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Hands Occupied

Contemporary yarn crafts by Heidi Gustad. Knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame.

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Color Value for Makers

February 5, 2021 Leave a Comment

Sponsored by Knit Picks. Post contains affiliate links.

Four skeins of primary colored yarn in color as well as black and white, used to help explain the concept of color value.
Pictured: Wool of the Andes Bulky from Knit Picks

How is it that I’m always yammering on about my love of primary colors and dropping ❤️ 💛 💙 on things, but I haven’t written a proper blog post on color theory before? Last week, I published a cute TikTok on using your phone to help select yarn color, and it definitely got my (color) wheels turning. Let’s talk a bit about color theory for yarn crafters, starting with the concept of color value.

What is Color Value?

@handsoccupied

Color value 101 & how to use your phone to figure it out 🧶 ##handsoccupied ##learnontiktok ##knitting ##crochet ##whatilearned

♬ Rasputin (7″ Version) – Boney M.

In the video, I explain that black and white photos help makers see the contrast between colors, and that color value can be described as how close to black or white, or how light or dark a color is. But since we’re working with a blog post and not a 30 second video here, let’s dig a little deeper.

Four skeins of primary colored yarn in color as well as black and white, used to help explain the concept of color value.

Useful colors to picture for color value

A graphic featuring eggplant, lavender, navy and light blue squares designed to illustrate a point about color value.
Anyone else seeing Candyland cards in this graphic? 😆

Eggplant/lavender & navy/sky blue are commonly-identifiable colors, easy to picture. They’re also good for explaining the phenomenon that two DIFFERENT colors can have the same/similar value. In this example, eggplant & navy have a more similar color value than lavender & sky blue.

I used my iPhone to convert the above graphic to black and white using one of my phone’s built-in black and white filters. (Here’s how to do that. I recommend the Mono filter.) Here’s the result.

A graphic featuring eggplant, lavender, navy and light blue squares designed to illustrate a point about color value.

As you can see, when converted to black & white, the eggplant and navy colors have nearly the same color value. And while the lavender and sky blue aren’t quite as close in value, they are closer to each other in value than their darker, same-color counterparts.

Another way to think of these examples: sky blue is another name for LIGHT blue. Navy is another name for DARK blue. Light colors are described as having “higher” value than dark colors. Light colors reflect more light than dark colors, which absorb more light. Light is how the eye perceives color, so that is why you have to care about color value in your making, particularly if you’re combining colors in an effort to make a design discernible to the eye.

Four skeins of primary colored yarn used to help explain the concept of color value.
Pictured: Wool of the Andes Bulky from Knit Picks

Related Reading

I former librarian, I firmly believe in the value of reading about the same concepts, but explained and illustrated in new ways. No two makers have the same context and reference points, so if my explanation on color value isn’t totally clicking with you, or if you want to delve further into reading about color theory before I get around to writing another post, give these links a look:

Color Theory Basics I – Tricksy Knitter

The Value of a Color is in the Gray – Roving Crafters

How to Choose Colors for Fair Isle or Stranded Colorwork Knitting – Berroco Blog

Value in Color Theory – Round Table Yarns

9 Hints for Selecting a Colorwork Palette for Stranded Knitting – Interweave

Colour Theory for Knitters – Tin Can Knits

Color Theory for Stranded Colorwork – Brooklyn Tweed

Color Value for Makers: A a bit about color theory for yarn crafters, starting with the concept of color value.

Sponsored by Knit Picks. Post contains affiliate links.

Filed Under: Crochet, Knitting, Latch Hook, Macramé Tagged With: color theory, color value, colorwork, picking yarn for projects

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is a craft book author & content creator in love with primary colors & vintage vibes. She specializes in knitting, crochet, latch hook and macramé, and her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now!

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi, an author, yarn craft designer and content creator specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. My work unapologetically features primary colors and vintage-meets-modern style. My first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is now available!

Professionally I’m most known for: advanced intarsia knitting design & modern latch hook design.

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Craft book author & content creator in love with primary colors & vintage vibes. / #latchhookbook out now!
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knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé

Heidi Gustad 🧶✂️
A new YouTube tutorial is live today covering how A new YouTube tutorial is live today covering how to knit the Little Butterfly Stitch (aka Bowknot Stitch). It adds so much cute character to simple stockinette. Only a little funky to knit, and it packs a huge visual punch! 🦋 
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Find the video & written stitch pattern on the blog and YouTube, links are in bio. 
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#kpambassadorsfeb21 #sponsored
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Yarn: @kelbournewoolens Germantown in Baby Blue via @knit_picks. Needles: Prism Interchangeables, also from Knit Picks. 
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Pictured: a light blue swatch of Little Butterfly Stitch knitting on a pink background. A skein of yarn and a few stitches of knitting are nearby.
“You’re telling me words can be pronounced in “You’re telling me words can be pronounced in different ways and mean the same things?!” 👀 Posting this here, just to make it clear: when anyone says skayne, skeen, or skyne, it can be safely assumed we’re talking about a bundle o’ yarn,  a SKEIN. It’s not necessary to shame someone for using a word that is known to have MULTIPLE common pronunciations. 🧶
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Can you plz comment sharing how you say SKEIN and where you learned it? The OED happens to say SKAYNE, but it’s not a personal attack if someone says SKEEN and you say SKYNE or even Saskatoon. I’m legitimately curious. We don’t all knit or crochet the same way, and craft evolves a bit like language - it is passed on. There is so much value in having conversations about & embracing these variations! ✌🏻
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Pictured: A blond woman holds a skein of mustard yellow yarn up to her head like a phone, looking shocked. She’s wearing glasses & a knit sweater. 
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#handsoccupied #heidigustad #skein #yarn #yarncraft #knit #crochet #yarnaddict #knitincolor #soldotnacrop #language #englishisweird #oed #oxfordenglishdictionary
Sometimes my weekend projects involve hair rather Sometimes my weekend projects involve hair rather than yarn. Here’s the latest mediocre-but-improving result of my slow quest to learn to set vintage inspired curls. 💇🏼‍♀️ I’m hoping to be able to wash my hair less using a regular vintage set, but we’ll see if it ends up being practical. 😆 Hair frustrates me so much more than crafts! 
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Do you also style your hair using vintage methods? If you have any tips for vintage hair styling or good resources to share, please do!
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The first stitch tutorial of the new year is live The first stitch tutorial of the new year is live on YouTube! Diamond Brocade is a great knit+purl only stitch for beginners or anyone wanting a classic look for their knitting project. Find the video with a written stitch pattern on the blog or head directly to the video on YouTube. Both are linked in bio. ✌🏻 
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