Colour Matching and Repeat Orders
Getting gold to sit next to gold, and getting the second shipment to look like the first, across thread trimming metallic yarn and buttons.
Gold Has to Agree With Gold
On a thobe or an abaya the accessories have to agree with each other. The trimming lace, the metallic yarn on the embroidery head, the button and the closing thread all read as one colour to the buyer, and any one of them can spoil the panel. Matching them is a sourcing problem before it is a dyeing problem.
Where Orders Go Wrong and What We Do About It
Reference
A shade is described in words and interpreted differently at each supplier.
Work from a physical reference. Send a cone, a card or a cut piece and everything else is matched to it.
Cross Line Matching
The gold in the lace and the gold in the yarn come from two suppliers and do not agree.
Trimming lace, metallic yarn and thread are sampled together against the same reference before anything is produced.
Shade Behaviour
A colour that looked right on approval changes on the shelf.
We tell you where it happens. Real silver metallic yarn darkens in air, which is why the silver style is double shrunk on the surface, and why silver should be kept boxed until it is used.
Approval
Bulk is produced before anyone has confirmed the shade.
The colour is approved against the sample before the lot is dyed or wound.
Repeat
The repeat order is matched against a fresh card and drifts away from the goods already in the shop.
Repeat orders are matched against the approved reference from the first order, not against a new card.
Range Building
A full shade range means dead stock in colours that never move.
Order by kilo per colour so a range is built one colour at a time as the programme needs it.
Products This Covers
Metallic Yarn ST Style L42
Metallic Yarn ST Style in colour L42, a dark gold shade with no reddish tone, wound to a net weight of 100 grams per spool with a 55 gram cone.
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Decoration Trimming Lace 209#
A polyester decoration trimming lace with a white tape base and gold yarn edge, wound to 36 yards per card and packed 100 cards per carton.
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Shirt Buttons 0310-2224
Resin shirt buttons in size 22L with two holes, designed for thobes and formal shirts. Available in Bluish White, Off White, and other colours.
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100% Rayon Embroidery Thread 120D/2 125G
A 120D/2 two-ply rayon embroidery thread wound to 125 grams per spool, packed in 1 dozen per box and 10 boxes per carton.
View detailsColour Matching and Repeat Orders in Practice
How do you match a colour we already use?
Send a physical sample. Cones, cards and cut pieces all work. Everything in the order is matched against that one reference.
Can lace metallic yarn and thread be matched to each other?
Yes, and it is best done in one sampling round so the three sit on the same fabric under the same light before anything is approved.
Why did our silver metallic yarn go dark in store?
It contains real silver, which darkens when exposed to air. The current silver style is double shrunk on the surface to slow this, and stock should stay boxed until use.
Is there a limit on how many colours we can order?
No. Each colour has to reach its own minimum, and any number of colours can travel in the same shipment.