Exploring Colour and band weaving (1)

Exploring Colour Combinations.

I completed a very interesting course called the Power of Colour with FutureLearn.   I learned how to use some digital tools for analysing colour in an image.  There are two free tools which you can use. I took a picture of a view near where I live.  I uploaded it into the two programmes to see the range of colours:  ColorExplorer, and  TinEye Labs   You can try these programmes for yourself.

You need to make sure that the image is of a small number of pixels for the programmes to work.


Here is my photograph.

Photograph across Framwellgate Bridge Durham City, UK

ColorExplorer.

The first analysis is from ColorExplorer at  http://www.colorexplorer.com/

I uploaded my photograph and this is the colour analysis.

TinEye Labs.

The second analysis is from TinEye Labs. at http://labs.tineye.com/

It is interesting to compare the two types of analysis from the same photograph.  Why not try it for yourself.

As a tool for interior design I can see that it would be very useful.

The four colours from Pitaculous matched to 16/2 Swedish cotton.

First Idea.

I used the four colours to design my first band. There are 61 warp ends. i used 16/2 Swedish cotton used double to make a wider band.  the weft is 6/2 cotton in grey which is nearly the same colour as the grey 16/2 cotton at the edges of the band.

My first idea

The woven band

Second Idea.

After weaving, I decided that I did not like the single red stripe. I left the single green stripe.  There are 58 warp ends.

The woven band

Third Idea.

For band 3 I thought that I would leave the colours in stripes minimising the overlap of colours.

graph for asymmetrical band

Four colour band 3.  I like this version.

So three variations using just four colours.

I would probably not have chosen this particular combination of colours from my photograph but it has been fascinating to see what could be done with them.

I feel that these colour analysis tools would be of more use to interior designers.  It was fun to play with them. I feel that I would probably have found these colours anyway by my own method of taking a strip across the photograph.  I will show you how to do this in my next blog.


Happy weaving

Susan J Foulkes  August 2017