Color in Needlework by Lucy Lyons Willis Copyright 2001 La Chatelaine Designs     What is the first thing you notice when you look at a needlework design? What attracts you to it? Chances are it is not the design itself which first gets your attention, but the colors that are used. If two very similar designs were placed sided by side, one with colors you liked and the other with a displeasing color scheme (but with a design more appealing) which one would you choose? Would you pick the one which had the colors you liked or choose the one with the better design and change the colors to suit your taste?     Throughout my past experience as an Interior Designer, the single most misunderstood factor of design for most people was COLOR. During the 1950's the term vanilla decorating was used to describe a room in which insufficient color contrast was used. This term of course did not apply to a room designed that way on purpose, but more because the owner was afraid to experiment with different colors, patterns and textures. They felt "safe" with limited color combinations. We all can relate with shopping for paint colors, and being caught between selecting the color that we know matches and the one that we love but are afraid to try. To effectively use color to your advantage in your needlework and your home it is helpful to understand color, how it is made, and what it can do for you.     Science has proved that all color comes from rays of light. The white rays of sunlight can be separated as they are in the rainbow, or divided with the use of a prism giving a colored band called a spectrum. Therefore, all these colors combined would produce white again. This is not true with paint ~ when paint colors corresponding to the colors of a spectrum are mixed the result is a dark grey. Each material in nature has the ability to absorb one or more of the colors of a ray of white light. The rays that are not absorbed are reflected to the human eye and create the color of the object. A leaf absorbs the red rays and reflects only the blue and yellow rays which make it appear green. Soot from a candle flame absorbs all the rays and appears black.     Colors have four characteristics which are known as Hue, Chroma, Tonal Value and Finish. Hue refers to the color itself such as red, blue,etc. Chroma or chromatic value refers to the degree of intensity that exists in a color. A ripe, red pepper is a red hue of a brilliant chroma. A brilliant color can be subdued by adding to it a pigment of the color that is directly opposite to it on a standard color wheel. Tonal Value (tone or value) is the degree of lightness between an off-white and an off-black of any hue. Pink is a light tonal value of red, brown is a dark tonal value of orange. Light tonal values are often called tints, and dark values are called shades.     Finish is a quality of colors and refers to the presence or absence of a glossy surface ~ the finish is called mat. Flower thread has a dull mat versus the shiny mat of silk thread.     The complement of any hue is the hue or combination of hues that is lacking in the original color to produce the complete range of colors in the spectrum. In a color wheel, complements are always shown in sections directly opposite each other.     Colors also have certain qualities we are all aware of, such as: Warm, approaching colors ~ orange, red, yellow (which are advantageous to use in rooms with northern exposure to give the effect of sunshine); Cool, receding colors ~ blue, green, violet (counteract excess warmth or sunshine in a room.) Green is the middle color of the spectrum and is considered to have the most restful effect of any other color ~ which is the reason it is used so extensively in hospital rooms! The 24 basic hues may be divided into what are termed Primaries, Secondaries, Tertiaries and Quaternaries. The 3 Primary Colors are:  Blue, Red and Yellow The 3 Secondary Colors are made from a combination of any two Primaries:          Violet:     A combination of Blue and Red          Orange:   A combination of  Red and Yellow          Green:     A combination of Blue and Yellow The 6 Tertiaries are a combination of a Secondary and Primary Color:          Plum:      Blue-Violet                                Flame:     Yellow-Orange          Mulberry: Red-Violet                                 Citron:      Yellow-Green          Russet:   Red-Orange                               Slate:       Blue-Green The 12 Quaternaries are a combination of a Tertiary with either a Primary or Secondary hue. There are no standard names for these colors since they vary so slightly from their adjoining hues. They could probably be designated by using the name of the Tertiary with its additional mixture such as Blue-Plum or Greenish-Citron.     It is only possible to produce a color of a strong chromatic value if the colors close to each other on the color wheel are mixed. Mixing opposite colors neutralize each other and result in grey.     An Interior Designer uses color to create a mood or atmosphere that is suitable for the use of a room. Color is used as a background for human beings. A Needlework Artist uses color to accentuate (approach) and subdue (recede) subject matter. Studying color is a true benefit and enables the artist of any media to more easily recognize complimentary colors which makes color work "for" a design whether it be in needlework or any other facet in life.     So ~ the next time you stand before the DMC thread cabinets of more than 500 hues ~ don't order vanilla!