Colour Match Fabrics for Your Home & Wardrobe

If you’re about to colour match fabrics, remember: you can’t use an app, try to paint a picture or even master the innovative maake Colour Atlas without knowing the basics.

In fact, it’s not worth using any clever tip you’ve ever heard about colour matching unless you first learn all about the colour wheel.

Here, we also discuss which shades go together and which shades you should never, ever combine. So read on…

The Basics: The Colour Wheel

1. First thing to take note of on a simple wheel is the primary colours – red, yellow and blue. You can use each of these basic three monochromatic colours, or combine different shades of each. If you want to combine these three primary colours, ensure you’re using the same shade. It’s not a good idea to mix pale blue and bright yellow with dark red, for instance. That’s a clashing combination! Would you paint a picture with those shades? We don’t think so.

2. Next up are complementary colours, which are located on the opposite side of the wheel. So, red, green and blue pair up with the complementary colours orange, purple and yellow. They offer a very strong contrast; in fact, the strongest contrast possible.

3. Third on the list are analogous colours. These shades are right next to each other on the wheel.  You can make excellent patterns using gradients of warm hues (red, orange and yellow, for example).

4. To spice things up, there are also triadic colours, vibrant shades that are spaced evenly throughout the wheel. If you combine them, you can create a very dynamic combination that is harmonious, and pops.

To find these shades, create a triangle on the wheel. For example: red, yellow and blue; green, orange and violet-blue; red-orange, blue-violet and yellow-green. 

5. Remember: The closer to each other two shades are on the wheel, the better they will go together. You could try using paint once you’ve chosen the hues to paint the shades on paper to give you an idea of what the combinations look like.

Colours That Combine Well Together

Marketing mavens talk about how people interpret shades in specific ways. Each colour means something different. So, when we buy a product, for instance, its shade will influence that decision.

We actually created an informative blog to paint the perfect picture on this subject. You can read Colours, Fabric and Emotions for all the info.
Colour not only influences our purchasing choices; it also helps us decide on what to buy. Depending on how we interpret a colour, this can actually have a specific message or meaning.

An article created by design master, Adobe, explains how combinations of two, three or more shades in a product can have a huge impact, negative or positive, on the way we perceive it.

This is important to remember if you have a small business: the right colour combination can boost a brand message, whilst the wrong one can affect it negatively. You can, of course, use this knowledge when you create designs.

Adobe compiled a free Adobe color wheel, a stunning palette generator for designers and those working in the interior decor and fashion trade. With this tool, you can create an almost infinite number of gorgeous combinations.

You can also experiment with monochromatic colour choices and shades to create incredible three-way combos.

Colour Match to Create Stunning Shade Combinations 

Many computer design programmes such as Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign, offer a number of tools and plenty of inspiration to combine 3, 4, 5 or more shades together.

Colour Matching Tips & Tricks that Paint a Pretty Picture

1.     Big & Bold: Red and yellow are a classic combination that is larger than life and conveys energy. As these shades are extremely vibrant and dominant, it’s important to combine them with care.

2.     Warm, Fun Hues: When combined, pink and purple can convey various messages, including energy, positivity, femininity and determination. They can be playful colours, but if you use darker shades, this would make them a little more ‘adult’.

3.     Serious or Light-Hearted: A colour match of yellow and black (your happy bumble bee or smiley face emoji, for instance) can be happy or quite serious. It depends on how you use them. The serious side is usually used to convey a bit of mystery and magic.

4.     Clashing Combinations: Although many people do combine orange and purple, many people consider them as clashing, not a colour match. Of course, depending on the design and style of the fabric and the product, you can take a risk and use this combination. The warmer the shades, the more likely they are to work together. 

5.     A Calming Match: Blue and green are eye-catching shades that go well together. They’re often considered a tranquil, soothing colour match. If you select brighter shades of the two colours, you can give them lots of energy and use them in edgy fashion designs. 

6.     Forbidden Combinations: Combining red and green (which are great on Christmas trees) with yellow and blue is not a good colour match. These shades are actually impossible to see at the same time: they cancel each other out when you look at them.

We compiled a handy Colour Guide for Digital Printing that will assist you when you print colours on fabric. Take a look!

Matching Colour for Fashion 

·      Using Complementary Colours: While these shades sit opposite each other on the wheel, they can clash, but are also complementary. Take burgundy and forest green, for instance, or fuchsia and chartreuse. They complement each other surprisingly well, and you’ll certainly stand out from the crowd when you match colour right!

·      Using Analogous Colours: Sitting right next to each other on the wheel has its advantages. The shades share a common hude and, for those of you who want to play it safe with colours and designs in the fashion trade, this can work very well indeed.
Take pale blue, for instance. It sits directly between blue-violet and teal on the wheel. So why not try one of these shades to design a patterned accessory? It will be subtle, but it will be beautiful, too.

·      Using Various Neutral Tones: Neutrals work beautifully as the base for brighter hues, but they can combine well together, too. Makeup artists use this trick when they combine make-up shades on a person’s face. Remember: matching shades doesn’t only involve bold shades. It can also involve neutral shades. So don’t be shy to pair brown, navy, black and white shamelessly. Yes, you read that right – we said you can combine brown and black! In fact, this past winter, black and brown were common fashion pairings.

You can also use denim as a neutral. Pair different denim fabrics together for a texture adventure. You’ll be surprised how great you will look!

·      Mix it Up: Consider the point above – who says you have to complement the shades of your accessories? Don’t be afraid to experiment to find what works best for you.

·      Organise Your Wardrobe Using the Wheel: You’ll be surprised how easy it will be to complement shades and choose what to wear! You can make the rules as you go along – new combinations, new pattern mixes, solids and patterns… be creative.

Fabric Print & Colour Matching for Interior Design

Colour matching is also used to complement shades in a room, such as a kitchen or living area and create a theme for interior decorating and design. Here are some great ideas to inspire you when decorating your kitchen, bedroom, or bathroom, or using accessories carefully like quality laminate flooring, wall lights, travel mugs and so on:

·      Choose the Main Colour Fabric First

Every set of shades has a main colour, and you need to choose this first, then add other fabrics to complement it. If you choose a fabric in a solid colour as your main fabric, then choose three other fabrics in various prints that go well with it. 

Using a solid colour with printed fabric can be a little tricky, unless you’re well-versed in mixing and complementing textures, prints and shades together. If you decide to avoid using a fabric in a single colour and only choose patterns, be careful.

Often fabrics that have marbled patterns or a paint splatter of shades can work well together if the shades are soft and subtle.

·      Don’t Match an Image or Print – Complement Colour Instead

Prints made up of various shades enable you to use the other shades in an image, soft furnishings and other home accessories to paint the picture you want to create.

·      Change Up Scale & Size

To create great visual interest, combine different sizes of fabric designs and prints. If you can match a small, medium and large design together, it can look amazing.  

·      Combine Similar & Different Designs 

It’s not as difficult as it sounds, and it certainly won’t look mismatched!

All you have to do is use two prints that are of a similar pattern or family, and then choose another one that is completely different. An example would be circles and spots mixed with a floral print. If you have a paint tin handy, paint these shades in your notebook to see the effect.

How to Colour Match a Fabric Colour using Paints 

We’ve already discussed in detail how to make a perfect colour to complement the Adobe Shade Wheel. But there are several other methods you can use for colour matched fabric. Let’s take a look at two, finding a colour by using paint or using our innovative Atlas.

Find the Perfect Solid Fabric Shade with Paint 

To find material in a solid colour, take a fabric swatch to the paint section in a hardware store or a dedicated paint shop and look at paint samples. (Try Dulux colour matches if you can; this is an excellent paint brand; it has a wide selection of paint colors and the paint samples give an excellent indication of what the colour will look like.

The paint sample should have a spectrometer that measures heat and light. This will translate the fabric colour into a formula that will perfectly complement it with a paint colour.

For Fabrics – the maake Colour Atlas

We have created one of the most innovative tools to match colour on fabric instead of using paint, a colour match chart or colour match app. Our innovative Colour Atlas fits on a metre of fabric.

It considers every possible colour saturation – it’s custom-filled with over 2,500 shades and colour codes, so designers can see the shades exactly how they will print on fabric and select and complement shades accordingly. That’s the closest possible way to view the colour without actually having to paint a picture. And the regular price is very reasonable!

Order your quality Colour Atlas now