Choosing colors for your quilt
In my book Open your Heart with Quilting, I very briefly discuss color. Because the book was printed solely in black and white I had to limit my discussion to what could be easily portrayed in text. This page exists as an extension of the book and is meant to help new quilters gain confidence in using color. All examples were created using Electric Quilt version 5.
Getting comfortable with color
As with most aspects of quilting, the first thing to do is relax! There really are no quilt police and if you like how something looks, that’s all that matters. Really!
If that doesn’t help, look at it this way – you have managed to dress yourself since you were quite small. You know how to put together an outfit that looks good. You have probably decorated and furnished a home (or at least a room) of your own, and you managed to create a space you love and feel comfortable in.
Still worried? Ok, even if you can’t dress yourself or a room attractively, there is still hope! Some very simple principles of design can help you put together colors in an attractive way. We will discuss those here.
And if all else fails, there are plenty of books on how to choose colors. Some are aimed at artists, some at home decorators, and a few have been written especially for quilters. If my advice on this page doesn’t help (or if you want more in-depth information), check out some of the books listed in the Resources section.
Simple Design Principles
There are many ways to combine the colors you choose for your quilt. Here are the four common color palettes:
Complementary colors
These are any two colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel, such as yellow/violet, red/green, or orange/blue. At first glance these might seem to be extreme combinations.
Using primary red and bright green will give you a traditional Christmassy effect that would look out of place in most non-Christmas quilts. But if you want to take advantage of the natural complementary nature of red and green, try different shades and tones of these colors.
Here is an example of a quilt using just two complementary colors, blue and orange.
Shades and tones of orange and blue appear in many Southwestern motifs. (Think dusty orange and turquoise.) Sunsets often contain various degrees of orange and blue, as do ponds full of bright golden-orange koi fish.
So as you can see, you can make a fine quilt using only two colors – when you remember that every color has an almost infinite number of shades and tones that can be combined in endless ways.
You can also make a lovely quilt by adding plain white, ivory, or black to a pair of complementary colors. I personally love to use black with bright colors and white or ivory with softer, paler colors. This was often done by the Amish whose plain, spare-looking quilts used many vivid colors in combination with black.
Analogous colors
These are any colors that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel, such as blue-green, green, and yellow-green. These combinations are great for making very subtle backgrounds for appliqué or for making quilts that have an understated elegance. I have used multiple shades of ivory, tan and beige as a backdrop for more vivid colors, and have seen gorgeous quilts done completely in shades of brown, gold, copper, and black.
Here is an example of how analogous colors might look together in a quilt. You can also use them to create a gradual progression from one color to the next.
Monochromatic colors
Monochromatic colors are shades, tints, and tones of one color. For example orange, peach, and rust are shades, tones, and tints of red. Without some variation of value and texture, monochromatic color schemes can become boring. Here is an example of a monochromatic quilt. This uses various shades of pink.
This differs from the example above because these are all shades of pink, whereas the quilt above uses shades of green, yellow green, and yellow.
Triad of colors
These are colors that are an equal distance apart on the wheel, such as orange, violet, and green. For added interest, you could use three colors that are not exactly equidistant, such as violet, yellow-green and orange.
When I am selecting colors for a quilt, I often think of a landscape. If I have chosen a selection of vibrant ”sunset” colors such as orange, yellow, and fuchsia, I will then choose at least one “ocean” color, like turquoise or green, to make sure that my quilt is color-balanced. This gives the quilt some cool areas for the eye to rest, and keeps the warm colors from overwhelming the viewer.
Yellow and purple are two of my favorite colors. When these two colors are combined with green you get a beautiful and nearly endless selection of color patterns. These three colors also use my “hot” and “cool” theory – the yellow is a warm color, while green and purple (since they both contain blue) are cool colors. The three balance each other out beautifully. I have used various shades and tones of these three colors in every home I have lived in and in many quilts and small quilted home accessories.
At the moment my kitchen is a sunny yellow with some dark purple and green accents and accessories. I am just starting to decorate my dining room and living room. My dining room is deep eggplant, and my living room will be a very pale green with purple and yellow accents. The three rooms will flow together wonderfully. I am also introducing black and white into all three rooms in the form of pillows, curtains, rugs and dishes just to give me more colors and patterns to play with.
Here is an example of a quilt that uses my favorite triad of colors.
Some Further Color Pointers
Keep these three thoughts in mind when selecting your colors:
- Every quilt can benefit from the addition of tones. These subdued colors give the eye a place to rest. Tones are the combination of primary colors with gray. For example, dusty rose is a tone of red.
- If you choose the right values in your fabrics, any color combination can work, even wild color schemes. (For more information on values, see Chapter 6 of Open your Heart with Quilting and the Value information on this site.)
- Small amounts of bright, warm colors will give your quilt sparkle, while small amounts of cool colors will add shadows and increase the overall vibrancy of your quilt.
