Choosing Colors for Hand Embroidery

Colors are an important component of hand embroidery. It sets the tone for the entire piece of work. Bright colors add playfulness and cheerfulness, while dark shades can throw in sophistication. This page will explore quickly some elements of color and give ideas to select a palette for the project. The subject of colors is vast and I will put in every effort to make it simple, but relevant to you. First, let us understand ‘colors’.

The Color Wheel

This is the color wheel where the colors are placed in a ‘rainbow’ pattern. All the following theories about color will be based on this color wheel.

If you see, the  color wheel is divided into warm and cool colors.

Types of colors
Colors can be organized as primary, secondary, and tertiary colors in the Color Wheel.

1. Primary colors: Red, Yellow, and Blue.
2. Secondary colors: Violet, Orange, Green.
3. Tertiary colors: Violet-Red, Red-Orange, Orange-Yellow, Yellow-Green, Green-Blue, Blue-Violet

Forms of a color
Each color comes in four forms. These forms can communicate the mood of your work. Let’s try to understand it with the color- Red.

1. Tint (Light): Add a degree of white to any color and you get a lighter shade. You can recognize the lighter shade of color when the colors appear softened and lightened. These colors are usually perceived as calming, soothing, loving, innocent, cherubic, Misty, soft, mellow, and sweet.
2. Hue (Vivid): This is the true color in its purest essence. It is the hue and the true representation of the color, and its vibrancy forces your first attention to it. These colors are perceived as vibrant, passionate, alive, young, energetic, playful, happy, festive, and exciting.
3. Tone (Muted): Add a degree of grey to the hue and you get a muted version that sets the tone of the color. It gives a worn-out or washed-out appearance. They are perceived as natural, organic, old, faded, rustic, worn, intellectual, boring, and dull.
4. Shade (Dark): Add a degree of black to the hue to get a dark shade. Much like how different materials soaked in the water turn it into a dark shade. Such colors are perceived as mysterious, serious, complex, traditional, historic, sophisticated, rich, and elegant.

BUILD A PALETTE FOR YOUR HAND EMBROIDERY

Now that we have an idea of how colors work, we can get on to making a palette for our embroidery project. In other words, let us see how to apply what we understood to help us decide on the colors for an embroidery project. Remember that whatever combination of colors you choose, you will take into consideration all 4 forms of each color. This does not mean that you will use all the tints, hues, tones, and shades of the colors you have selected, but just that you have the option to select the combinations out of it. Your background or fabric color will also affect the combination you would pick.

1. Use the color theory or the color wheel

1. Monochromatic: Choosing a monochromatic color for the project means that you will be playing with the tints, hue, tones, and shade of just one color in the same project.
2. Triad: These colors are separated by three colors between them. You can pick from a combination of the tints, hues, tones, and shades of these three colors.
3. Analogous: These colors are neighbors and give a very harmonious combination of colors. Use a combination of the tints, hues, tones, and shades of these related colors.
4. Complementary: These colors are on opposite sides of the color wheel, and they intensify each other. Various combinations using the tints, hues, tones, shades of these colors can be made to set the mood of the project.

2. Use your experience and memories

Think of the colors that come to your mind as you think of a subject. For instance, think of the beach. What colors does it remind you of? Most of us think of blue and white (for the ocean). Some might think of more tropical colors like red, blue, and yellow too if they have more experience in tropical beaches with lots of colorful beachwear!

Now try it out with something more abstract like Mother’s Day. What elements does it remind you of? What colors float into your mind? Using experience and memories offers a chance for you to bring out your unique thoughts and imagination to life, and tell your own story through your stitching.

3. Use your surroundings

Look around you. Observe colors. Does any combination catch your fancy?

This is a corner of my living room that I love for its colors. I picked the colors that catch my eyes from it. I can now form the tints, hues, tones, and shades for each of these 5 colors and try to combine them in my best possible way.

Sometimes, deciding on a palette can take time, and it is okay. These methods will help you to make the selection of colors easier and faster. With more practice and experience, you will only get better. Play with the colors fearlessly and develop your own style!

Related Projects

Check out this Color Wheel Project that applies the 12 Basic Stitches.