Playing with color is one of my favorite parts of weaving. My process for choosing a color scheme falls somewhere between intuitive and haphazard. I look through my yarn stash, grab skeins, toss them in a basket, squint, return a few to the bin and repeat until I’m pleased with the result. I know the bare bones of color theory but I realized I could use a deeper and more nuanced understanding of how they work together, especially in fiber art.

Recently I’ve been delving into Color Works: The Crafters Guide to Color by Deb Menz. This spiral bound volume is a hands-on workbook with “color tools”. It turns out-spoiler alert!- there’s an objective process behind color selection.The first half of the book walks you through it by showing how to determine the saturation (bright vs dull), the warmth or coolness, and the value, or where it falls on the grey scale from black to white.

This single biggest takeaway for me is this: the value relationship (light vs dark) is the first aspect of a piece the viewer will perceive from a distance. The actual colors are not obvious until the viewer gets closer. Menz suggests we think about value before color.

The second section is about color in relation to fiber art. This involves understanding the specific media (yarn, thread, fabric) and the process (spinning, weaving, quilting) as they relate to color.

Luckily, experimentation and play are still a core part of the color selection process. This book simply gives us a few questions to ask ourselves along the way.

Happy weaving and happy reading,
Dina