Learning color is much easier when you aren't limited by color. When I started curating bundles for my patterns, I quickly realized I needed the right "tools."
I was trying to select colors from a computer screen on the Art Gallery Fabrics website. No matter how hard we in the industry try, color images on a computer screen can't match the actual color of textured fabric.
Art Gallery offered a Color Card with little labeled fabric chips, so I ordered one to see. I quickly realized that I needed to lay the colors side by side to really see if they worked together.
This post includes instructions for how to make your own chips.
Materials
- Scissors
- A good pen or thin Sharpie
- Glue Sticks that dry clear
- Not cards or scrap paper that isn't too thin or too thick
- A Color Card from your fabric line of solids (We have the Pure Solids here at Jittery Wings)
Step 1: Cut Note Cards into 1" Squares
Using scissors or even a paper cutter, cut the notecards into squares that measure approximately 1" on all sides. The goal is for the fabric chip to completely cover the paper square on the back.
Step 2: Add Name and Number to Each Card
Color Cards include the name and number of each chip listed next to them. It can honestly be a little confusing because the name is below where the color is attached. Pro Tip: Don't cut any of the colors off yet.
Simply use the Color Card to write the color number and name on each card. Keep your cards in order as you write them, making little stacks. In the image below, the first color on the card is PE-471, and the name is Sweet Macadamia. Include both on the card for this color. Pro Tip: Yes, you will need to write small for the large names!
Step 3: Add Cards to Color Chips One at a Time
I strongly recommend you do this step one chip at a time. It is very easy to get them confused because when you cut off a chip, the names begin to look like they align with the color under it.
With scissors or pinking shears, cut off the first chip. Use the glue stick on the back of the color card you made, then attach it to the back of the color chip so the fabric extends beyond all four sides.
Step 4: Store Your Cards
I recommend a little clear box to keep your cards in. Some of us will keep them in perfect rows, others in messy piles in the box. You do you!
Step 5: Use Your Cards!
Play with your cards! Build palettes and post them in the Hive so we can see them and you can ask questions.
When you lay them out to use them, keep the fabric side up so there is no space between them as you test colors. I have a little rainbow laid out in the image below to show how I overlap colors when I am testing them with each other.
Step 6: Take a Deeper Dive Into Color Flow
I was getting so many questions about color palettes for my patterns, I created a free Color Flow Theory Workbook to help you get started.
Step 7: Go All In On Color Flow Theory
I also filmed a detailed, evergreen course you can refer back to as many times as you'd like. Have the course playing next to you as you build palettes with your chips. It is the most-purchased course in Jittery Wings' history. As part of the course, you can post pictures of your pulls and ask me questions; I will reply to you directly through the course. It's like having me there with you as you play and build.
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