If the colours are light and pastel with the red turning orange then your swatch is "ancient"

If on the other hand the colours are dark with a blackish navy blue and a deep green and a bright scarlet red then you have a swatch of "modern" colours.

And I'm not speaking out of knowledge here perhaps it's a good question for Nick I'll ask him.

When getting a custom run of cloth made can you specify the colours used even to the point of sending in yarn swatches or is that too much of a hassle to try and keep track of? Let's say I wanted my clan tartan (MacDonell of Keppoch) but I wanted custom shades woven by glena could I ask for a weathered red, mixed with a modern green and royal blue? Or do you have to stick to stock shades when handling orders not placed using the tartan designer.