Knitwear Manufacturers in Portugal for Small Brands (2026) | NovaSupplier
Knitwear Manufacturers in Portugal for Small Brands: Types, Minimums and How to Brief
Matias Santos·
Portugal has a deep knitwear base in the north, and some of it works at small-brand quantities. Across the factories that publish knitwear MOQ data on NovaSupplier, the lowest minimum is 50 units. This guide explains the three kinds of knitwear factory, what really sets the minimum, where the factories are and what to put in a brief so a factory can quote it.
Can a small brand get knitwear made in Portugal?
Yes. Portugal has a large knitwear base in the north of the country, and some factories accept small first orders. As of 30 October 2026, NovaSupplier lists 27 knitwear manufacturers in Portugal, and across the factories that publish knitwear MOQ data, the lowest minimum is 50 units.
The catch is that "knitwear" covers three different kinds of production, and the minimum depends far more on the yarn than on the factory's goodwill. A small brand that knows which type it needs, and briefs the yarn, gauge and stitch from the first message, gets real quotes. A brand that writes "looking for a knitwear factory, low MOQ" usually gets silence or a polite no.
Data: NovaSupplier knitwear data page, 30 October 2026. 17 of the 27 listed knitwear factories publish knitwear MOQ data. Across those 17 factories, the median of each factory's lowest knitwear minimum is 150 units. 3 of those 17 factories accept knitwear orders of 100 units or fewer. 12 of the 27 are in Barcelos. See the full list on the knitwear manufacturers in Portugal data page.
Making knitwear?Post a brief on NovaSupplier. It is matched to vetted Portuguese clothing factories by product and minimum, factories engage with a brief in under 30 hours, and it is free for brands.
What kinds of knitwear factory are there?
Before you look for a factory, decide which of these three you need. They use different machines, different yarns and often different companies.
Seamless (circular knit). The garment is knitted as a tube on a circular machine, with no side seams. The machine changes stitch and tension at set points around the tube, which is how compression zones, mesh panels and ribbed areas appear in one piece. This is the method for most seamless activewear: sports bras, leggings, base layers and seamless tops, usually in polyamide and elastane.
Fully fashioned (flat knit). Each panel is knitted to shape on a flat V-bed machine, which narrows and widens the panel as it goes. The front, back and sleeves come off the machine ready to be linked, with very little cutting waste. This is the method for jumpers, cardigans, knitted dresses, knitted trousers and knitted sets, in wool, merino, cotton, cashmere blends and other natural or blended yarns.
Cut-and-sew from knitted fabric. The factory buys knitted fabric on the roll (jersey, rib, waffle, fleece, technical knits) and cuts and sews it like any other garment. Many brands searching for "knitwear" actually need this: a waffle-knit thermal, a ribbed long sleeve or a knitted jogger is often cut-and-sew, not flat knit.
Seamless
Fully fashioned
Cut-and-sew from knit fabric
How it is made
Knitted as a tube on a circular machine
Panels knitted to shape on a flat machine, then linked
Knitted fabric cut and sewn
Typical products
Sports bras, leggings, base layers
Jumpers, cardigans, knit sets, knit trousers
Thermals, rib tops, knit joggers, loungewear
Main input
Polyamide and elastane yarn
Wool, merino, cotton and blended yarns
Fabric rolls from a knitting mill
What the factory needs from you
Zone placement, yarn ratio, size set
Gauge, yarn, stitch structure, measurements
Fabric weight, composition, construction
If you are not sure which one your product is, describe the garment and attach a reference photo. A good factory will tell you within one message whether it is a flat-knit job or a cut-and-sew job.
What are the real minimums for knitwear in Portugal?
The figures below come from the factories listed on NovaSupplier's knitwear data page as of 30 October 2026. MOQ is self-reported by each factory and usually means pieces per style.
Measure
Value
Knitwear manufacturers listed
27
Factories that publish knitwear MOQ data
17
Lowest knitwear minimum, across those 17
50 units
Median lowest minimum, across those 17
150 units
Factories accepting 100 units or fewer, out of those 17
3
Across the factories that publish knitwear MOQ data, the lowest minimum is 50 units. Across the same 17 factories, the median of each factory's lowest minimum is 150 units. Only 3 of those 17 accept knitwear orders of 100 units or fewer, so knitwear is a tighter category than jersey basics.
Why are knitwear minimums higher than for T-shirts?
Because the binding limit is usually the yarn, and yarn is bought by weight from a spinner.
A spinner sells each yarn quality and colour in a minimum lot. The factory can only go below that lot if it can use a yarn the spinner already holds in stock, or if it has leftover yarn from another order. That is why the same factory can quote 100 pieces in a stock colour and refuse 100 pieces in a custom shade.
A worked example shows how it adds up. If a spinner's minimum for one colour were 50 kg and your jumper used about 500 g of yarn, the yarn alone would cover 100 jumpers. Order 60 and the factory still pays for the full lot, so it either charges you for the yarn you did not use or declines the order. The numbers here are illustrative; ask the factory what its yarn minimum is for your quality and colour.
Fully fashioned production adds a second fixed cost: programming the machine for the shape and stitch of each style. That cost is spread across the style, which is why flat-knit minimums are often per style rather than per colour.
What this means for a small brand:
Start in a stock yarn colour. Ask the factory which colours its spinner holds in stock for the quality you want, and build your first drop around them.
Use one yarn across several styles. A jumper and a cardigan in the same yarn and colour can share a yarn lot even if each style is small.
Keep the first stitch simple. A plain jersey or rib knit is cheaper to programme and sample than a jacquard or intarsia.
Ask the minimum per colour and per style. They are different numbers, and a quote that only gives one of them is incomplete.
Where are Portugal's knitwear factories?
Most of Portugal's knitwear capacity sits in the north, in the Minho and around Porto. On NovaSupplier's knitwear data page, 12 of the 27 listed knitwear manufacturers are in Barcelos, and others are in Vila Nova de Famalicão, Guimarães, Esposende, Santo Tirso, Fafe and Amarante. The Barcelos knitwear page and the Vila Nova de Famalicão knitwear page list the factories by town. For the wider map of the textile region, see the Portuguese textile industry map.
Being close together matters for knitwear. Spinners, dyers, knitters and finishers are often within an hour of each other, so a factory can source yarn, dye it, knit, wash and finish without shipping goods across borders between steps.
A practical point many founders raise: Portuguese knitwear factories rarely appear on large marketplaces like Alibaba. Founders looking for Portuguese waffle-knit and thermal factories have said exactly that in brand communities. You find them through regional directories, trade fairs, referrals and factory data pages, not through a general marketplace search.
Which certifications matter for knitwear?
Certification is chosen per fibre and per claim, and it has to exist in the supply chain before production, not be added afterwards.
On NovaSupplier's knitwear data page, 8 of the 27 listed knitwear manufacturers hold GOTS certification. The OEKO-TEX knitwear page and the GOTS knitwear page list which factories hold each one. Always ask for the certificate itself and check that it covers the site that will make your order. For the wider picture, see what sustainable clothing certifications actually mean.
What should a knitwear brief include?
A knitwear brief needs fields a cut-and-sew brief does not. Without them, the factory cannot pick a machine or a yarn, so it cannot price.
Field
What to write
Why the factory needs it
Production type
Seamless, fully fashioned or cut-and-sew from knit fabric
Decides which machines and which factory
Gauge
Coarse, medium or fine, or a gauge number if you know it
Not every factory has every gauge
Yarn
Fibre, blend, weight class, and certification if needed
Two habits save a sampling round. First, send a physical reference garment you like the hand feel of, because "soft, medium weight" means different things to different people. Second, state the target measurements after washing, because knitwear relaxes and shrinks and the factory needs to know which state you are approving.
Typical production lead time on NovaSupplier is 6 to 10 weeks once the sample is approved, but knitwear has more variables than jersey basics.
Stage
What drives the time
Yarn sourcing
Whether the yarn and colour are in stock at the spinner
Sampling
Machine programming, stitch complexity, and how many rounds you need
Bulk production
Machine time, linking and finishing
Washing and finishing
Washing, milling or brushing steps before inspection
On NovaSupplier's knitwear data page, 9 of the 27 listed factories publish a sample lead time, between 1 and 6 weeks. The yarn is the part to ask about first: if the yarn has to be dyed or spun to order, the calendar starts when it arrives. For the full timeline, see how long clothing production takes, and for samples specifically, clothing samples in Portugal.
Is Portugal the right country for your knitwear?
Portugal fits well when you want small-to-mid runs of contemporary knitwear, certified natural or recycled yarns, seamless activewear, or knit-fabric cut-and-sew such as thermals and loungewear, and when you value being able to visit the factory. For seamless activewear specifically, see activewear manufacturers in Portugal and the activewear data page.
It is a harder fit for very fine-gauge luxury cashmere, where specialist knitters in other countries have a longer history, and for very large commodity volumes where price is the only variable. Neither is a rule; ask the factory to show you a garment it has made in a similar yarn and gauge before you commit.
Whichever factory you choose, check the sample against your spec in writing before you approve bulk, and agree how the finished order will be inspected. The garment inspection checklist shows how to do that for a small run.
Frequently asked questions
Across the 17 knitwear factories on NovaSupplier that publish knitwear MOQ data (30 October 2026), the lowest minimum is 50 units. The median of each factory's lowest knitwear minimum is 150 units, and 3 of those 17 accept 100 units or fewer.
Because the limit is usually the yarn. Spinners sell each yarn quality and colour in a minimum lot by weight, and fully fashioned knitwear also needs the machine programmed for each style. Starting in a stock yarn colour is the most reliable way to get a lower minimum.
Mostly in the north. On NovaSupplier's knitwear data page, 12 of the 27 listed knitwear manufacturers are in Barcelos, with others in Vila Nova de Famalicão, Guimarães, Esposende, Santo Tirso, Fafe and Amarante.
Fully fashioned panels are knitted to shape on a flat machine and linked together, so there is almost no cutting. Cut-and-sew knitwear is cut from knitted fabric on the roll and sewn like any other garment. Jumpers and cardigans are usually fully fashioned; thermals and rib tops are usually cut-and-sew.
The production type, gauge, yarn and colour, stitch, a size spec or reference garment, finishing, quantity per style and colour, and your timing. Without the yarn and gauge, a factory cannot price the job.
Typical production lead time on NovaSupplier is 6 to 10 weeks after sample approval. Yarn sourcing comes first, and a custom-dyed or specially spun yarn adds time before sampling can start.
Updated 30 October 2026. MOQ and certification figures are self-reported by factories on their NovaSupplier profiles and change as profiles are updated.
Post your knitwear brief
If you already know your production type, yarn and quantities, you can post a brief on NovaSupplier and Portuguese knitwear factories will respond to it directly. It is free for brands: NovaSupplier charges brands no fee, and you pay the factory for samples and production as usual. Factories engage with a brief in under 30 hours, and the factory relationship stays with you. NovaSupplier lists 65 active manufacturers, all in Portugal; factories pay a 3.5% commission on every order, including reorders. Read what NovaSupplier is and how it works.
