How Many Colours Do You Need to Create the Pattern?

Have you ever wondered why there are so many colours in the cross stitch pattern you've recently bought? Sometimes it seems overmuch. And in some occasions it really is. Let's discuss the topic!

In order not to be unfounded and to show you the process of pattern designing, I decided to make a small funny cross stitch pattern. I started with the backstitch and picked up 310 DMC colour for it. I used only counted backstitch, because this small and easy design could be done on plastic canvas.

To decide how much colours we will take for this pattern we need to count how many different objects there are. Here is my list of the objects:

1) The hat and the coat (I will use one colour scheme for them)

2) The nose

3) The gloves. Here we can add the shoes to use one colour scheme

4) The beard

5) The stick

6) The poster

If the object is flat, we can use only one colour for it. But if the object has volume we need more colours. The simplest way to show your drawn object has some volume is to use at least 3 colours for it: one for the highlights, one for the shadows and one main colour. In my list of objects I have one flat object (the poster) and five objects that should have some volume. 5*3 + 1 = 16. So, according to some simple Mathematics I have to take 16 DMC colours to create my pattern. What if I try to reduce the amount of colours? See the picture below.

As you can see, I have taken only two colours for the nose, one colour for the gloves and shoes, one for the poster, one for the stick, two for the beard and one for the hat and the coat. Looking at the result, I was satisfied with the nose and the gloves. I was pretty sure I don't need more than one colour for the stick because it had only one row of cross stitches. But the hat looks too unnatural. So I decided to use the standart 3-colour scheme for it.

The result is much better! I have added two colours and used one blend between them to make the shadows deeper. Before adding this pattern to my Etsy shop I decided to be a naughty girl and to add something to the pattern...)

Summing up:

1) Most often you need at least 3 colours to add volume to the object

2) Flat objects can have only one colour if the pattern is simple

3) Take a look at your pattern to make a list of objects

4) Decide what objects can possible have one colour scheme

5) Using blends can help to reduce the amount of floss colours used

#crossstitch #design #pattern #christmas #colours #colourscheme