A while back I received a custom order from a repeat customer who had a beautiful modern costume covered in silk flower petals. The flower petals were pale yellow and pink. She sent me a couple so I could match the colors.
Well, I almost got a little too big for my own britches with my color mixing skillz. I almost didn’t even do a test swatch. To be perfectly honest, I almost didn’t even fetch the petals and take them to my workshop when the time came to make the veil, because I thought I had the colors in my head, like a musician with perfect pitch or something.
Luckily I did do a swatch, and did get the petals for comparison. I had the yellow wrong in my head (bottom swatch). I fixed it (top swatch).
Not exactly a near disaster, bur it was a little daily ego check. I do not have perfect pitch, and while I do remember colors well, I am not infallible. Test swatches are good. Looking at the costume photos/swatches as I dye custom orders is good. (I would have looked at the petals before shipping the veil, then I would have had to make another veil.)