No matter what style of quilt someone is making, traditional, experimental, art or Modern, to produce one requires hours of work and patience. Fabrics may be recycled or new, but every maker wants the end product to look good when it’s all finished.

Knowledge of how colour works can be intuitive, but it also can be learned. Some people’s choices are very appealing to many of us – we say they are ‘good with colour’. Other people’s ideas are less so, or they have simply no idea (but not all of these people actually know that!) It is always worth taking time to focus on colour in our work – but if you don’t want to spend years and years reading up on the theory of colour, there are several good ways to come up with a colour scheme that pleases, and I don’t use the same approach every time.

I have often claimed that in the world of art quilts (including those who teach in it) there is not nearly enough emphasis on design and color compared to the myriad of technical demonstrations and tutorials in magazines, dvds, books, tv, online and real time courses and classes.  Many quilt makers have high skill levels in all the construction techniques required to make wonderful quilts, but can lack ability and/or confidence developing colour schemes for their own original projects.  

Collections of new fabrics appear several times a year in coordinated prints and solids to make copying a project from a magazine possible, but without basic knowledge of just how different colours work together, a quilter assembling her own individual color scheme may not even realize when a quilt shop assistant has helped her make a ‘less good’ or even a ‘wrong’ fabric selection.

How colours work together, “colour theory”, is a large area of study by many artists over several centuries, and it’s a bit daunting for those who find pages of terms and definitions wherever they look for information on working with color.  To help fill this knowledge and confidence gap, I teach a one day, non-sewing workshop called “Colour Confidence For the Theory Challenged Quilter”.  Using several  different visual sources, including their own photo and a found natural object, students experience several very practical methods of devising a colour scheme that really works. Without knowing any technical terms, all students successfully devise viable, interesting and personal color schemes; and for most this is a real eye opener and confidence builder. As these results are reviewed towards the end of the workshop, basic colour terminology is introduced; colour/hue/tint/shade,  and monochromatic/complementary/triadic etc. with reference to a color wheel. For some this is enough, and for others it is a starting point for further study.

I recommend getting a colour wheel from an art supply store, and learning about the different kinds of colours schemes, the role of neutrals, and which colours added to a group will give a zing, if you want it – basic colour theory. Knowing the basics and how colour works can enable you for example to express deeper meaning into your art – colours ‘speak’ to us, and can be interpreted as symbols revealing our inner thoughts. Hmmm …

You can certainly find some wonderful colour schemes on Pinterest and www.design-seeds.com (here you can search a particular colour like ‘turquoise’)