Chapter 9 Learn to add colour What is it that impresses us most when we look at an object?

? Well there are many elements of design that catch our attention, but the most powerful is colour. When you look at a shop window, you are immediately attracted by colour. The clothes we wear, the bag we choose, talk a lot about our colour preferences. Why is it that certain colour combinations look better than certain others? Well, the answer lies in understanding colour relationships. In this Chapter we will deal with: 1. Understanding colour and its relationships 2. The skill of working with two or more yarns on a project (or sample to begin with). Pantone did not always exist to provide standardization of colour. We live in a beautiful age when there are scholars dedicated to the study of colour. Study of colour provides us with the art, science and symbolism associated with it. Since this book is for design students and is based on hand knitting, I will not go into detail on how to achieve a particular colour (I will deal with it in my book on Dyeing), but the focus will be on colour coordination. Till now in this book you have learnt all the basics of knitting. The emphasis was on creating a knitted fabric with various textures and patterns. I urge the students to read books on colour to enhance the experience of working with colour. Trend researchers work with colour, predict colours of the coming season, because colour adds variety and removes monotony. The same piece of work in different colours gives a different look. Not all the colours are in fashion at a given point of time.

COLOUR In simple terms colour is the hue perceived by the eye when an object reflects light. Thus in order to be able to see colour we require: 1. An object 2. Light 3. Proper vision When white light falls on a prism we know that it breaks down into seven colours of the rainbow. Some of these colours are primary while others are not. Primary Colours:

Chapter -9, Learn to add colour

by Toolika Gupta

Colours that cannot be created using other colours are called Primary colours. These are:

RED Secondary colours:

YELLOW

BLUE

When two Primary Colours mix together they create secondary colours:

+
RED YELLOW

=
ORANGE

+
RED BLUE

=
VIOLET

+
YELLOW Tertiary Colours: BLUE

=
GREEN

Colours created by mixing Primary and secondary colours are called tertiary colours: 1. Red + Orange = Red Orange 2. Red + Violet = Red Violet 3. Blue + Violet = Blue Violet 4. Blue + Green = Blue Green 5. Yellow + Orange = Yellow Orange 6. Yellow + Green = Yellow Green All these twelve colours are the colours of the colour wheel. If you look at the picture of Colour wheel on the next page you will realise that there are 12 segments, the primary

Chapter -9, Learn to add colour

by Toolika Gupta

colours are separated by three segments. The middle segment of these three segments is the secondary colour, and the adjacent segments are tertiary colours.

THE COLOUR WHEEL

After doing a careful study of the colour wheel, you will see that Black and White do not feature here, that is because black and white are not colours in the true sense. They are known as Achromatic meaning without colour. A grey scale indicates that when you mix black and white in different quantities the different shades that you get of grey. A Grey Scale

A grey Scale is what you get when you mix back and white, but what if you mix black and / or white with a colour? Well, you get another Value of a colour. Value of a colour is its shade or tint.

Chapter -9, Learn to add colour

by Toolika Gupta

Tint When you mix a colour with white you get the tints, e.g. PINK is a tint of Red. Shade When you mix a colour with black you get a shade of that colour, e.g. MAROON is a shade of Red. Tints and shades are known as values of a colour. When you use different values of a colour your work is MONOCHROMATIC (meaning using only one colour and its values)

Figure 1 MONOCROMATIC COLOUR SCHEME

Adding Colour in your Knitting When you knit in different colours it is best to keep the texture plain knit or purl, so that the colours stand out. How to introduce a new colour: 1. It is advisable to bring in a new colour when starting a new row. 2. Create a loop of the new yarn in your hand, and after inserting the right hand needle in the first stitch on the left hand needle, insert your loop of new yarn on this needle and knit. 3. Now gently knot the new yarn to the old one at the edges so that it stays at the back of the fabric. 4. If your design is such that you have to introduce the yarn in the middle and not in the beginning then make sure you do so in the wrong side and not the right, so that all the knotting and floats are on the wrong side. How to knit with various colours: 1. Stranding - Introduce new colours as written above. While knitting with one colour you can leave the yarn of the other colour and pick it up again when required, this creates floats at the back of the fabric. If the colours are too far apart it is not advisable to do this as the floats have chances to be pulled. In that case it is advisable to weave in the extra yarn at the back.

Chapter -9, Learn to add colour

by Toolika Gupta

2. Weaving This requires some amount of practice. Once you have practiced stranding then you will be ready to try this. In this case you knit with the colour you want, but entangle the yarn that is not required right now in this knit stitch. This is how you do it: a. Insert the right hand needle into the stitch in the left hand needle b. Before knitting with the desired colour, pass the yarn of the other colour(s) over the yarn of desired colour and then knit. c. This will weave in or entangle the other coloured yarns and not let them hanging loose. d. This gives a neat finish.

Chapter -9, Learn to add colour

by Toolika Gupta

3. Intarsia Technique Intarsia is used when you have design sprayed over long distances in a fabric. In this case if you let the yarns float it will get messy, and if you weave in, it will get too rigid, thus the best way is to use a separate ball(s) of yarn where required, and then twisting the yarns together when they meet. 4. Embroidery You can knit your swatch in the usual way and then embroider it with another colour to add colour to your swatch. 5. Beading Knits can be made interesting by adding beads or sequins to the work. Try out these simple colour knit samples before moving on to complicated knits.

Equal stripes: Instructions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Take yarns of two colours A (orange) and B (white), of same type. Cast on 30 stitches using A (orange) Row 1 and 3 K using A Row 2 and 4 P using A Row 5 and 7 K using B Row 6 and 8 P using B Repeat these 8 rows to get a stocking stitch with stripes in two colours. Each colour lasts for four rows.

Chapter -9, Learn to add colour

by Toolika Gupta

Simple Checkerboard: Instructions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Take yarns of two colours A (orange) and B (white), of same type. Cast on 24 stitches using A Row 1 and 3 *K4 (A), K4 (B), repeat from * Row 2 and 4 *P4 (B), P4 (A), repeat from * Row 5 and 7 *K4 (B), K4 (A), repeat from * Row 6 and 8 *P4 (A), P4 (B), repeat from * Repeat these 8 rows to get a stocking stitch with a checkerboard pattern in two colours. Each colour lasts for four rows and 4 stitches.

Chapter -9, Learn to add colour

by Toolika Gupta