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Color Characteristics There are three color characteristics to be aware of when choosing the right colors for your quilts. They are value, visual temperature and intensity.
If you were to draw a line from the yellow-green mark on the color wheel all the way down to the red-violet, you could see that all the colors on the left are warm and the colors on the right are cool.
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Intensity is the brilliance of the color. The pure colors such as red are more intense than the muted low intensity yellow-green. For example, block B is more vibrant than block A.
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Value is the relative darkness or lightness of a color. Value is best used for establishing depth in a block. For example, by putting a red against a slightly darker or lighter red you can create an illusion of depth and movement. Visual temperature is when a color is either warm or cool. If you were to draw a line from the yellow-green mark on the color wheel all the way down to the red -violet, you could see that all the colors on the left are warm and the colors on the right are cool. Typically, warm colors will advance in a block, or move toward you, while the cool colors tend to recede into a quilt block. We also seem to crave more cool colors than warm because warm colors can be very aggressive and overpowering. Some of the most eye-catching and appealing quilts use warm colors, however. Intensity is the brilliance of the color. The pure colors such as red are more intense than the muted low intensity yellow-green. For example, the block in figure A is less brilliant than the block in figure B.
Using a Color Wheel There are millions of colors out there, and the color wheel typically shows off about 40, so how would a color wheel help you pick colors for your quilt? Try using it as a guide for other versions of colors. For example, olive green is a version of yellow-green, periwinkle is a version of blue-violet, and terra cotta is a version of red-orange. It takes a little practice, but after a while you'll find that the color wheel is a great tool to have when deciding on the colors you want for a quilt. But let's say that you want to make a quilt with colors of blue, red and green. Would that work? Here's an easy way to find out. There are three different categories of color. Those are primary, secondary and intermediate. Primary consists of three colors--yellow, red and blue. Secondary is when you mix the primary colors to form new ones. For example, if you mixed yellow and red together you would get orange. Mix blue and red and you get violet. Intermediate colors can be most anything and are typically those colors that are hyphenated, like red-violet. Color Combos Combinations of colors include monochromatic, neutral, analogous and split complement. Monochromatic is a one-color combination. For instance, you could make a red quilt with colors just from the red family, varying the values and textures (figure C). Neutral combination consists of black, white and gray colors only (figure D).
Monochromatic is a one-color combination. For instance, you could make a red quilt with colors just from the red family, varying the values and textures.
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Other categories include neutral combination consists of black, white and gray colors only.
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Analogous combination is when three to five colors that sit side by side on the color wheel are used. For example you could make a quilt using yellow, orange and red. To give the quilt an extra punch, choose an accent color to be added. An accent color would be the color across from one of the top three choices. In this case we used blue, because it was opposite orange (figure E). Split complement is when you choose a color, let's say red-orange, then go directly across the color wheel to the color opposite red-orange, which is blue-green, then spilt the blue and green. So the quilt would consist of red-orange, blue and green (figure F). Believe it or not, this makes a great quilt!
Analogous combination is when three to five colors that sit side by side on the color wheel are used. For example you could make a quilt using yellow, orange and red. To give the quilt an extra punch, choose an accent color to be added. An accent color would be the color across from one of the top three choices. In this case we used blue, because it was opposite orange.
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Split complement is when you choose a color, let's say red-orange, then go directly across the color wheel to the color opposite red-orange, which is blue-green, then spilt the blue and green. So the quilt would consist of red-orange, blue and green. Believe it or not, this makes a great quilt!
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Here's a Tip If all of this sounds too overwhelming, then hang on--we've got another trick to show you. Start by going to your local fabric store and picking out your focus fabric. This is the piece of fabric that you instantly fall in love with and is typically a novelty or floral print. Now, start picking out the colors that are found in the fabric and place on a table. Next, start picking out fabric that is slightly darker or lighter than those found in the focus fabric and place on the same table. Okay, stand back and take a look. You'll find the colors that are exact matches to your focus fabric are not as desirable as the others. The quilts below were made with the aid of a color wheel.
Feathered Star
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Pink Tulips
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African Crosses
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Tipsy Tiles
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RESOURCES :
Color: The Quilter's Guide
by Christine Barnes
Martingale & Co. / That Patchwork Place
Website: www.martingale-pub.com
GUESTS :
Christine Barnes
Quilter / Author
Grass Valley, CA
Phone: 530-273-3970
E-mail: writeme@christinebarnes.com
Website: christinebarnes.com
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