My design projects stall out waiting for fabric swatches in the mail

I keep running into the same problem with fabric sourcing slowing down my designs. One side says to always use physical swatches sent by mail so you can feel the texture and see true colors. The other side pushes for digital fabric tools that show previews instantly to save time. For example, I waited three weeks for a linen swatch and missed a client deadline. But when I used a digital tool last season, the silk looked shiny on screen but was dull in person. How do you balance accuracy against speed in your work? I'm curious where other designers stand on this issue.

2 comments

2 Comments

harris.seth6h ago

What's your way to choose between a digital preview and waiting for a physical swatch? I find that for fabrics where feel matters most, like linens, waiting pays off, but screens can mess up colors. Your silk story shows how hard it is to get this right.

emeryb345h ago

Doesn't this show our whole digital versus real life trade-off?