Oct 8, 2026
Planning Around Chinese New Year: Your Q4 Ordering Calendar
Factories close for two to four weeks at Chinese New Year - but the real capacity squeeze starts in November. A month-by-month Q4 calendar for activewear brands, and what in-stock covers when you miss
Every year it happens the same way: a brand discovers Chinese New Year in mid-December, panics, and pays February prices for March frustration. CNY is not a long weekend - it is two to four weeks of closed factories plus a slow restart, layered on top of a capacity crunch that begins in November as every buyer in the world tries to ship before the holiday.
The good news: CNY is completely plannable, and the brands who plan it are the ones who ship on time in Q1 while competitors apologize. Here is the calendar, month by month.
October: Decide and Sample
October is for locking what you will produce. Finalize styles, run your sampling rounds now - the sample room is quiet relative to November and December, and feedback rounds move fast. If a style needs two sampling rounds, October is when they can both happen without pressure. The round structure is the one described in the sample feedback guide, and the day-by-day mechanics are in the production timeline walkthrough.
Decide your split, too: which styles run made-to-order before CNY, and which gaps get covered from in-stock styles later - the two modes are compared in the in-stock versus made-to-order guide.
November: Book Bulk and Pay Deposits
November is booking month. Factories build their pre-CNY production schedule from confirmed orders with deposits, and the schedule fills from the top. A style confirmed in early November gets a pre-CNY slot; the same style confirmed in mid-December queues behind everything booked earlier.
Book fabric early as well - fabric mills close too, and their lead times stretch weeks before the holiday. If your fabric is custom-dyed, November is the deadline, not December. The cost levers in your quote, including quantity and color count, are covered in the cost breakdown guide.
Early December: Last Call for Pre-CNY Shipment
The first half of December is the realistic cutoff for bulk completion and handover before the holiday. Not because sewing stops immediately, but because the last two weeks fill with rush orders, QC bottlenecks and packed warehouses - and sea freight space tightens as everyone ships at once. Carriers impose pre-CNY surcharges and book out; the freight arithmetic is in the air versus sea guide.
Styles that miss this window have two lifelines: air freight after completion (at a cost), or warehouse storage until factories reopen - your goods sit, finished, waiting for the world to restart.
Mid-December to February: The Holiday Reality
Officially the holiday runs about two weeks. Unofficially, workers travel across the country, and a meaningful share change employers for the new year - so full capacity does not return until late February, sometimes March. Orders placed in January queue behind the pre-CNY backlog.
This is precisely when in-stock styles earn their place in your calendar: warehouse stock ships while factories are closed, which keeps your store alive through the gap. That split between the two modes is the subject of the in-stock versus made-to-order guide.
February: Restart and Clear
Factories reopen in stages - priority goes to pre-CNY backlogs, then new bookings. A new order placed in late January typically starts cutting in mid-to-late February and ships in March. Plan your spring launches with that reality, not with the calendar's suggestion that everyone is back at work on February first.
Common Questions
When is Chinese New Year exactly?
The date moves with the lunar calendar - late January to mid-February. Ask your supplier for this year's closure dates in October, and ask for the restart date separately: they are not the same thing.
Do all factories close for the same time?
Smaller workshops often take longer breaks; larger factories restart earlier and sometimes run partial lines through the holiday for urgent work. Ask your specific supplier - and ask what their QC staffing looks like in the restart weeks.
Should I pay extra for pre-CNY rush production?
Sometimes it is worth it, sometimes it is a trap. Rush fees buy priority on a floor that is already full - if the schedule genuinely cannot fit you, paying does not create time. The earlier answer is to book in November.
Your Calendar, Compressed
October: decide and sample. November: book bulk, pay deposits, book fabric. Early December: last call to ship pre-CNY. Mid-December to February: in-stock carries your store. Late February: restart, backlogs clear. Twelve sentences that save a quarter.
Miss K builds its Q4 schedule from confirmed bookings - and pre-CNY slots are allocated in booking order. If your styles need a slot this season, write to info@misskyoga.com or WhatsApp +86 136 4085 9182 now, and we will tell you honestly whether the calendar can fit you.
