Fabric swatches and samples from India come in stages, and the mill expects you to ask for each one by name. Start with hanger swatches or a shade card from the mill's existing range, move to a lab dip or strike-off for your own colour or print, and finish with sample yardage or a counter-sample before you confirm bulk. Most mills in Ahmedabad, Surat and the southern spinning belt will send swatches without charge, but they usually ask the buyer to cover the courier.
The mistake most first-time buyers make is to ask for "some samples" without a specification. The mill then sends what it has in stock, which tells you very little about what it will make for you. A one-page brief saves two or three rounds of courier.
The sample stages, in order
- Hanger swatches or a swatch book: small pieces of the mill's running qualities, usually around 10 by 10 centimetres, to confirm the construction, weight in GSM and hand feel you want.
- Greige or RFD (ready for dyeing) swatches: the undyed base cloth, so you can judge the yarn and weave before colour enters the picture.
- Lab dips: small dyed pieces, typically three options per colour, matched against your colour standard.
- Strike-offs: a short printed length that shows your artwork in its real colours and repeat on the real base cloth.
- Sample yardage: typically 5 to 50 metres of your final quality, dyed or printed, for making garment samples and running lab tests.
- Counter-sample: a piece cut from the bulk run, sealed and signed by both sides, which becomes the reference for inspection.
What to put in the request
Give the mill the fibre content, construction, yarn count, GSM and finished width you need. Add the end use, the colour standard if you have one, and the tests the fabric must pass, with OEKO-TEX or GOTS certification where it applies. State whether you want greige, RFD or finished fabric, and how much of each.
Name the courier account you want them to use, or ask for the courier cost up front. Samples sent on the mill's own account often wait until a larger batch is going out. Ask for a photograph of the pack before dispatch, with the swatch tickets visible.
Judging what arrives
Weigh the swatch and check the GSM yourself; a small scale and a cutting die are enough for a first check. Count ends and picks per inch against the construction you asked for, and compare the hand feel with any reference you hold. Look for a mill ticket on every piece with the quality name, lot number and date.
Keep one half of every approved swatch sealed and signed by both sides. That sealed half is what you will measure bulk against, and it settles most disputes before they start. If a swatch passes but the mill's minimum order quantity (MOQ) is far above your plan, ask whether the quality is a running line, because running lines usually carry lower MOQs.
Where we come in
We visit the mill before samples are requested, so you know the swatch comes from the looms that will run your bulk. We send sealed samples to an NABL-accredited lab for fibre, GSM and colour fastness checks, and we hold one approved supplier plus one backup for each quality. If you want a second opinion on a sample pack, we offer a free 20-minute sourcing review.