Free Crochet: Crochet with Color by Violet Henderson

Choosing a Color Scheme
    How you use color will determine the look of your project, and the feeling the colors evoke. Color has very strong psychological impact and there have been several studies about the effect color has on people. As a crochet artist it is good to know the “rules”, but feel free to break them. Some of the prettiest projects I’ve seen use all sorts of colors ignoring all of the traditional color scheme rules. Use the information in this section as guidelines, but don’t be afraid to experiment and combine whatever colors you like.
    Contrasting Color Scheme
    A contrasting color scheme uses colors on the opposite side of the color wheel. If you look at the color wheel you will see that red is opposite of green, orange is opposite of blue, and yellow is opposite of violet and are known as contrasting colors. You can also use secondary and tertiary colors to compliment your main color selections. When paired with black or navy blue, contrasting color schemes are especially bright and vibrant.
     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
    Analogous Color Scheme
    An analogous color scheme uses colors right next to one another on the color wheel. Usually the colors are in the same color family such as green, green blue, and blue. You can also use different shades of these colors to create a very pretty and rich looking project. One option is to use analogous colors as a gradient going from light to dark, or dark to light. This effect can be really stunning in a project if the light color is very light and the dark color is very dark.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
    Triadic Color Scheme
    A triadic color scheme uses colors which form a triangle on the color wheel. If you look at the color wheel in the image above you will see an example of a triadic color scheme would be orange, green, and violet. Another example would be the main primary colors of red, blue, and yellow.
     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    Tetradic Color Scheme
    The tetradic, or rectangular, color scheme uses two sets of contrasting colors for a very vibrant color combination. For example, orange and blue paired with violet and yellow. If you connect these colors with lines, they form a rectangle. When using a tetradic color scheme it is a good idea to choose one color as the dominate color and be aware of the combination of cool and warm colors if you want a particular color temperature in your project.
     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     

Square Color Scheme
    The square color scheme is very similar to the tetradic. The colors in a square color scheme are evenly spaced to form a square when connected with lines. An example of a square color scheme is green, yellow orange, red, and blue violet. This color scheme can also be very vibrant, or soothing depending on the shades and tints you choose.
     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     

    Scrapghan with lots of colors!

Tips for Choosing the Color Scheme for Your Project
     
    The information I shared in this chapter should be seen as guidelines. Color choice is very personal, so don’t feel bound by the