DIARY

A quiet place to share work away from social media.

Value Does All the Work (Colour Gets All the Glory)

black and white improv pieced part of a quilt

How to see value

Here’s an example of “Value does all the work but color gets all the glory”. Do you take color value into account when selecting fabrics?

Do you have a process for assessing color value?

My go-to method is to take a photo on my phone and change it to black and white, or just change my phones “filter” to black and white and just view through the camera without the photo for a quick and dirty.

If I’m starting a new project and evaluating a fabric pull, I’ll photograph the whole pull and see how many fabrics are medium, dark, or light, regardless of color.

See how the pinks blend right into the beige in the black and white pic, you could think they’re the same.

How dark or light a color is, relative to it’s neighbour, creates texture and interest, as much as colour. In some cases, more.

The saying “Value does all the work but color gets all the glory” has been repeated often enough that its roots are unclear. The first time I heard it, it really clicked. So true.

improv pieced block with bright and neutral colours

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Tension test pattern image with file types

Avoid tension trouble. Test before you quilt.

Longarmers, this free tension test will save you time and help you deliver quality quilting.

Next – check your email. Remember to look in spam if you can’t find it.

By sharing your email you consent to occasional emails from Quilting Octopus.