Recently, at a group show, I stood with another embroidery artist, staring at our vibrantly hued work gleaming off the deep charcoal walls of a friend’s store, discussing the way we interact with color and texture in our creative process.

We realized we shared the experience of trying to match exact colors of a flower before catching ourselves and saying “wait - I’m in charge here, I can make the flower whatever color I want it to be!” and that freedom is what I truly want to pass onto you in this session.

The beauty of the creative process is that we get to make up the worlds we wish to see.

We can bring our own energy into our pieces by infusing our desires through color - you can read (or listen to) this article I wrote on color vibrations to learn more about working with color to solidify intentions; but know that your personal connection with color is what matters more than anything.

Since this stitchalong is all about enchanting the blooms we’re stitching, let's consider how we can use colors to give our artwork a bit of an otherworldly glow.

I love the way an unexpected hit of lavender, fuchsia, turquoise, or cobalt gives stitches an ultraviolet electric feeling. 

You can choose these colors based on what you’re naturally drawn to, or - if you’re feeling like you want more direction than that - you can choose coordinating colors with the help of a color wheel.

Let’s say you’re working with a pink petal, like the poppies below. 

You can pick a color on the color wheel that sits next to the color of your petal, in this case purple - this is known as “analagous” color (notice also the electric blue accents on the leaves and stems - giving the foliage a little more vibrancy than just a basic sage green).

You can also take a look at what color is directly across from the primary color of your petals - this is known as “complimentary" color. 

For example, the purples on these golden lotus petals (there's even a bit of analagous color thrown in there too - the copper sits next to yellow on the color wheel)

Working on a dark background, you can take advantage of the background for the shadows of the blooms. For example, the purple and pink poppies above, the areas of black are actually just unstitched.

We‘ll get into the first blooms - the star of the show - in the next session, but be prepared to stitch with shades that go from light to dark. 

This is the best way to show dimension, allowing the petals to feel like they’re popping off the fabric.

Take for example, the image below. 

While the bloom on the right (a totally made up flower) works with colors that are for the most part not that different in dark-to-light ratio; the middle and left flower have much higher contrast in their dark-to-light ratio. 

I’m not saying any one looks better than the other, but the flowers on the left and center do feel more dimensional.

I believe it’s this dimensionality that makes a piece feel truly enchanted!

Lastly, remember to think outside of the green box! 

As I mentioned before, there are 5,000 shades of green, and even more shades of color that your foliage can be stitched in. The foliage in the example above has a deep cobalt and even lavender woven through the stitches.

Below is the Mary Delany paper collage again. The foliage here is in shades of warm mustard and dusty turquoise, which really helps bring this bloom to life. 

Imagine how much flatter it would feel if these were simply light to dark green?

Hope this helps support your practice, and I look forward to seeing your design take shape - be sure to tag on Instagram with #enchantedbloomsstitchalong (yeah, I know, that's a lot of letters - sorry!!)