When I choose colors for my projects I am all over the place! When I look at my finished projects just for the last year it is very clear I don't have a "system" or any one color that I predominantly choose.
As you can see I am about as random as they come. It seems I am drawn to a rainbow of bright hues, nothing subdued in my selections! I have done extensive studies of how to choose the "right" colors for a project. Of course we all love Lucy's colors at Attic 24 so I studied her system of choosing colors and I just didn't get it!!
I don't have any art school training and I kind of have a basic understanding how the color wheel works but, I still don't know what colors look good with other colors and why.
Do I really want to know this much about color? No, not really. I just want to be sure the items I crochet are pleasing to look at and basically look pretty. Isn't that what we all want? Do we really need to know all this information about color theory, hues, tones, etc.?
Well, I think to a certain extent we do. A lot of us ask our readers/followers about our yarn color choices for our next project, so we can get reassurance that our choices are "okay". It's nice to know that others agree with our choices or don't as the case may be.
Of course we can also check with the new "Color Generators." These are pretty cool but I still end up confused because they seem to be very random!
This site called Design Seeds is pretty awesome if I want to take the time to use it. It will search for colors by hue, or even themes like flora, vintage, vacation, winter, etc. It seems to be more useful to me than just color generator. It gives you several swatches from a photo.
Okay, I have given you a lot of options for picking colors for your projects but how do I do it? I try to look at nature for my decorating and my crochet projects. If a flower is pretty then the colors in it will look pretty in a crochet project. Mostly though, I go with the yarn that is in used in the pattern. It looks good so why try and reinvent the wheel?
I know this probably limits me in my choices but some sites like Lion Brand show the same pattern with different colored yarns. They also have a pattern that goes with the yarns you like so when you pick a yarn you would like to use, at the bottom you can see crochet or knit patterns made with that yarn. For example, I looked at the Amazing yarn and then crochet patterns and then I got lots of crochet patterns using Amazing yarn. How easy is that? Use this tag 3KCBWWDAY1 to search on google and read what the other bloggers are saying about color!
HAPPY CROCHETING!!
As you can see I am about as random as they come. It seems I am drawn to a rainbow of bright hues, nothing subdued in my selections! I have done extensive studies of how to choose the "right" colors for a project. Of course we all love Lucy's colors at Attic 24 so I studied her system of choosing colors and I just didn't get it!!
I don't have any art school training and I kind of have a basic understanding how the color wheel works but, I still don't know what colors look good with other colors and why.
Do I really want to know this much about color? No, not really. I just want to be sure the items I crochet are pleasing to look at and basically look pretty. Isn't that what we all want? Do we really need to know all this information about color theory, hues, tones, etc.?
Well, I think to a certain extent we do. A lot of us ask our readers/followers about our yarn color choices for our next project, so we can get reassurance that our choices are "okay". It's nice to know that others agree with our choices or don't as the case may be.
Of course we can also check with the new "Color Generators." These are pretty cool but I still end up confused because they seem to be very random!
This site called Design Seeds is pretty awesome if I want to take the time to use it. It will search for colors by hue, or even themes like flora, vintage, vacation, winter, etc. It seems to be more useful to me than just color generator. It gives you several swatches from a photo.
Okay, I have given you a lot of options for picking colors for your projects but how do I do it? I try to look at nature for my decorating and my crochet projects. If a flower is pretty then the colors in it will look pretty in a crochet project. Mostly though, I go with the yarn that is in used in the pattern. It looks good so why try and reinvent the wheel?
I know this probably limits me in my choices but some sites like Lion Brand show the same pattern with different colored yarns. They also have a pattern that goes with the yarns you like so when you pick a yarn you would like to use, at the bottom you can see crochet or knit patterns made with that yarn. For example, I looked at the Amazing yarn and then crochet patterns and then I got lots of crochet patterns using Amazing yarn. How easy is that? Use this tag 3KCBWWDAY1 to search on google and read what the other bloggers are saying about color!
HAPPY CROCHETING!!
Great start into this week, and thanks for all the helpful links! Sometimes I feel a little bit helpless when choosing colors, especially when it's a bigger project and you need lots of yarn.
ReplyDeletesee you tomorrow :)
Barbara
Hello..Thanks for this little information about picking colors for projects.. I always stick to pale colors instead of bright ones for some reason..Now that I have this info.. it might be a time for change..Thanks! Shari
ReplyDeleteI never thought of that but since you mentioned it, I will look into that now :) Thanks for the info.
ReplyDeleteI am the same as you when it comes to picking colours for projects...I like your colour wheel, its something I like using sometimes for projects :)
ReplyDeleteDesign seeds is such a cool website- but frustrating sometimes! I'd much rather just go with how I feel about colors going together.
ReplyDeleteAnd you're right, I love looking at Lucy's color choices!
Wow you are so much more organized than me. I look at the colors of yarn available to me and pick. I can't say I am very good at it and I become overwhelmed when I have to choose a lot of colors for a blanket or something like that. I think color is such a personal choice. I am avidly against rust and many oranges, but some people put them together beautifully. It is always a challenge isn't it?
ReplyDeleteHave a great day,
Meredith
Love your array of random colors. And love the link tips here! Nice start to blog week!
ReplyDeleteI think that it's very cool that you look at nature and pick your colors. I often do the same, even when I don't realize it. I've even seen people crochet blankets using random bits of scrap yarn. One of my Flickr friends did that and her motto was "whatever seems like it won't go, use it" and it turned out beautifully. Sometimes we are very selective and sometimes its best to go at it blindly and see what beautiful creations are made. :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you ladies!
ReplyDeleteI love Design seed! I love sifting through all the possible colors and getting inspired for my next project. Sometimes I get inspired by just looking at nature-a certain flower, leaf, or animal.
ReplyDelete