From Sue Leishman; copyright 2001
One of the first steps in making
a temari is deciding what combination of colors you are going to
use. #5 Pearl cotton, the most common thread used to do the
embroidery, comes in over 300 colors. Selecting just the right
colors can be a challenge. While there are certainly no hard and
fast rules you have to follow, you may find that using the theories or
guidelines given in books on color theory can help you come up with
some striking combinations. Many of these theories are based on a
color wheel composed of 12 colors that was invented around 1731.
The wheel serves as a way to learn color relationships by organizing
the colors in a circle so you can visualize how they relate to one
another. Hundreds of books have been written on color theory and
many are far more scientific that is necessary for our purpose of
selecting temari colors. Above I have included a small
color wheel, but you may find it helpful to purchase a larger one at
your local craft or fabric store since the colors may not show up true
on your computer screen.. Following is some of the color
wheel information that I think may be of use to this particular art
form.
The color wheel pictured uses red, blue and yellow as the primary colors. Mixing 2 primary colors together in equal amounts results in secondary colors. Blue and red make violet; yellow and red make orange; yellow and blue make green. Mixing 2 secondary colors in equal amounts gives you the tertiary colors: yellow-orange, red-violet, blue-green, blue-violet, and yellow-green. You may also see these referred to as intermediate colors. The term hue may be used to refer to these 12 pure colors. By combining these 12 colors in unequal amounts you come up with an endless variety of other colors.
Other terms it is helpful to understand in describing color are tint, tone, shade, value and saturation. When you add white to a color it is called a tint. Pink for example is a tint of red. Gray added to a color gives you a tone. Mauve is a tone of red. A shade results from black being added to a color. Forest green is a shade of green. Value refers to the lightness or darkness of a color in relationship to black and white. Burgandy is a dark value of red compared to pink. Saturation is the brightness or dullness of a color. The pure hues are the most intense and brightess. One way to diminish the saturation is to add a small amount of the color opposite it on the color wheel. The above wheel shows this nearest the center of the wheel and refers to it as the complement tint.
You may be asking yourself how does all this relate to temari? Can't you just pick 3 or 4 colors that you like together? Sure you can and often that results in some beautiful balls, but using the color wheel can open your eyes to all kinds of new combinations and may encourage you to use colors you would not try otherwise. Also, often we may know that a combination isn't exactly right but may not know just what it is that is throwing it off. By comparing our selection to the recommended ones based on color theory we may be able to see the problem. Sometimes something as simple as replacing a red-violet with a blue-violet can make a big difference.
When planning the color scheme for your temari remember that in some designs the base color will show and in others it will all be covered with embroidery thread. If it shows you need to include the color of the sewing thread in your scheme. The color of the metallic, if you are using one, also needs to be taken into consideration. On the followiing pages you will find listed some of the recommended color combinations used by artists and craftspersons. Keep in mind that red (or any other color) means all the shades, tones and tints of red. If you think only in terms of bright colors some of the combinations may not appeal to you, but if you think peach instead of orange etc. you may find just the mix you're looking for. Try dividing up all your threads according to the 12 colors of the color wheel. If you have problems doing this you can find color wheels with many of the shades, tones and tints added. Then go through some of the following suggested combinations and try them out. Remember that neutrals can be added to any of the combinations without affecting the harmony. Neutrals include white, cream, gray, beige and black.
=====
The following abbreviations will be used below: red= R, red-violet= RV, violet= V, blue-violet= BV, blue= B, blue-green= BG, green= G, yellow-green= YG, yellow= Y, yellow-orange= YO orange= O, red-orange= RO.
The easiest way to select colors for your temari may be to use only one color. One-color schemes are known as monochromatic. A red based monochromatic temari could have a white thread base and be embroidered in red, pale pink and black. By using a dark, medium and light color plus 1 or 2 neutrals, if desired, you can easily comeup with many simple but effective combinations. For fun try a monochromatic temari in each color of the color wheel then move on to 2 or more colors combined.
One striking way to select a 2-color combination is to use complementary colors. These are 2 colors that are opposite one another on the color wheel. Usually it works best to use more of the cooler color so it is not overwhelmed by the hotter color. Here are the possibilities:
1. G+R 2. V+Y 3. B+O 4. BG+RO 5. BV+YO 6. YG+RV
Other effective combinations using 2 colors can be found by looking at the color wheel and selecting colors that are separated by 1, 2, 3 or 4 colors. These are sometimes called spaced color harmonies and give you many possibilities.
Combinations separated by one color are:
1. R+O 2. G+B 3. RO+YO 4. O+Y 5. O+YG
6. B+V 7. Y+G 8. BV+RV 9. RV+RO 10. BG+BV 11. YG+GB 12. V+R
Combinations separated by two colors are:
1. R+RO 2. RO+Y 3.BG+V 4. G+BV . 5, YG+B 6. B+RV 7. BV+R 8. Y+BG 9. RV+O 10. O+YG 11. R+YO 12. YO+G
Combinations separated by 3 colors are:
1. R+Y 2. YO+BG 3. G+V 4. BV+RO 5. RO+YG 6. B+R 7. BG+RV 8. V+O 9. O+G 10. YG+BV 11. Y+B 12. RV+Y
Combinations separated by 4 colors are:
1. R+YG 2. YO+B 3. G+RV 4. BV+O 5. V+YO 6. Y+BV 7. YG+V 8. R0+G 9. O+BG 10. BG+R 11. B+RO 12. RV+Y
O.K. Now you have 54 two-color combinations to select from. Add in all the tints, tones and shades of these colors and you should have enough ideas to keep you making temari for a long time, but no doubt most of you will also want to try color schemes with more than 2 colors. What are your options here?
Start by looking at the analogous color combinations. Analogous colors are the colors that are side by side on the color wheel. By selecting any 3 of these you get these options: 1. YO+Y+YG 2. R+RO+O 3. BV+V+RV 4. G+BG+B 5. O+YO+Y 6. RV+R+RO 7. B+BV+V 8. YG+G+BG 9. RO+O+YO 10. V+RV+R 11. BG+B+BV 12. Y+YG+G
Another way to find 3 colors that harmonize is to select 2 complementary colors, then as an accent color use a color that is 2 colors away on the color wheel. Here are the options:
With R+G select one of these accents: Y or B or V or O.
With RV and YG select one of these accents: BV or BG or RO or YO.
With V and Y select one of these as an accent: O or G or R or B.
With BV and YO select one of these as an accent: RV or BG or YG or RO.
With B and O select one of these as the accent: G or V or Y or R.
With BG and RO select one of these as the accent: BV or YG or YO or RV.
Split Complementary Colors offer more 3 color options. To find these colors choose a color and then add the color on either side of it's complement.
1. OR+BG+BV 2. BG+R+O 3. G+RV+RO 4. R+YG+BG 5. RV+Y+G 6. YO+B+V 7. B+RO+YO 8. RO+G+B 9. YG+V+RV 10. Y+BV+RV 11. V+YO+YG 12. BV+O+Y.
=======
The next 3 color combinations can be a little tricky . To find them pick 2 colors on the wheel that are separated by 2 colors and then skip 3 colors on the outer side of each. Use one of the 2 remaining colors as an accent color. This gives you 24 possibilities. The first 2 colors listed are the main colors. Select one of the other 2 colors as an accent.
Need more 3-color ideas? Try picking 1 color and then get the other 2 colors by skipping one color, selecting 1 color, skipping 1 color and selecting the next color. Use 1 as your main color and the other 2 in smaller amounts. Here are the possibilities:
1.O+Y+G 2. Y+G+B 3. G+B+V 4. B+V+R 5. V+R+O 6. R+O+Y
7. RO+YO +YG 8. YO+YG+BG 9. YG+BG+BV 10. BG+GV+RV 11.BV+RV+YO
Four other combinations are possible by using the triads. Triads are 3 colors equally spaced on the color wheel. These combinations make striking, well-balanced temari balls.
1. O+G+V 2. YO+BG+RV 3.. Y+B+R 4. YG+BV+RO
Since most temari balls are relatively small, 4 or more colors on a ball may be used less often than the 1, 2, or 3 color combinations, but some patterns do lend themselves to the use of more colors. One easy way to select 4 harmonious colors is to select 3 analogous colors (side by side) and add a color directly opposite one of them as an accent. This gives you 36
possibilities. The first 3 colors listed are the side by side colors. Select only one of the next 3 colors as an accent.
1.YO+Y+YG accented by BV or V or RV 2. R+RO+O accented byG or BG or B 3. BV+B+RV accented byYO or Y or YG 4. G+BG+B accented by R or RO or O 5. O+YO+Y accented by B or BV or V 6. RV+R+RO accented by YG or G or BG
7. B+BV+V accented by O or YO or Y 8. YG+G+BG accented by RV or R or RO
9. RO+O+YO accented by BG or B or BV 10. V+RV+R accented by Y or YG or YO 11. BG+B+BV accented by RO+V+RV 12. Y+YG+G accented by BV or V or RV
The following 4-color possibilities are found by selecting 2 colors separated by a single color, then adding the 2 colors directly opposite them. It may look best to use one color as the main color and the other 3 colors in smaller amounts.
1. R+G+B+O 2. R+G+Y+V 3. V+Y+B+O
4. RV+YG+BV+YO 5. RV+YG+RO+BG 6. BV+YO+BG+RO.
Another way to use 2 sets of complemetary colors is to select 2 side by side colors and their opposites:
1. R+RO+BG+G 2. RO+O+B+BG 3. O+YO+B+BV
4. YO+Y+V+BV 5. Y+YG+V+RV 6. YG+G+R+RV
7. G+BG+R+RO 8. BG+B+RO+O 9. B+BV+YO+O
10. BV+V+YO+Y 11.. RV+R+YG+G 12. BV+V+YO+Y
======
The color wheel pictured uses red, blue and yellow as the primary colors. Mixing 2 primary colors together in equal amounts results in secondary colors. Blue and red make violet; yellow and red make orange; yellow and blue make green. Mixing 2 secondary colors in equal amounts gives you the tertiary colors: yellow-orange, red-violet, blue-green, blue-violet, and yellow-green. You may also see these referred to as intermediate colors. The term hue may be used to refer to these 12 pure colors. By combining these 12 colors in unequal amounts you come up with an endless variety of other colors.
Other terms it is helpful to understand in describing color are tint, tone, shade, value and saturation. When you add white to a color it is called a tint. Pink for example is a tint of red. Gray added to a color gives you a tone. Mauve is a tone of red. A shade results from black being added to a color. Forest green is a shade of green. Value refers to the lightness or darkness of a color in relationship to black and white. Burgandy is a dark value of red compared to pink. Saturation is the brightness or dullness of a color. The pure hues are the most intense and brightess. One way to diminish the saturation is to add a small amount of the color opposite it on the color wheel. The above wheel shows this nearest the center of the wheel and refers to it as the complement tint.
You may be asking yourself how does all this relate to temari? Can't you just pick 3 or 4 colors that you like together? Sure you can and often that results in some beautiful balls, but using the color wheel can open your eyes to all kinds of new combinations and may encourage you to use colors you would not try otherwise. Also, often we may know that a combination isn't exactly right but may not know just what it is that is throwing it off. By comparing our selection to the recommended ones based on color theory we may be able to see the problem. Sometimes something as simple as replacing a red-violet with a blue-violet can make a big difference.
When planning the color scheme for your temari remember that in some designs the base color will show and in others it will all be covered with embroidery thread. If it shows you need to include the color of the sewing thread in your scheme. The color of the metallic, if you are using one, also needs to be taken into consideration. On the followiing pages you will find listed some of the recommended color combinations used by artists and craftspersons. Keep in mind that red (or any other color) means all the shades, tones and tints of red. If you think only in terms of bright colors some of the combinations may not appeal to you, but if you think peach instead of orange etc. you may find just the mix you're looking for. Try dividing up all your threads according to the 12 colors of the color wheel. If you have problems doing this you can find color wheels with many of the shades, tones and tints added. Then go through some of the following suggested combinations and try them out. Remember that neutrals can be added to any of the combinations without affecting the harmony. Neutrals include white, cream, gray, beige and black.
=====
The following abbreviations will be used below: red= R, red-violet= RV, violet= V, blue-violet= BV, blue= B, blue-green= BG, green= G, yellow-green= YG, yellow= Y, yellow-orange= YO orange= O, red-orange= RO.
The easiest way to select colors for your temari may be to use only one color. One-color schemes are known as monochromatic. A red based monochromatic temari could have a white thread base and be embroidered in red, pale pink and black. By using a dark, medium and light color plus 1 or 2 neutrals, if desired, you can easily comeup with many simple but effective combinations. For fun try a monochromatic temari in each color of the color wheel then move on to 2 or more colors combined.
One striking way to select a 2-color combination is to use complementary colors. These are 2 colors that are opposite one another on the color wheel. Usually it works best to use more of the cooler color so it is not overwhelmed by the hotter color. Here are the possibilities:
1. G+R 2. V+Y 3. B+O 4. BG+RO 5. BV+YO 6. YG+RV
Other effective combinations using 2 colors can be found by looking at the color wheel and selecting colors that are separated by 1, 2, 3 or 4 colors. These are sometimes called spaced color harmonies and give you many possibilities.
Combinations separated by one color are:
1. R+O 2. G+B 3. RO+YO 4. O+Y 5. O+YG
6. B+V 7. Y+G 8. BV+RV 9. RV+RO 10. BG+BV 11. YG+GB 12. V+R
Combinations separated by two colors are:
1. R+RO 2. RO+Y 3.BG+V 4. G+BV . 5, YG+B 6. B+RV 7. BV+R 8. Y+BG 9. RV+O 10. O+YG 11. R+YO 12. YO+G
Combinations separated by 3 colors are:
1. R+Y 2. YO+BG 3. G+V 4. BV+RO 5. RO+YG 6. B+R 7. BG+RV 8. V+O 9. O+G 10. YG+BV 11. Y+B 12. RV+Y
Combinations separated by 4 colors are:
1. R+YG 2. YO+B 3. G+RV 4. BV+O 5. V+YO 6. Y+BV 7. YG+V 8. R0+G 9. O+BG 10. BG+R 11. B+RO 12. RV+Y
O.K. Now you have 54 two-color combinations to select from. Add in all the tints, tones and shades of these colors and you should have enough ideas to keep you making temari for a long time, but no doubt most of you will also want to try color schemes with more than 2 colors. What are your options here?
Start by looking at the analogous color combinations. Analogous colors are the colors that are side by side on the color wheel. By selecting any 3 of these you get these options: 1. YO+Y+YG 2. R+RO+O 3. BV+V+RV 4. G+BG+B 5. O+YO+Y 6. RV+R+RO 7. B+BV+V 8. YG+G+BG 9. RO+O+YO 10. V+RV+R 11. BG+B+BV 12. Y+YG+G
Another way to find 3 colors that harmonize is to select 2 complementary colors, then as an accent color use a color that is 2 colors away on the color wheel. Here are the options:
With R+G select one of these accents: Y or B or V or O.
With RV and YG select one of these accents: BV or BG or RO or YO.
With V and Y select one of these as an accent: O or G or R or B.
With BV and YO select one of these as an accent: RV or BG or YG or RO.
With B and O select one of these as the accent: G or V or Y or R.
With BG and RO select one of these as the accent: BV or YG or YO or RV.
Split Complementary Colors offer more 3 color options. To find these colors choose a color and then add the color on either side of it's complement.
1. OR+BG+BV 2. BG+R+O 3. G+RV+RO 4. R+YG+BG 5. RV+Y+G 6. YO+B+V 7. B+RO+YO 8. RO+G+B 9. YG+V+RV 10. Y+BV+RV 11. V+YO+YG 12. BV+O+Y.
=======
The next 3 color combinations can be a little tricky . To find them pick 2 colors on the wheel that are separated by 2 colors and then skip 3 colors on the outer side of each. Use one of the 2 remaining colors as an accent color. This gives you 24 possibilities. The first 2 colors listed are the main colors. Select one of the other 2 colors as an accent.
1. RV+OR accented by BG or
G.
2. YG+B accented by RO or R .
3. G+BV accented by O or RO. 4. BG+V accented by O or YO.
5. B+RV accented byYO or Y 6. BV+R accented by Y or YG
7. V+RO accented by G or YG 8. Y+BG accented by R or RV
9. R+YO accented by B or BG 10. RO+Y accented by B or BV
11. O+YG accented by V or BV 12. YO+G accented by RV or V
3. G+BV accented by O or RO. 4. BG+V accented by O or YO.
5. B+RV accented byYO or Y 6. BV+R accented by Y or YG
7. V+RO accented by G or YG 8. Y+BG accented by R or RV
9. R+YO accented by B or BG 10. RO+Y accented by B or BV
11. O+YG accented by V or BV 12. YO+G accented by RV or V
Need more 3-color ideas? Try picking 1 color and then get the other 2 colors by skipping one color, selecting 1 color, skipping 1 color and selecting the next color. Use 1 as your main color and the other 2 in smaller amounts. Here are the possibilities:
1.O+Y+G 2. Y+G+B 3. G+B+V 4. B+V+R 5. V+R+O 6. R+O+Y
7. RO+YO +YG 8. YO+YG+BG 9. YG+BG+BV 10. BG+GV+RV 11.BV+RV+YO
Four other combinations are possible by using the triads. Triads are 3 colors equally spaced on the color wheel. These combinations make striking, well-balanced temari balls.
1. O+G+V 2. YO+BG+RV 3.. Y+B+R 4. YG+BV+RO
Since most temari balls are relatively small, 4 or more colors on a ball may be used less often than the 1, 2, or 3 color combinations, but some patterns do lend themselves to the use of more colors. One easy way to select 4 harmonious colors is to select 3 analogous colors (side by side) and add a color directly opposite one of them as an accent. This gives you 36
possibilities. The first 3 colors listed are the side by side colors. Select only one of the next 3 colors as an accent.
1.YO+Y+YG accented by BV or V or RV 2. R+RO+O accented byG or BG or B 3. BV+B+RV accented byYO or Y or YG 4. G+BG+B accented by R or RO or O 5. O+YO+Y accented by B or BV or V 6. RV+R+RO accented by YG or G or BG
7. B+BV+V accented by O or YO or Y 8. YG+G+BG accented by RV or R or RO
9. RO+O+YO accented by BG or B or BV 10. V+RV+R accented by Y or YG or YO 11. BG+B+BV accented by RO+V+RV 12. Y+YG+G accented by BV or V or RV
The following 4-color possibilities are found by selecting 2 colors separated by a single color, then adding the 2 colors directly opposite them. It may look best to use one color as the main color and the other 3 colors in smaller amounts.
1. R+G+B+O 2. R+G+Y+V 3. V+Y+B+O
4. RV+YG+BV+YO 5. RV+YG+RO+BG 6. BV+YO+BG+RO.
Another way to use 2 sets of complemetary colors is to select 2 side by side colors and their opposites:
1. R+RO+BG+G 2. RO+O+B+BG 3. O+YO+B+BV
4. YO+Y+V+BV 5. Y+YG+V+RV 6. YG+G+R+RV
7. G+BG+R+RO 8. BG+B+RO+O 9. B+BV+YO+O
10. BV+V+YO+Y 11.. RV+R+YG+G 12. BV+V+YO+Y
======
The
next 4 color combinations are found by using 4 colors equally spaced on
the color wheel. There will be 2 colors between each of
these. These
are called tetrads.
1. Y=BG=V=RO 2. YO+G+BV+R 3. YG+B+RV+O
Twelve
more options for the 4-color combinations can be found by selecting 3
alternate colors and using the color opposite the middle color as an
accent. The last color below is the accent color.
1. O+Y+G+V 2. Y+G+B+R 3. G+B+V+O 4. B+V+R+Y 5. V+R+O+G 6. RO+ Y+O+B 7. YO+YG+BG+RV 8. YG+BG+BV+YO 9. BG+BV+RV+YO 10. BV+RV+RO+YG 11. RV+RO+YO+BG 12. RO+YO+YG+BV
Twelve
more combinations can be found by using the triads. Remember
these?
They are 3 equally spaced colors on the color wheel. Then, as an
accent, use one of their complements.
1. O+G+V accented by one of these B or R or Y. 2. YO+BG+RV accented bu ome of these BV or RO or YG. 3. Y+B+R accented by one of these V or O or G, 4. YG+BV+RO accented by one of these RV or YO or BG.
Five
and six color combinations will probably not be used very often on a
temari ball, but here are some options. For a 5-colored temari
try
using any 5 side by side colors. For a 6 color combination
try using
5 side by side colors and the complement of the middle color of these 5
or pick 3 side by side colors and their complements or pick every other
color around the wheel.
Hopefully all these ideas will inspire some harmoniously colored temari balls.