Lights and darks
By yarntales
@yarntales (639)
United States
January 1, 2007 6:27pm CST
I was going through some fabric a few minutes ago.
I was weeding out some that I didn't particularly care for. Most I didn't like were dark or brown, sometimes plain.
I must tend to want brighter colors.
It made me think. Dark has a place in crafting. It can be used to highlight, or detract, to bring focus to something.
How much do you use dark, or otherwise drab things in your crafting?
It doesn't matter whether you quilt, crochet, knit, do crossstitch or paint, beading, whatever your craft... please write your thoughts!
5 people like this
20 responses
@auburndreams (838)
• United States
2 Jan 07
Speaking of darks...I just bought 10 yards of black cordoroy to make pirate coats.
Dark colors are critical to the success of some quilting patterns to provide the proper contrast to make the pattern read correctly to the eye. The baby blocks design is the one that springs to mind.
Since dark colors recede (appear to be further away) from the eye, they are necessary to add the needed depth.
So I'm staying on the dark side Luke.
@auburndreams (838)
• United States
2 Jan 07
Quilters:
Hang on to your plain, ugly and drab fabrics. They come in handy to tone down the wild prints. A subtle touch of gray can actually make the brights pop out. Think of how bright flowers are on a foggy morning. I truly haven't found a drab or ugly print I couldn't use somewhere in a quilt for good effect.
If all else fails, trade the fabric with other quilters. Your ugly may just be their beautiful.
@yarntales (639)
• United States
2 Jan 07
Someone on our local freecycle had written she wanted fabrics. So I went through mine and pulled out some I didn't think i'd use.
So hopefully she'll come and get them soon.
@Willowlady (10658)
• United States
2 Jan 07
The use of dark I mainly use below the waste since as we age our weight does tend to gather. Also as trim it can lend shadow to accent our shape. It can be used as lining so that a slip becomes unnecessary. or even make it reversable. I have done all these however not much lately.
@yarntales (639)
• United States
4 Jan 07
Thanks for all the good comments. I think that dark is essential for so much of crafting. Of course some things are just bright and cheery, but that can be accentuated by the dark too.
@zainogenius (289)
• Pakistan
2 Jan 07
well light is very perfect it eeps u alive like u noe the circle of life thats how i goes an light is always better then dark!!
@yarntales (639)
• United States
3 Jan 07
I'm with you on the brights. Although I do like royal blue yarn for whatever reason... lol. I made a huge afghan with it last fall.
I've been in a bit of a slump lately. Hopefully I'll get back to normal soon.
@goldjay (465)
• United States
3 Jan 07
I crochet and knit and I like to use bright colors as well. I don't think I've done much with dark colors. I have done a lot of baby things too and most of those are pastels and very light colors. I guess darks have a place in some crafts but I don't use them very often.
@loved1 (5328)
• United States
2 Jan 07
I like dark items! I often use dark paper or fabric as a background for a project. Dark items tend to make a bold statement to a craft that is just ho-hum. Sometimes dark objects or material makes a good frame for something (especially a black and white photo). Lately I have been crocheting several afghans and have done a black border around the outside edge. The finished project was very nice.
@nancygibson (3736)
• France
2 Jan 07
I really enjoy working with fairly deep colours then accenting and highlighting them with wild, pure, beautiful jewel shades. I personally don't care much for pastels but adore deep dark greens and navy or black teamed with clear emerald or pure lapis tones
@Priceless (1277)
•
2 Jan 07
I use a mixer of both light and dark, And I'm unsure why, Maybe because I just like to mix but they usually look good together, like browns and oranges for example, They usually turn out good so yeah.. I just use them.
@sweetgirl_k1 (3972)
• United States
2 Jan 07
I do scrapbooking and I tend to use a lot of bright colors. I just don't use very many dark colors and I don't really have a reason for not using them. I guess I just like the brighter colors.
@UnHolyLove (96)
• India
2 Jan 07
dark, well i use black the most because it goes with a lot of things like crinsom red, scarlet red, blue, green and nearly everything. But i make lights my base i usually add in the darks.
@rosettaresearch (1285)
• United States
2 Jan 07
The contrast provided by the darks makes a quilt more dramatic. Amish quilts are the best example of this. By setting the light pieces against the black, they acquire an almost jewel like setting. They are simple, but very beautiful.
I also happen to before dark blues, reds and blacks. White shows dirt too much and my quilts are meant to be used.
@wahmbrendamh (576)
• United States
2 Jan 07
I use dark to backstitch whenever I crosstitch. In fact, I just did a whole outline of a project in brown.
