How to Use the Color Wheel

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One of the most important things to do before starting a crochet project is deciding what yarn colors that you are going to use. Color choices can drastically change the look of your finished crochet project.

On Facebook, Emma asked: “Please can someone help? I’m trying to put together a color palette of purples, silver/grey and ivory (my friend’s wedding colors) but I’m not sure what brand, shades and what order to put them in. I’d like about 8-10 shades to make a pretty ombre effect. Any ideas will be gratefully appreciated. Thank you xx.”

I think this is a common problem a lot of people have when trying to decide color choices, which is why I wanted to share the color wheel and a simple way to use it when deciding your color choices. I first discovered the color wheel when reading “Greystone’s Creative Hands. The complete knitting, dressmaking, and needlecraft guide.”

Here is a bit of a refresher:

Primary Colors- Red, blue, and yellow.

Secondary Colors- any mixture of two primary colors.

Tone- is the light to dark range of a color.

Shade- is the darker tones of a color, ie. mixed with black.

Tint- is the lighter tones of a color, ie a color mixed with white.

Here is a free PDF download for the color wheel: color wheel

Here is a free PDF download for the Use of the Color Wheel: How to use the color wheel