Buyer’s guide
Fabric Samples Before Bulk Orders
Order fabric samples before you commit to a bulk run — it is the single cheapest way to avoid a costly mistake on cloth bought from overseas. A swatch in your hand tells you the hand-feel, weight, shade and shrinkage that no screen or spec sheet can. Sundust dispatches samples within 48 hours.
Why sample first
Samples de-risk the whole order.
Buying fabric in bulk from a supplier you have never met is the moment most importers feel exposed — and rightly so. A photograph flatters colour, a spec sheet cannot convey hand-feel, and two rolls woven from the same yarn can still differ in shade if they came off different dye lots. The only way to know what you are paying for is to hold the cloth before the container is loaded.
A small fabric sample spend protects a large bulk spend. For the price of a swatch and a courier you confirm the weight (GSM), width, finish and exact shade, and you test how the cloth shrinks and holds colour after washing. Skipping the sample is the most common reason a wholesale order disappoints on arrival: the goods are technically ‘as ordered’ but not as imagined.
Sampling also fixes a reference. Once you approve a swatch it becomes the standard your bulk is matched and inspected against — so any dye-lot drift or substitution is caught before it ships, not after it lands at your port.
Know what to ask for
Types of fabric sample.
A counter sample is the supplier’s response to your reference — a swatch made to copy a cloth or colour you sent, so you can confirm a match before committing.
Once it arrives
How to evaluate a sample.
Hand-feel. Handle the cloth in daylight: judge the drape, the softness or crispness, the surface and whether the body suits the garment you are making. A sample tells you in seconds what a description never will.
Weight (GSM). Confirm the grams-per-square-metre against your spec. Weight drives opacity, drape and cost — an under-weight cloth feels thin and can be see-through; an over-weight one changes the hang and the freight.
Colour-fastness. Rub the cloth (dry and damp) and wash a cutting to check the shade does not crock, bleed or fade. Compare the dyed sample to your target shade under consistent light, and against a control if you have one.
Shrinkage. Wash and dry a measured piece to your care method, then re-measure. A cloth that shrinks beyond tolerance will ruin a graded pattern, so test it on the sample — never discover it in production.
Sundust sampling
How we sample — and how bulk follows.
Common questions
Fabric samples, answered.
How much do fabric samples cost and how long do they take?
Swatch cards and headers are inexpensive — often free or a nominal charge plus courier — while sample yardage and lab dips carry a small cost that is usually credited against a bulk order. Sundust dispatches stocked swatches within 48 hours; lab dips take a few days to dye. See our full guide to fabric sourcing from China for lead times.
Should I always sample before a bulk order?
Yes. Sampling is the cheapest insurance there is against a costly mistake — wrong hand-feel, a thin GSM, a shade that fades or a cloth that shrinks. It also gives you the approved reference your bulk is matched and inspected against. Read our walkthrough on how to import fabric from China.
What is the difference between a swatch, a header and a lab dip?
A swatch card is a small range of cuttings to compare; a header is a labelled larger cutting that states the quality, width and composition; a lab dip is a swatch dyed to your exact target shade for colour sign-off. For yardage you request a sample length to cut and sew. Choosing a partner you trust matters — see how to find a reliable fabric supplier in China.
Will my bulk order match the sample I approved?
It should — that is the point of sampling. We lock the dye lot to your approved swatch, match bulk to it and inspect every roll against that standard before loading. Contact us to request your sample set and pricing.
Sample before you commit
Get the swatches before you order bulk.
Tell us the cloth, weight and shade you are after — or send a reference to match — and we’ll dispatch physical fabric samples within 48 hours, then match your bulk to the swatch you approve.