Quick Doodles: Swatch it Out

Sometimes, you can’t buy all of your fabric at once. Or you didn’t buy enough the first time around. Maybe you found an old remnant that will work perfectly for your new costume, but you need to match the color.

Because these things happen, it’s incredibly important to bring swatches with you not only when you go fabric shopping, but even when shopping for clothes to alter, beads, and accessories.

What is a swatch? A swatch is a ‘little’ sample of fabric used to facilitate the exhausting process of matching color, pattern, or texture. They also help out with testing fabric quality and more.

How big should a swatch be? I like for my swatches to be big enough to cover a not insignificant portion of my palm. Sometimes the swatches that fabric stores provide (do not be afraid to ask for a swatch!) are not big enough for my liking, but when you’re cutting swatches from your own fabric, do your eyes a favor and cut the swatch on the larger size. This will make it easier to compare color, fabric composition, etc.

If you are buying fabric online, be sure to plan ahead enough to allow time to order swatches. No computer screen can substitute for feeling and seeing the fabric in front of you (and you can’t throw your monitor in the washing machine to see if the dye bleeds!)