Color Guides

I was once told by a veteran quilter that the hardest part of quilt design is choosing the right colors. I have a relationship with color, so it comes naturally to me. I run into trouble finding the right fabric to match the colors I've chosen. Fortunately, solids have made a comeback in a big way and they can be painted to make custom blends. There is also a Palette Builder that matches a print with 6 solids and tells the the name and manufacturer. 

I need to warn you about using black cotton fabric or thread. It attracts lint like no other and it will get sucked into your machine. If you want to use black, choose poly/cotton fabric and 100% polyester thread.

The best book on color is The Quilter's Color Scheme Bible by Celia Eddy.

Color Schemer is a free app with millions of palettes to choose from or you can create your own based on fabric swatches.

Color Hints is an app that generates color schemes based on fabric swatches or photos. It's available on iTunes for $1.99.

Matching paint, colored pencil, or thread to fabric can pose a problem as well. I've made guides to help with this. Print them on transparency film and you'll be able to find matches for Apple Barrel, Folk Art, Delta Ceramcoat, and DecoArt Americana paint, Prismacolor colored pencils, Coats & Clark thread, and Kona cotton solids. You can use the files in your image editing program too.

Apple Barrel

7x6"

Folk Art

7x4"

Delta Ceramcoat

7x8"

DecoArt Americana + Traditions

7x8"

Prismacolor Colored Pencils

7x5"

Seasonal Colors

7x10"

Human Tones

7x11"

Kona Cotton Solids

7x5"

Coats & Clark Dual Duty XP Thread

8x9"

Palette Grid

7x8"

I've included this palette grid so you can create an inventory of your own colors in any media. Print it on either paper or fabric and color it in or use it in your image editor. Click inside the boxes with the magic wand and fill with color. Use the text tool to label them.

If all this color matching to fabric isn't enough, there's also the challenge of cross referencing paint made by different manufacturers or even three different lines by the same manufacturer as is the case with Plaid Enterprises.

The Decorative Painting Color Match Sourcebook by Bobbie Pearcy matches paint across mediums and manufacturers for every top brand of craft paint. Sadly, the book is now out of print and only available second hand.

The good news is, the book was published as a website. I happen to be a contributing member and I'm on the advisory council. I supplied the Apple Barrel colors that weren't included, so they could be cross referenced. The TCS Color Solutions Network is an indispensable online resource for color matching across manufacturers. There is a subscription fee of $19.99/6 months or $24.99/year.

There is now an iPhone app version that I beta tested. A subscription can be purchased from inside the app.

Another wonderful site is Tole Expressions which has free conversion charts for Decoart Americana and Delta Ceramcoat with shading/highlighting charts. DecoArt also offers free conversion charts matching their paint colors to other manufacturers.