Color Choices

 One of the things that I did during the blog lapse was dye yarn professionally.  I was a part owner of a yarn shop, and I dyed yarn to be sold in the shop. 

I often heard from customers buying yarn that they didn't "know how to pick colors".  I would then tell them it was easy enough -- and give a little lecture while I pulled yarn for their project.  I'm using the example of my "Pumpkin Nice" cowl pictured above (it's coming along nicely, the skein join is not even noticeable as the color change matched perfectly [see the ends sticking out to the left in the yellow?]).  

Now, there's a lot about color theory which you can find and read if you're interested (which I am) but for someone who is just wondering what colors go together for their project -- here's a tip.  Let a professional do the work for you.  Find a multicolored object (and we'll use this yarn) and copy their colors.  That simple.  

You want a Fairisle yoke sweater?  Make the body that deep blue-violet and your yoke colors orange, yellow, and violet.  You want to pick colors for an afghan for your sister and her favorite color is orange?  Chose the rest of the colors in this combination to go with it.  Lay them out side by side and see if you like them.  

And you don't have to stick with just yarn for inspiration.  Look at wallpaper (they pay colorists to pick those colors) or art, or...anything.  One of the fun color games I've played in the past is to go to Pinterest  and just type in a color and search.  "Pink", "Aquamarine", "White".  Fabulous, inspiring images that you can pull the colors out of.  Just saying.