The Art of Colour

Colour with confidence – blending, contrasting and using colour in your knit and crochet projects

Introduction to Colour

Colour is more than just visual – it’s emotional, symbolic and deeply personal. When you’re choosing yarn for your next project, understanding colour theory can transform your work from lovely to unforgettable. Be colour confident with your stitching! Let’s unravel the mysteries of colour and explore how to blend, contrast and create colour palettes that sing – in garments and beyond.

Why the Art of Colour Theory matters in Fibre Arts

At it’s core, colour theory helps us understand how colours interact, in knitting, crochet and dyeing. This means how colours complement, enhance or clash with one another.

• Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Colours; the basic, primary colours are red, blue and yellow. Mix these together in pairs and you get secondary colours of orange, purple and green. Mix these further to get tertiary colours which are further blended and give a rich palette of thousands of shades.
• The Colour Wheel; use it to identify complementary colours (opposite each other on the wheel) analogous colours (those next to each other) and triads ( three evenly spaces colours around the wheel.)

Natural Dyeing: working with the colours nature gives you

Natural dyes offer complex, unexpected results, and they don’t behave like commercial dyes. They create tones that can be adjusted with mineral solutions and changes in pH of the dyes. Natural dyes can be bright and bold, or subtle and earthy. When choosing yarn colours for your project, decide first which you prefer. Then pair then for contrast; try a soft yellow with walnut brown and logwood purple….

Natural dyes can also be layered to create secondary and tertiary colour, and this process adds depth and a jewel-like quality to colours. An example of this would be an emerald green created with weld and indigo.

Mixing and matching colour in your projects

Putting colours together in your projects is part instinct (what you think looks good) and part science (what the colour wheel suggests)

• Contrasts add drama; use colours opposite each other on the colour wheel for bold eye-catching stripes or colour work, such as teal and rust.
• Harmony and elegance; analogous colours, those next to each other on the colour wheel are elegant and cohesive, ideal for subtle gradients.
• Texture and colour; don’t forget that stiches add their own texture. Raised patterns can break up colour and add shading and visual texture.

Building your colour confidence

1. Swatch first. Test colour combos before committing to a whole garment. Colours can change when worked to how they look in the skeins held next to each other.
2. Look at nature. Imagine how the colours would work in nature – especially apt for naturally dyed yarns. Imaging a peacock’s feather, a sunset, mossy forest and ferns or the petals of a rose. Nature is in balance and harmony.
3. Trust yourself. Sometimes, despite the theory, things just ‘work’. These are often the most exciting combinations that can make your knit and crochet standout. Use colour for confidence.
4. Emotional responses. Colour can change how we feel and how we feel wearing a garment. Think of calm blues, energetic red and soft greens. Think about how you want the piece to feel, and what you plan to wear it with, when and where etc.

Final thoughts; your colours, your story

Every colour choice tells a story. Whether you are using naturally dyed yarns with plants from the hedgerow, crocheting a rainbow granny squares blanket or knitting a two-tone lacy shawl, your colour palette is your signature. There’s no such thing as the ‘wrong’ colour combination, just some that appeal to you less than others and combinations you haven’t tried yet.

Most importantly, be brave and bold, you can’t get it wrong, be yourself with the art of colour.