Monochrome Magic: Ensuring Perfect Color Contrast in Your Knits!
The Smartphone Trick Every Fiber Artist Needs for Color Accuracy
Hello friend,
As I write this note to you, I sit at the new desk in my bedroom. Technically it is a very old desk, but it is new to me, having recently moved it from my daughter’s bedroom and into mine. It’s been here probably two weeks and I have to say, I am absolutely loving it! It is an old writing desk, with small crevices and nooks intended for notes, envelopes, and other such items. I have mine filled with crystals and a few treasures that I can look at while I write. The drawers contain some of my favorite stationery, tarot cards, notebooks, washi tape, and a few stickers. I have a candle burning and a mug of coffee to sip on. Sitting here, I remember years ago as a child, longing for a writing desk in my room just like this. It is funny how something long-forgotten can be triggered in a moment. I hope your day is off to as lovely a start as mine, friend.
How to check color contrast on your smartphone
Last week I shared some advice on color combinations in fiber arts. Today, I’d like to continue that topic and share how to easily check for color contrast with your smart phone. It isn’t difficult but if this is a new technique for you, let me tell you, it takes so much of the guesswork out of selecting colors! This method will help you see whether the color values (meaning how light or dark a color is) will give you the contrast you want. High contrast will give you a clear visual difference between colors. Low contrast means the colors will blend with each other more. There isn’t a right or wrong, it all depends on your preference for that yarn and project, and what look you want to achieve for the final item. And all you need is a smartphone. Simple!
Gather together the selection of yarn you are considering.
Arrange the yarn for a photo. This can be random or, if you are considering a particular color sequence, arrange it in that order.
Take a photo with your smartphone.
Edit the photo to remove color and view it in greyscale.
On most phones you can adjust color setting directly for a photo. Select color saturation, and adjust to -100.
Alternatively, you could add a greyscale (black & white) filter.
Now you can compare color values.
If two yarns appear similar in the greyscale image, the color contrast will be low For example, the grey and red yarns will likely have low contrast when paired with each other, because we can see that they look very similar in the greyscale image.
The purple and green colors in the middle of the image will also have low contrast if paired with each other.
The more visual difference in the greyscale image, they higher the contrast.
In these images, the red and purple or the red and green will likely have a higher contrast, meaning the two will be visibly different in your project.
Remember, there isn’t a right or wrong approach here and one level of contrast isn’t better than another. But it can be disappointing to buy yarn expecting a certain level of contrast and get half way through, to realize that you aren’t getting the look and effect that you had hoped for. This is a simple technique to give you more information up front before you even start the project, to help guide your selections.
Have you tried this technique? Let me know in the comments.