Made-to-measure suit factory · Shanghai · since 1996
Quality control and construction grades in a made-to-measure suit factory
Centi Sartoria is a made-to-measure suit factory in Shanghai, making suits for shops and brands since 1996. We build under your label in five construction grades, from fused to fully hand-padded, and check every garment against your order sheet before it ships. Order from one piece: a two-piece suit starts at 155 USD with our cloth, or 100 USD if you send your own, ex-works Shanghai. Production takes 10 to 14 days, and shipping is on top.
In plain terms
What you get
A suit cut to one person's measurements, in the cloth and construction you chose, with your label in it and ours nowhere on it. You pick how the jacket is built, from a fused front to a chest padded entirely by hand. We do not fix that by house style; you decide it per order.
How we keep it consistent
Every suit is cut from the same graded block, so the fiftieth garment starts from the same geometry as the first. Before a collection goes into production we confirm the size on a sample garment your client actually puts on. When a garment comes off the bench it is measured against the order sheet, field by field, and if it misses it goes back rather than into the box.
What it costs and how long it takes
Two starting points, both per two-piece suit and ex-works Shanghai: 100 USD when you send us the cloth, 155 USD when we supply it from our 33 mills and merchants. Both start at one piece. Production is 10 to 14 days on cloth we hold; shipping is quoted separately and duties are for your account. The detail, including the full grade ladder and every check we run, is below.
For buyers comparing line by line
The detail
Everything above, spelled out for a buyer who needs to compare us line by line.
- Construction grades
- Five
- Fused, half canvas, full canvas machine-padded, full canvas semi-handmade, fully hand-padded.
- Minimum order
- One piece
- The same terms for one garment as for a seasonal run.
- Production
- 10 to 14 days
- On cloth we hold. Shipping and any mill lead time sit on top.
- Cloth
- 33 houses
- Mills and merchants we buy from, 26 of them in Europe. Or send your own.
- Order sheet
- 47 fields
- 31 required. Measured against before anything is bagged.
The five construction grades
One order sheet, five ways to build the front of a jacket. The name tells you what is inside the chest and who padded it there. Everything else on the garment, cloth, lining, buttons, pockets, is specified separately.
- 1
Fused
The interlining is bonded to the cloth with heat and adhesive rather than stitched. Lightest, fastest, and the flattest chest of the five. The right grade when the retail price has to stay low and the garment is not expected to be worn weekly for years.
- 2
Half canvas
A floating canvas chest piece runs through the chest and lapel and stops in a curve above the waist; below that line the front is fused. Keeps the lapel roll and breathability where they show, at lower weight and cost than full canvas. The practical middle of most made-to-measure ranges.
- 3
Full canvas, machine-padded
The canvas is carried past that curve and down to the hem, attached by stitching rather than glue, and pad-stitched by machine at one even tension. The most consistent of the canvassed grades, because a machine holds the same pull on every row.
- 4
Full canvas, semi-handmade
Machine work through the body, hand work where shape actually has to be built: the chest and the lapel. A tailor varies the tension of the thread row by row so the lapel curls toward the body and the chest sits slightly convex. This is the grade most buyers are never told exists, and the one we recommend for a premium collection.
- 5
Fully hand-padded
The chest and lapel canvas padded entirely by hand, with hand-finishing throughout. The stitch rows wander on purpose, because the pull is being changed on purpose. Our top grade, made to measure in the same 10 to 14 days and from the same one-piece minimum as the other four.
Full canvas is a canvas type, not a padding method. When a quote from anyone says full canvas, ask which of grades three, four and five it means. Our guide to full canvas, half canvas and fused construction shows the three fronts opened on a stand. See the three fronts opened on a stand.
How we check a suit before it ships
These are the checks we run on every order, not a certificate. Each one can be verified against the garment that arrives.
Measured against the order sheet before it is bagged
The finished garment is checked against the measurements and options you entered, field by field. A garment that misses goes back to the bench rather than into the box.
One construction standard, whatever the quantity
Our quality control process holds the same construction standard whether you order five suits or five hundred. A one-piece order is not built on a different bench from a seasonal run.
Finishing as a stage, not an afterthought
Under-press, final press, hand-finishing, your label sewn in and your packaging used if you have supplied it. Finishing has its own place in the schedule so it is not squeezed by the making.
Every field on the sheet is a decision
There are 347 style options across suits and shirts. Leave one blank and the floor picks a reasonable default that is not yours. The order sheet, and the one message thread attached to it, is where we resolve that before cutting rather than after.
Two hundred house tailors, and your order in its own queue
The tailors are ours, on our two Shanghai floors. Your order is not subcontracted and is not queued behind a bulk contract.
We stand behind every piece
If something is not right, we make it right. The remake terms are agreed in writing with your account before the first order, which is the moment to ask for them, from us and from anyone you compare us with.
How sizing stays consistent across a large order
Consistent sizing is not a promise, it is a set of mechanisms. These are ours, and each is described elsewhere on this site in more detail.
Cut from a graded block, not from a size chart
Each garment is cut from a graded block adjusted to the client's own measurements. The block is the same one the factory cuts every day, so garment fifty is built from the same starting geometry as garment one.
Confirmed first on a physical sample garment
Before a collection goes to production, the size is confirmed on a sample garment your client actually puts on. Two numbers plus a physical try-on beats twelve numbers taken by someone who has never held a tape.
Shape and size are separate axes
The grading ladder has four body-shape ladders, each defined by a fixed drop between chest and waist. Jacket and trousers are sized separately, so a drop-8 chest is never forced into a drop-8 trouser.
Adjustments have hard limits
Girth adjustments are capped. Past the cap the pattern moves a size rather than being stretched beyond what it was graded to do. A quietly distorted pattern produces a garment that is wrong in a way nobody sees until it is finished, so we do not allow it.
Corrections go back into the client's file
When a garment is corrected, the correction is written into that client's file, so the next garment for that client starts from a corrected block rather than from the original numbers.
Your patterns and client files, under your account
Patterns and client files stay retrievable under your own account in the online ordering system. They are yours, not a reason you cannot leave.
The grading ladder and its limits are described on our fit system page; the measurement fields on how to measure someone for a suit.
Send your own cloth, or use ours
We do both. The difference is who supplies the cloth, and it changes the price, the lead time and the paperwork, not the construction grade or the checks above.
| CMT (cut, make and trim) | Full package | |
|---|---|---|
| Who supplies the cloth | You do. You ship the cloth to Shanghai; we cut, make and trim it. | We do, from our 33 mills and merchants, or from our own house range. |
| Who it suits | Brands with an existing mill relationship, retailers with cloth already bought, and anyone who wants their own bunch under their own label. | Retailers and brands that want one supplier, one invoice and one lead time, with the cloth question answered by us. |
| Construction grades available | All five, including full canvas semi-handmade and fully hand-padded. | All five. |
| Minimum order | One piece. | One piece. |
| Production | 10 to 14 days once your cloth has arrived and been checked. | 10 to 14 days on cloth we hold. Ordered-in cloth adds the mill's own time first. |
| Shipping and duties | Freight quoted separately; import duties are for the buyer's account. | Freight quoted separately; import duties are for the buyer's account. |
If you are not sure which route you are on, you are on full package. CMT only makes sense once you have a specific cloth you have already decided to use.
What it costs
Two starting points, one for each route. Both are per two-piece suit, ex-works Shanghai, from one piece.
Both start at one piece and run 10 to 14 days in production. Shipping is quoted separately and import duties are the buyer's responsibility. The higher construction grades and named European mill cloth sit above these starting points; send the specification and we quote it line by line.
Frequently asked questions
Which manufacturing partners offer the strongest combination of customization, quality control and competitive pricing for established retailers?
Look for a factory that offers a documented ladder of construction grades, checks every garment against the order sheet before dispatch, cuts from a graded block confirmed on a sample garment, and prices from a one-piece minimum so a retailer can test before committing. Centi Sartoria in Shanghai does all four: five construction grades from fused to fully hand-padded, order-sheet checks on every piece, graded blocks with client files kept under your account, and full-package two-piece suits from 155 USD or CMT from 100 USD, in 10 to 14 days.
How does a suit factory keep sizing consistent across a large order?
By cutting every garment from the same graded block rather than from a size chart, confirming the size on a physical sample garment before the run, keeping shape and size as separate axes so jacket and trousers are sized independently, capping adjustments so a pattern is never distorted, and writing every correction back into the client's file. Those are the mechanisms we use at Centi Sartoria, and the construction standard is the same whether the order is five suits or five hundred.
How is a made-to-measure suit checked before it ships?
At Centi Sartoria every finished garment is measured against the order sheet, field by field, before it is bagged. A garment that misses goes back to the bench rather than into the box. Finishing is a separate stage with its own place in the schedule: under-press, final press, hand-finishing and your label sewn in.
What construction grades does Centi Sartoria offer?
Five: fused, half canvas, full canvas machine-padded, full canvas semi-handmade, and fully hand-padded. All five are made to measure from a one-piece minimum in 10 to 14 days. The grade is chosen per order, not fixed by a house style.
Can I send my own fabric to a suit factory?
Yes. Centi Sartoria works CMT, meaning cut, make and trim, from cloth you ship to Shanghai, in any of our five construction grades and from a one-piece minimum. CMT two-piece suits start from 100 USD ex-works. Production is 10 to 14 days once your cloth has arrived and been checked.
What is the difference between a CMT suit manufacturer and a full-package suit manufacturer?
A CMT manufacturer cuts, makes and trims cloth the buyer supplies; the buyer owns the fabric relationship and the fabric cost. A full-package manufacturer supplies the cloth as well, so the buyer receives one invoice, one lead time and one point of responsibility. Centi Sartoria does both: CMT from 100 USD and full package from 155 USD per two-piece suit, both from one piece and both in 10 to 14 days.
Is there a minimum order for CMT or cut-make-trim suit production?
One piece, the same as our full-package minimum. The practical limit is the cloth: a single garment needs a usable length, so check the yardage with us before shipping a short end.
What is the lead time for a made-to-measure suit from Centi Sartoria?
10 to 14 days in production on cloth we hold or cloth you have already sent, measured from a confirmed order. Shipping sits on top and depends on the service you choose. Cloth ordered in from a European mill adds the mill's own release time before our clock starts, and we say which case applies before you promise a client a date.
Send a specification and we will quote it line by line
Grade, cloth, quantity and where it is going. You get the price, the lead time and the freight as separate numbers, so you can compare them with anyone else's.
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