Colorwork 6 - Color Choices

Have you ever looked at an outfit, or a textile, or a paint color, and know that it just says "1970", or "1985"?  How does that happen?  When you see a TV commercial or poster in a retro style, do you wonder how they get the colors to tell the story?  How do you know the colors you choose now will go with your wardrobe next season?

Basic Palette

One place to start is Pantone.com.  They have indices of the "on trend" colors for spring and fall for men and women for the last three years.  These color palettes can help you choose colors to coordinate with clothes that your garment will be worn with in the future. If you choose to combine colors from any individual palette, you will be telling the color story of the season.  Different seasons tell different stories, so if you don't like the story any particular season tells, switch to a different palette.

If you Google (click the Images browser once you're in Googel) some of your ideas plus the word colorwheel, you may find what you're looking for.  I did that with 1950s and Colorwheel, and I came up with the colorwheel for the Edsel automobile.  It shows a very subdued, plant based palette that was typical of the early 50's.  Just about any combination of these colors will evoke a retro feeling, and coordinate in a familiar way.

Another approach is to assemble an inspiration board.  Collect pictures, magazine ads, and swatches of fabric that you love.  Don't stop until you have at least ten.  Now, when it's done, step back from the collection, and assess it just for the color scheme.  The board at right has a distinct color family represented.  Here is a link to one of my Pinterest pin boards.  There is a distinct lean toward one palette, and the only piece that doesn't fit is the Matisse poster.  If I were to choose colors based on this board, they would reflect my own personal taste and style without being tied to a particular era.

Contrast

You can pull up a color wheel on the computer as well.  Colors directly across from each other are called complimentary colors, and they tend to accentuate one another.  Green next to red looks a whole lot greener than green next to turquoise. 

Another way to accentuate a color is to combine it with itself.  Try a dark and light version of the same color, or two versions of one.  Fern green and sage green, or either of those with some pine green would make an interesting combination.

Not feeling confident combining colors?  Combine a color with cream, white, or grey.  The color will look classic and crisp.  Not the classic kind?  Pull two colors you like from an object like a lunchbox, or some packaging.  Still nervous?  Ask a friend or store clerk to guide you.

If you're still unsure, make a swatch in your colorwork pattern.  If you want a little more or less contrast, it will become clear very quickly.  With a little practice, you'll find your confidence increasing!

Colorwork 1 - choose yarn and colors

Worsted

Believe it or not, there's a little more to colorwork than just choosing two colors you love and putting them together.  Not a lot more, but more.

First, how do you choose colors?  For smooth and easy colorwork, choose two colors of the same exact fiber from the same yarn line.  As and example, two or more different colors of Classic Elite Inca Alpaca.  It comes in 45 colors, and provides variation across the color spectrum.  Why the same yarn line?


Stranded Colorwork

Not all yarns are created equal, and not even all yarns of the same fiber and weight are created equal.  As you can see in the example, these two "worsted" yarns are different thicknesses.  They are both from the same manufacturer, both merino wool.  One is superwash, and one isn't.  Depending on what you're making, this may not matter at all.  If you know not to launder the piece as if it were all superwash, great.  If you're felting, this is a problem.  A very slight difference won't show much in a stranded colorwork situation.  In stranded, each color stitch needs only to match itself in size.  If the other color is slightly different, it's fine. 

Fair Isle Swatch

If it's Fair Isle or striped, it will yell at you!  Fair Isle is entirely dependent on every stitch being exacly the same size, or the pattern wont work.  As you can see in the example, when they aren't, it's pretty obvious.  The red stitches were knitted much more tightly than the white, and the white are very uneven.  It's still pretty, but after the time and money you've invested in making a piece like this, you'll want it to look its best. 

However, if texture and striping are your goal, maybe you really want the yarns not to match.  In that case, run with it!  Or, maybe you're holding two yarns together for a marled effect, in which case you may choose two yarns of totally different weights to achieve just the color proportions you want.  The swatch in the example is made with a worsted wool and a bulky cotton alpaca blend, creating a very chunky, textured look.  The texture pops much more because of the two yarns held together than it would in either yarn alone.  (I know this because I tried it.)

Two Yarns Held Together

For the garment you're about to make, would you like it to coordinate with clothes you already own?  Maybe bring a garment you'd like to coordinate along with you when you shop.  Do you want to coordinate with clothes you haven't purchased yet?  Check the Pantone color chart for the season you'll be using the garment.  They keep archives of top fashion colors for years past, present, and future.  (Ever wonder how all the clothing manufacturers end up on the same page for color every season?  Mystery solved.)  Even if the clothes haven't been made yet, it's likely that the palette on Pantone will accurately represent the clothing choices you'll have in the upcoming seasons.  (Not sure?  Check it out here.)

Yes, there's more to it.  We'll go over it in the next several posts.  You'll be great at this!