I've ordered custom runs of fabric on (I think!) five occasions. On four of those, I could not have been happier. The fifth time I ended up paying a substantial amount for cloth that was not suitable for the purpose for which I had commissioned it. I was trying to duplicate a previous order. I went to the same mill that had produced the first lot, sent them a sample of the cloth I was trying to duplicate, and was explicit in my desire to match the colors as closely as possible.

It seems the mill had changes stock colors since my original run and the second run was in a palette significantly different from the first. Think of the difference between "Modern" and "Ancient" and that's similar to the result.

Had I been aware of this, I likely would have paid extra for custom dyeing, but the weaver didn't indicate that there would be any problem at all. Instead they surprised me with a new variation on the tartan that I had not considered, and frankly, didn't like.

The mill and I came to a mutually disagreeable settlement on the issue of payment.

The lesson, of course, is to ask questions. Even if you are certain that there is no doubt of your expectations, verify them!