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Swahili Knits

For rooms that get judged on detail

Hospitality Wear

Hospitality uniforms live in industrial laundries. They are washed hot, pressed hard and worn in heat, and they still have to look composed at the end of a double shift. That is a fabric and construction problem, and it is the one we solve first.

Type
Woven
Minimum order
Depends on the route
Lead time
7 – 10 days
Colourways
7+ stock colours
White chef jacket made at Swahili KnitsChef jackets on the railFinished garments hanging on the rails ready for dispatchFabric swatches in navy, gold, mint and blueBeach and wooden pier in Zanzibar, Tanzania
The detail

Chef jackets, aprons, front-of-house shirts and polos, housekeeping sets and porter waistcoats — specified per department so a property reads as one brand from the gate to the kitchen door.

Everything is built for commercial laundering: pre-shrunk fabric, colourfast dyeing, reinforced stress points and stitching that survives repeated high-temperature washing and pressing. Aprons get heavy webbing ties and bar-tacked D-rings rather than stitched-on tape that pulls out.

For lodges and island properties we work in lighter, breathable constructions and can build in local textile detailing — a kanga-inspired trim or a woven brand label — that gives a property something no imported catalogue uniform will have.

Specification

Garments
Chef jackets, aprons, FOH shirts, housekeeping, waistcoats
Fabric
Cotton drill, poly-cotton, breathable tropical weights
Laundering
Pre-shrunk and colourfast for industrial wash
Aprons
Heavy webbing ties, bar-tacked D-rings, multi pocket
Sizes
XS – 4XL, mens and womens blocks
Detailing
Contrast trim, optional kanga-inspired detailing
Decoration
Embroidery, woven labels, name badges

Build your spec

Pick colourways and sizes — we'll carry it into your quote.

Colourways

1 of 7 selected

White

Size breakdown

Steppers move in sixes — garments are packed and priced by the dozen.

White

Illustration, not a photograph

Total0units

Ordering routes

  • Custom design on stock fabric7 – 10 days
  • Custom fabric or colourQuoted per job

Add quantities and we will show you which routes are open.

Nothing is ordered yet. How ordering works

Custom colours dyed to your Pantone reference at production quantities. Colour is confirmed at sampling stage.

Ordering

How to order hospitality.

The minimum and the lead time both depend on the route. Pick the row that matches your brief.

  • Custom design on stock fabric

    Minimum
    Low
    Lead time
    7 – 10 days

    Your own design, cut from fabric we already hold. Same low quantity barrier, a little longer to make.

  • Custom fabric or colour

    Minimum
    2,000 pieces
    Lead time
    Quoted per job

    We source the fabric, trims and accessories for you. That is a production run of its own, which is where the 2,000 piece minimum comes from.

Woven, not knitted

This garment is woven. Fabric is sourced per order to the weight and colour the job needs, so it is specified and quoted with the enquiry rather than picked off a list.

Decoration options

  • Embroidery
  • Woven labels
  • Name badges
  • Contrast trim
  • Screen printing
  • DTF

All decoration is done in house, which is why a printed or embroidered garment does not add a week to your lead time.

Typically ordered by

  • Hotels and resorts
  • Safari lodges
  • Restaurants and cafes
  • Catering companies
  • Conference venues
Also from our floor

Related families

Most programmes span more than one garment. We build them as one order with one colour story.
Ordering this garment

What buyers ask
about hospitality.

  • There is no single number, because it depends on the fabric. If we are cutting from fabric and a colour we already hold, the minimum is low and the job moves in two to three days. If you want your own design on that stock fabric, the minimum is still low and it takes seven to ten days. It is only when we source fabric, trims and accessories specially for you that the minimum becomes 2,000 pieces, because that is a production run of its own. Sublimation has no minimum at all.

  • No. A couple of hundred is a normal order on stock fabric, and most of our work looks like that. The 2,000 piece figure people worry about applies only to custom fabric or a custom colour, where we are buying in material specially. Tell us the quantity and the look you want and we will tell you which route it fits.

  • Two to three days on stock fabric in a stock colour. Seven to ten days for your own design cut from that stock fabric. Where we are sourcing fabric or a custom colour, the lead time is quoted with the job, because it depends on what the material is and where it comes from. Sublimation is also quoted per job.

  • Screen printing, embroidery, DTF (direct to film) and sublimation, all in the same building as the cutting and sewing. That matters for your lead time, because a decorated garment never has to travel out to a third party and back. You can mix methods on one garment: an embroidered chest mark with a printed back is a common and sensible combination.

  • Yes, and this is one of the cases where we are sourcing fabric specially, so the 2,000 piece minimum applies. We match against your Pantone or brand guideline references and record them against your account, so a repeat order in a year is built from the same inputs. Exact dye matching is confirmed at sampling stage.

  • None. You can order one piece or a thousand. What changes with quantity is the unit price, not whether we will take the job. Sublimation suits full-colour designs, marathon and sports jerseys, and anything where the print covers the whole garment.

Quote hospitality wear

Ready to price
your run?

Tell us the quantity, the colourways and the decoration and we will come back with a unit price and a lead time. There is no single minimum — it depends on whether we are cutting stock fabric or sourcing new fabric for you.

Or call +255 651 100 500 · Monday – Friday, 08:00 – 17:00 EAT