Choosing the best Yarn Colors

How to Choose Coordinating Yarn Colors

Have you ever struggled to choose the colors for your next crochet project? I have and it seems like some designers or crochet hobbyists always get it right. What are their secrets and how can we get our projects to hit the mark?

Recently I have been closely watching how the color combinations work and which projects catch my eye. I have been trying to come up with some ideas to make the color choosing process easier when I want to make a project. Here are a few ideas I have come up with…
The Project:

1. Who is the crochet item for?
2. What is the recipients color scheme?
3. Do I love the suggested yarn for the pattern and the color used in the picture?
4. Does a particular yarn attract me when I am shopping?
5. How many colors will I need for the project?

These are all great questions to start you on your way to make a fabulous project. If you are making the item for someone specific, they may have a color scheme that is easy to fit. Other times the project may be for sale or have no particular destination. In this case I really like to look at pictures of similar projects to see what catches my eye. This if very helpful by using sites like Pinterest, Google Images and individual crochet designer websites.

When I am getting ready to make a project, I love to head to the yarn store and walk down the yarn aisle. Depending on the project, I start with the type of yarn needed- Wool, Acrylic, Thread or Specialty Yarn. Once I have chosen the brand and type of yarn, I get started on choosing a color scheme.

One of my favorite ways to get the perfect rainbow of colors it to grab several different colors and line them up in my basket. I mix and match until I come up with what I think is the perfect match. I move the colors around next to each other and try to picture how my project will turn out with the different variations. I have made many great projects using this method. I think it is also a great excuse to get my yarn fix!

Designer Styles

You may have noticed many of our favorite crochet designers have a style of their own, most likely you do to! Most of us are attracted to certain color combinations and styles of crochet. For instance, Lucy at Attic 24 loves bright colors, stripes and granny squares. Sarah at Repeat Crafter Me designs the most fabulous children’s hats and always has the perfect color to make the project pop.

Tamara over at Moogly has a flair for making her patterns come to life with a movement of color and a wonderful gradient effect which always catches my eye!

Keep your eye on your favorite crochet designers and yarn companies… They work hard to use the latest yarn color combinations and trends for each season!

Yarn companies come out with new colors each season and you can head to their websites for the most current color charts, patterns and yarn previews.

When you are shopping at your favorite yarn store, you may notice sample swatches from different yarn companies. These swatches are a great way to see how each yarn works up and how the colors blend together. They also provide free pattern flyers that are great to collect for future reference!

Professional Tools:

There are many tools professional artist use when creating works of art! One of the most popular tools is the color wheel. Below is a basic primary color wheel. For more detailed color wheels head over to Google Images and find an array of choices.

Primary color wheel

For a gradient effect use 3 or more colors next to each other on the color wheel.

yarn colors

To make a project with complimentary colors, choose colors directly across from each other. For a fun multi-colored project, use every other color on the color wheel… Just add basic colors such as Black, White, Brown or Gray to add some contrast!

There are many ways to use the color wheel to get great results and these few ideas are just the start! For more information on how to use a color wheel, type “How to use a color wheel” into your search engine and let the fun begin!!! For even more fun check out Adobe Kuler or Color Scheme Designer, these are color wheel generators. They let you try all the different combinations right on your computer…

Another popular technique for color combinations is really an old fashion way of finding colors we love… Paint Chips! Go to your local paint store and look at the different types of paint chips… Many of them are gradient, but some of the chips have contrasting color choices and can give your some new ideas!

This leads me to a final tip. A great site called Design Seeds! Each day they post really fabulous color ideas that look like paint chips by using beautiful photos for the inspiration.

Check it out… It’s a really fun way to see new color combinations!

I hope this fills you with inspiration and ideas for your projects… There are so many fabulous yarns with brilliant color choices! If you are like me, I am addicted to yarn and crochet! It colors my world!!