What is a neutral colour?
Neutral colours are most clearly defined as hues that appear to be without colour, and don’t typically appear on the colour wheel. Neutral colours do not compete with primary and secondary colours . They compliment them.
Why use neutrals?
They help other fabrics to stand out. They can make a vibrant, wild palette look soft and airy, or add depth and dimension with out adding colour. They can round out a palette making it look more complete and dynamic.
How to start?
Begin by paying attention to the undertones of the neutrals.
Undertones?
Beiges are the warm neutrals and generally go well with warm colours and earth tones. Beiges will have pink, green, or yellow undertones.
Grays range from light, hazy gray to rich charcoals. These cool neutrals come to life with vibrant, clear colours. They will have violet, blue or green undertones.
Taupe is a combination of gray and beige, leaning toward gray, and can be both cool and warm. They will have pink or violet undertones.
Be deliberate with Value
If you want a serene, soft, elegant or understated look, use whites, creams, taupes and light grays.
For a more dramatic, bold, moody or attention grabbing quilt use more blacks, dark browns or charcoals.
Add harmony by choosing a warm neutral for a mostly warm palette, or cool neutral for a cool palette.
Create balance by adding a warm neutral to a cooler palette, or a cool neutral to a mostly warm palette.
At our upcoming meeting I will share with you two ‘Boho’ embellishments I came across during a stroll through You Tube.
I will have samples for you to see and explain some of the changes I made to the processes. These changes came about because I didn’t have the materials suggested, or didn’t want to follow instructions!
Chrissie Crosser, You Tube “How I make my Boho Beads” (22:16 minutes) Chrissie uses a paper straw as the foundation of her bead. She then uses a method to anchor the wire that the rest of the bead is built on. I wasn’t comfortable with her method, and will describe some of the changes I made. No doubt you will have modifications once you view the You Tube tutorial…or once you have made your own bead. My granddaughters and I made a few beads together…its an easy and enjoyable process!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHCVyYuO_rQ
Nina Ribena, You Tube “Boho Gypsy Tassel Tutorial Using Grandma’s Thimbles” (28:14 minutes) I loved the sight of this tassel the moment I saw it. Again, another session with the granddaughters, and again, this was fun and easy too! There are a variety of ways to embellish the tassel…watch the video and come up with a few suggestions for our meeting next Tuesday!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8ndbxumAxA
Cathy
Cathy has done some lovely flower embroidery and made a large tassel than hangs on her bedroom wardrobe.
Elisabeth
Christine
