Why Fabric Swatches Are So Important

Redecorating the home often means a lot of decision making; not only do you have to pick out the right paint colours for walls and the right flooring for your room, but you also have to choose furniture, fittings and upholstery materials to match as well.

If you are just picking out some new upholstery fabric or curtain material to replace existing fabrics in your home, the task may be simpler, but there is still an overwhelming number of options available to you. In all situations, getting samples watches of fabrics that interest you is crucially important to getting a great result.

The first reason why this type of sample material is so important is that it helps a great deal when ordering discount designer fabrics online or from a catalogue. Although shopping in this way often means a great deal more convenience, the downside is that you cannot always get a sense of the colour of the product before it arrives at your home.

One reason for this is that colours are often difficult to display correctly and accurately in print and digital form, and in any case, fabrics tend to look different in various types of light anyway; although that ‘cream’ fabric may indeed look ‘cream’ in natural light, artificial light might bring out a different colour aspect altogether.

For this reason, getting material swatches is crucial to allow you to see what the colour of fabric is really like in your home, and how it looks in various natural and artificial light conditions. Many times the colour will be just right, but in other situations it can be completely different from what you expected.

Obtaining fabric swatches first is also important as it allows you to get a feel for the texture and durability of the fabric, which can be helpful for many reasons. If you are planning on upholstering your furniture, chances are that you will want the material to have a certain feel to it as well as be sufficiently durable.

Others want to be able to embroider and embellish their fabric, either to make customised curtains or to create unique cushions and pillows for the home. Getting hold of a fabric swatch allows the individual who has placed the order to try other customization techniques on the swatch in order to determine whether it is suitable or not.

Some discount designer fabrics might be too thin and flimsy to hold an embroidered pattern, whilst other premium ones can be too stiff and tough to allow for any significant customization. Getting a real feel for the fabric before placing a full order is therefore absolutely essential.

Lastly, it is crucial to order fabric swatches before placing a final order because it becomes possible to compare different types of fabric side by side. Oftentimes, our choice of fabric all comes down to how many of our criteria that they fulfil. It is very hard to know if we have made the right choice or not if we cannot see what fabrics are like compared to others that we are interested in.

With this in mind, ordering several fabric samples at once allows us to make a meaningful comparison of several different types of material in our shortlist. This will also allow us to designate a ‘back-up’ option, just in case our original choice turns out to be unavailable for some reason.

For the reason above, getting samples of your favourite upholstery or curtain material – whether discount designer fabrics or budget options – is well worth the effort. Doing this will help you accurately assess the colour and quality of the material, compare it to other fabrics, and work out whether or not it is suitable for the purpose that you intend to use it for.