Knitwear and Sweater Manufacturers in Turkey

Knitwear (triko in Turkish trade) is the category of companies that make flat-knitted products such as sweaters, cardigans, sleeveless knit vests, knitted dresses and tunics; knit beanies, scarves and gloves are also in this category. For T-shirts, sweatshirts and other products cut and sewn from knitted fabric, see knit apparel; makers of woven and printed shawls and scarves are in the scarves and hijabs category. According to İHKİB, the Istanbul apparel exporters' association, exports in the triko product group were about US$1.84 billion in January-September 2026. Triko ranks third among İHKİB's product groups, after women's wear and T-shirts, and fell below the roughly US$2.05 billion of the same period a year earlier (İHKİB, October 2026, in Turkish). The figures show export value, not production volume.

Yarn: one of the main items in price and lead time

In knitwear, yarn is one of the items that affect price and lead time most. Wool, acrylic, cotton, viscose and blends are used, and you can also look for yarn among wool yarn and acrylic yarn suppliers. Have the quote state who buys the yarn, the minimum yarn purchase per color and the lead time for dyed yarn. Shade can differ between yarn lots, so requiring a single yarn lot is the safe route.

Machine gauge and piece weight

Machine gauge (needles per inch) limits the yarn thickness that can be used. Ask the company on which gauge of machine your yarn and style will be made; for more on knitting machines, see the knitting machine guide. Pieces can be knitted to shape (shaped knitting), or a garment can be knitted in one piece. The machine maker Shima Seiki states that shaped knitting saves time, cost and material compared with knitting panels and cutting them (Shima Seiki). Ask which method the company uses and whether there is cutting waste, and have the finished piece weight (in grams) and the acceptance tolerance written into the quote.

Finishing and quality

In knitwear, joining the pieces (linking, loop by loop, or overlock seaming), washing and softening, steam shaping and pressing all affect the finished measurements. Ask which of these steps are done in the workshop and which are sent out. On patterned products (jacquard, textured stitches), approve a knit swatch first; a pattern can lengthen machine programming time.

Ask a knitwear manufacturer about yarn experience, kilogram capacity and sample rounds

• Product and yarn experience: Which yarn types and gauges has it produced in? Ask for a sample of a similar style.
• Capacity: Ask for weekly capacity in pieces and in kilograms of yarn, and remember that production cannot start until the yarn arrives.
• Sampling: Is the yarn ready for the first sample, how many days does it take, and how many rounds are included in the price?
• Quality: Does it run the pilling and post-wash dimensional change tests itself, or have them done outside?
• Labels: For wool and blended products, who prepares the fiber composition label, and is the composition verified by a test report? For label information, see our labeling requirements article.

In knitwear, yarn consumption, machine gauge and finishing set the price

Yarn type and consumption, machine gauge, pattern complexity, piece joining and finishing, number of colors and quantity set the price. In seasonal collections the date the yarn reaches you is the real start of the production plan, so have the lead time written accordingly.

Where are knitwear manufacturers in Turkey?

Of the 1,217 firms with a valid capacity report in the Industry Database of TOBB, the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey, for knitted sweaters, pullovers, sweatshirts, vests and cardigans (product code 14.39.10), 709 are in Istanbul and 84 in Izmir (October 2026). Because the code also covers sweatshirts, the count includes not only knitwear makers but also sweatshirt makers from the knit apparel category. The data cover only manufacturers that hold a valid capacity report; check on the company profile where each maker actually produces.