Crafty Me

Colors of the Season

April 7, 2021April 5, 2021 by T Whitaker

Color Choice in Crafting Matters

Lately, I have been playing a game on the phone that requires you to decorate part of a home. It has a description of what the client likes and wishes. The idea is that to decorate per the client’s wishes and the rest of the players in the game vote for the best designs. You can rank from 10^th place to 1st place. The game drives me crazy. It seems like the boring rooms get the most voted and someone like me who loves to use colors and textures never seems to rank past 7th place. I am usually in 10^th place and once in a while, I get up to 2^nd place. My internal joke is that the more color I use the more likely I will tank in the challenge, even if the challenge requires lots of colors.

Color is something, to be honest, I haven’t thought about much while crafting and crocheting. Let me rephrase. The colors I am using have been what pleases me, rather than what are the on-trend colors of the season. I am a bit embarrassed to say so. I hold certificates in Color Theory, Custom Framing, Personal Color Analysis, and Jewelry Making. All things that require color knowledge and trends. The seven color schemes and how each color interacts with each other is something that I am well versed in. I know how to determine your skin tones and what color clothing and makeup look best on you. I know all these things. Yet I have not been keeping up with trends.

“Offering a range of shades illustrative of nature, colors for Spring/Summer 2021 underscores our desire for flexible color that works year-round. Infused with a genuine authenticity that continues to be increasingly important, colors for Spring/Summer 2021 combine a level of comfort and relaxation with sparks of energy that encourage and uplift our moods,” said Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute.

My daughter has bought a new home. When I went to go for the grand tour, she had paint color swatches up on a wall in every room. The colors were lovely but not something I would think of in my home. There were turquoise and that lovely khaki green. Mustard and Desert Tans sprinkled throughout the house. Lovely combos, very southwest to my mind. I went home, looked it up and it is trending right now in interior colors. Sigh. Final push. I decided to start creating things with colors that are more on-trend and seasonal.

We are going into summer time soon. I sat down and wrote down all the colors I think of when I think of summer.

The Aqua of the ocean

The bright Blue of the sky

The blazing Yellow of the sun

The rich Orange of the sunset

The Tans of the beach sand.

The happy Reds and Blues of beach balls.

I then looked up the colors of summer according to fashion industry.

The French Blue of a summer in Paris

The golden Orange of Marigold

The Cerulean of the sky

The Burnt Orange to express conviviality

The Desert Mist of shifting sands

The floral shades of Amethyst Orchid.

Pretty close, but the industry is a little more muted in the tone choices. I would have been brighter. Surprise to me was the inclusion of purples. I guess this year is the climate of inclusion, the industry is striving to make the colors easier to morph into fall and winter

I guess it is time to pull out the old color wheel again. It is a useful tool. I think if I put a little more effort into the trendy colors, I will see an uptick in sales following the color trends where I can and where it makes sense. I think it could help you as well.