting structure and colour count, the wastage the design produces, your quantity, and the trims and packaging you choose. Change any one of those and the price changes. The current figure, the eight variables that move it and the terms behind it are in our cost guide: https://bentepromo.com/blog/bulk-personalized-christmas-sweaters-cost-per-unit. Send your design, size range, quantity and delivery destination and we return a costed quote against the actual product you are buying, usually within one business day.
Questions buyers ask first
How much does it cost?
A made-to-order product has no single list price, but there is a published starting point: 100% acrylic with a three-colour jacquard, DDP to the USA. Everything above that is built from your yarn and material, your size range, the knitting structure and colour count, the wastage the design produces, your quantity, and the trims and packaging you choose. Change any one of those and the price changes. The current figure, the eight variables that move it and the terms behind it are in our cost guide: https://bentepromo.com/blog/bulk-personalized-christmas-sweaters-cost-per-unit. Send your design, size range, quantity and delivery destination and we return a costed quote against the actual product you are buying, usually within one business day.
How many colours can a Fair Isle cardigan carry?
Our machines and charting team run up to 13 colours per chart with clean separation, which is well past the four to six most mills will quote. Every extra colour is yarn changes and machine time, so it moves the price — but the premium is smaller here than with a supplier who has to simplify the chart.
Are you a factory or a trading company?
We own the knitting floor in Dalang, Dongguan. Knitting and linking happen on our own machines, and woven work is ours as well. Anything outside those — certain finishing, printing on some materials, hard goods — comes from partner workshops, and we say which is which instead of claiming everything is in-house.
What do you need from me to quote?
Artwork or a reference image, the size range, the quantity you have in mind, and the destination country. A vector file is best but a sketch or a phone photo is enough to start — our CAD team turns it into a knit chart and sends it back for your approval before anything runs.
How We Protect Your Order
Your money and quality are covered at every step. We welcome third-party inspection (SGS, QIMA, BV) before you pay the balance.
30% deposit, 70% on delivery
Never 100% upfront — pay the balance only before shipping.
Letter of credit (L/C)
We accept L/C — the strongest buyer protection available.
Photo approval before dispatch
Photos and video at every stage, approved by you.
Factory visits welcome
Come see your order being made on our Dalang floor.
Send the artwork and the quantity
A vector is ideal, a sketch is enough. You get a knit chart, a yarn recommendation and a costed quote against the actual product you are buying — usually within one business day.
Request a fair isle cardigan manufacturer Quote →