I’ve written in the past about ways to change color so that your vintage needlepoint canvas doesn’t look dated. While it is relatively easy to know how to make a given color scheme look more modern, it’s much harder to figure out what schemes will look dated and how to avoid them.
When we buy a painted canvas the color scheme is largely decided for us. We can tweak the colors but it would have been hard to change the canvas above to a rainbow of hearts. If we create our own designs or stitch line-drawn canvases we have more freedom.
The question remains, however, how to keep the schemes we choose from looking out-of-date. A great place to look for guidance is in the world of decorating. Decorators have to deal with this problem all the time. And they have to pick schemes that will work over long periods of time. The blog, Sensational Color, has a great post with guidelines for this.
While needlepoint sometimes should avoid trends because our stitchery outlives them, this is great advice for picking colors.
About Janet M Perry
Janet Perry is the Internet's leading authority on needlepoint. She designs, teaches and writes, getting raves from her fans for her innovative techniques, extensive knowledge and generous teaching style. A leading writer of stitch guides, she blogs here and lives on an island in the northeast corner of the SF Bay with her family
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