Color Palettes for Quilting
What makes one quilt a masterpiece and one just another quilt? One design element is color. Texture, composition, pattern and workmanship also play a role, but color reaches in and grabs you immediately or maybe it doesn't? How can we learn to put colors together sucessfully so that we can acheive the outcome that we are hoping for? It's easy!
1. The first thing that we do is simplify the process. Set the color wheel aside, don't throw it out, but just set it aside and begin by looking at fabrics, pictures, paint chips, nature, anything and everything that might inspire colors that combine in a way that inspires us. Photograph it, pull it out of a magazine, somehow make it portable so that you can carry it around with you. Combine it with other colors, mix and match, until you have acheived the "feeling" you are "looking" for.
1. The first thing that we do is simplify the process. Set the color wheel aside, don't throw it out, but just set it aside and begin by looking at fabrics, pictures, paint chips, nature, anything and everything that might inspire colors that combine in a way that inspires us. Photograph it, pull it out of a magazine, somehow make it portable so that you can carry it around with you. Combine it with other colors, mix and match, until you have acheived the "feeling" you are "looking" for.
Color Wheel
2. If you get stuck and think that your color schematic needs more colors, pull out the color wheel and look at where you are with the chosen colors. Are you designing a contrasting, monochromatic, or analogous color scheme? A contrasting color scheme would be colors on opposite sides of the color wheel such as yellows and blues or
3. Once we select our muse and our muse includes all of the colors that we need for our quilt, we begin to analyze and pull out the colors. Find paint chips or fabrics that are the same hue and saturation. Now when picking out your fabrics it is more likely that you will be able to stay true to your color scheme resulting in a tighter and more effective coloration of your quilt.
Color
is the number one element of a quilt that evokes emotion. When you are able to
evoke emotion you have taken your craft to an art.
3. Once we select our muse and our muse includes all of the colors that we need for our quilt, we begin to analyze and pull out the colors. Find paint chips or fabrics that are the same hue and saturation. Now when picking out your fabrics it is more likely that you will be able to stay true to your color scheme resulting in a tighter and more effective coloration of your quilt.
Color
is the number one element of a quilt that evokes emotion. When you are able to
evoke emotion you have taken your craft to an art.