| Several years ago, I decided that I would explore the | | | | displayed in a quilt show or your home. |
| world of fabric dyeing. It was in dyeing fabric that I | | | | Quilting daughter, Stephanie, and I made a pure color |
| really learned about color, and the difference between | | | | quilt together years ago. We chose the colors just |
| yellow-green and blue-green. | | | | because they were fun and bright. Little did we know |
| By mixing the colors to make the dye, all of a sudden | | | | that these are examples of the pure colors on the Ives |
| the resulting colors make more sense, and now, many | | | | Color Wheel and the colors created by mixing pure |
| yards of dyed fabric later, it is easier for me to pick | | | | colors together. |
| out colors for a quilt. | | | | What is interesting about these colors, and possibly the |
| By actually seeing what color results from mixing 1/4 | | | | quilt, is that colors this intense are difficult to look at for |
| yellow and 3/4 red versus 1/2 yellow and 1/2 red, it all | | | | any length of time. Maybe that is why, after about 6 |
| makes more sense. | | | | years, it's still not completely quilted....On the other hand, |
| What is interesting is that when I took the class, the | | | | there is probably something else going on. |
| teacher provided the dye to make the colors you see | | | | As you choose colors for a quilt, you may want to |
| in the fabric samples below. I did notice that the red | | | | keep in mind that these intense colors can affect the |
| was a magenta color, instead of what I normally view | | | | mood of people looking at them. If you are making a |
| as red. (The teacher called it fuscia.) | | | | quilt for a child that already has a high level of activity, |
| And the blue was more of a turquoise rather than a | | | | you may not want to make it using these colors |
| traditional blue. But, since it was all new to me anyway, | | | | because they would stimulate the child even more. |
| I didn't really question the differences. | | | | However, if you have a dull and boring room, like the |
| It was just today, as I was once again pondering color | | | | all-around brown I had in my living room many years |
| that I ran across somewhat of an explanation for the | | | | ago, adding pure colors will brighten up the room. In my |
| difference. Not that this is a complete explanation, but it | | | | case, it probably would have taken a truckload of pure |
| does offer some insight. | | | | colors to overpower the brown. |
| It turns out that this guy named Dr. Herbert Ives led | | | | These pure colors, and their variations, are found in |
| AT&T’s television research during the 1920s and | | | | nature, and it is interesting to note that whether the |
| 1930s. Herbert's interest in color began at an early age | | | | colors are tints or shades depends on the season. I |
| since his father invented techniques for color | | | | know, that probably doesn't make a lot of sense. |
| photography and the half-tone process. Those | | | | But, it works this way. A tint includes all of the colors |
| techniques made printing pictures in newspapers and | | | | between white and the actual pure color. Pastels are |
| magazines possible. | | | | good examples of tints, and pastels are the colors of |
| And Herbert created a color wheel made up of three | | | | Spring - robin's egg blue, peach, apricot, mint green, etc. |
| "pure" colors. The true significance of all of this is that | | | | When you add black to a pure color, you get a shade |
| fabric dyes use the Ives Color Wheel, as was made | | | | of the color. As you can imagine, shades are the |
| apparent when I took the fabric dyeing class. | | | | colors of autumn. When you add black to red, you get |
| The three pure colors are: magenta, turquoise and | | | | a rust color - shades of autumn leaves getting ready |
| yellow. The vibrance of these colors individually is | | | | to fall from trees. |
| notable, and when they are mixed with each other in | | | | A tone is what you get when you add grey (not black) |
| specific formulas, they create the most powerful and | | | | to a pure color. These are the colors of winter, and |
| beautiful colors around. | | | | are generally calming colors. These colors are great |
| The Ives Color Wheel features the pure colors | | | | for bedrooms and quilts for small children. |
| magenta, turquoise and yellow. | | | | The real question in my mind is "who created the more |
| Quilts made primarily with these pure colors | | | | 'traditional' color wheel? And why? |
| immediately attract attention, whether they are | | | | |