Choosing the Right Color for Your Project

Hey, everyone, Matthew of Mister Domestic to talk to you all about color. Color is daunting, I'm not gonna lie. It was really overwhelming for me whenever I was having to pick colors, whether it was sewing or crochet, for a long time, and then I learned to just trust my intuition. There are a lot of different ways to figure out what colors are gonna go together. The simplest way is through a color wheel. I would even suggest getting a color wheel with all of the tertiary colors in between these. I have primary and secondary colors, but essentially within a color wheel, you have two options. You can go opposite, and know that these are gonna look really cute together. So like orange and blue. I wouldn't do it, but they look cute. I mean, we all know red and green, yellow and purple. So that's one way, if you want contrasting colors. If you want it to feel like a family of colors, you can stay in this situation. So these three colors, really cute together. These three, really cute together. These two, really cute. So if they're near each other, that's another way to know that the colors are going to look cuter. But that's a simple way, an overly simplified way to look at color in my mind, because I really feel that color is intuitive. So whenever I'm trying to step outside of the color wheel, I go to a couple different places. I reach for fabric, 'cause fabric, the colors, there's so many colors in fabric that are already put together and they look cute. I go to variegated yarn to see what colors they put together, and then beyond that, I will just trust my gut, and if it doesn't feel right, it doesn't feel right. If it feels right, it feels right. Because I find for myself, when I use my intuition as opposed to a formula to put colors together, it just feels more me. But if we're not there yet, this is a great way to start. So this is a nice cotton variegated yarn that I got this hank right here. So someone chose these colors to go together, and I bought it, which means that I like it. So I know that I can reach for individual yarns of these colors, and it's gonna look cute. Let me show you. Ah, see? Let me remove this. That looks really cute. Throw in a couple of neutrals, I'm good to go. I don't need anything more. I don't know that I would have put these colors together had I not had this as my inspiration, and inspiration is everywhere. Another way that I pick colors is to use fabric. I'm also a fabric designer, so I've designed some fabric, and this is one of my prints. I know, it's a lot of color, and it could be a little overwhelming, but the same situation, right? So let's get some purple. See the purple and orange, we know those go well together. This is actually more of a mustard, so let's get this one. Ooh, I wouldn't have done that. And then now you find like a turquoise. I don't have any, let's just pretend for color's sake! Throw in a white, what else is in there? There's a lavender. A white, different yellows. But since I did four on the previous one, these are four colors right here that I picked out. Those look really good together, and I might not have been able to do it had I not had that original fabric inspiration. And an additional place that I go for inspiration of colors is the internet. And there are websites that I go to. One of them is COOLORS, C-O-O-L-O-R-S, and they already have different color combinations, I think it's five, that are chosen, and I'll just go through there and I'll look to see if there's one that feels right for me. Can even type in categories there. But that's a great option that's already done for you if you just want the colors to be picked out for you, and you are trying to look for a way to express yourself in a pre-done way for you. So those are all of my options for picking color. Really, it starts with the science of which colors look aesthetic together in that color wheel, and then finding ways to get inspiration beyond that, so you can make the color selection more you. So I hope you really enjoyed this lesson. I had a blast talking to you about putting colors together. It's one of my favorite things, and I can't wait to see you in the next lesson. Keep it positive, everyone. Mister Domestic out.