Fabric Orientation: How the fabric comes off the roll

When a patterned fabric is intended for use on an upholstered piece of furniture, it's important to know how the fabric comes off  the roll, or its orientation.  The swatch shows the way the factory intends to apply the fabric to the furniture; the top of the swatch is "up".  The illustration below shows the difference between "up the bolt" and "railroad" fabric orientation.