Plain Weave Color Strategy - Inspiration is Everywhere

Sometimes, choosing colors can be a place to get stuck before you even get started. How do you choose? How do you know which colors will go together and make an impressive impact? 

Look around you. What colors grab your attention as you look at your surroundings?

Nature is a good source of inspiration. 

Did you ever say to yourself "Those flowers are the wrong color?"

FOR SIMPLICITY OF USE, CONSIDER THE TOP ROW TO BE HEDDLED THREADS AND THE BOTTOM ROW TO BE OPEN THREADS ON ALL OF THE DRAFTS. 

This linen band echoes the light and dark pink of the clover flowers. Even a simple pattern such as this can look beautiful in the right color combination! Below is the pattern draft for this one.

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A local business has a large sign on their building sporting their logo and it kept catching my eye, so I decided that I should make it into a weaving pattern. I used two colors of green in about the same proportions and that beautiful dark red up the center. I think it really turned out great! 

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When I found these shoes, made from Molas (reverse applique technique made by Kuna Indians of Panama), I had to have them! There are so many colors here, but they all look great together in the design. The shoes needed to have special laces to go with them, I thought. So, I chose a few colors from the design.

I like the deep red of the background, and the turquoise blue was my other favorite, so I used them with some black outlines like the design in the shoes.

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The soft colors of these moccasins inspired me to weave a wide wool sash, now in the collection of my husband. I chose the buckskin leather color as the main color and used red, blue, yellow and white from the beadwork and quillwork for the pattern.