Hey, gorgeous creative! Today I want to reveal more of the work in progress that I am tinkering with in two colors of Scheepjes Metropolis. She finally has a name: “Shine Bright Blanket” – because of the diamonds of course! So far I have really enjoyed all of the positive feedback I have received about this design in progress. I even did some polling for this project to gather opinions on the motifs, but I’ll share more about that later!
In this post, I’ll go over all of the behind the scenes progress that has gone into making this piece, from the initial idea and development, to the color layout and composition. Of course I have a lot of progress photos to show you as well.
My WIP Blanket Design Seed
You might remember this fuzzy, rough sketch of my blanket-to-be from the yarn arrival post of this journey. Even though there isn’t a whole lot revealed in this sketch, it tells you a lot about my vision for this project. I wanted a 2-color geometric piece, inspired by fabric quilts.
Of course, in true CypressTextiles fashion, I couldn’t stop at just two motifs, and I added some unexpected funsies to this layout that I’ll share when I show the progress pics!
Choosing a Color Combination
I touched on color combinations a bit in my last post, but here, I am taking a deeper dive and giving you some ideas to explore combos for this blanket. I got a ton of great feedback on the daring orange and grey, but some folks were like “gag me!” and I totally get it. Scroll on for some more suggestions!
2-Color Combinations
When working with only two colors, of course the possibilities are endless. Here are some tips for Shine Bright Blanket success.
- Pick two colors that contrast enough that the pattern doesn’t get lost.
- Try to go for typical color combinations if you want to choose something safe, but don’t hesitate to go bold!
- If you are unsure, monochromatic is always a huge winner. Choose a dark shade and a lighter shade of the same hue.
Here are some great color combos to try in Scheepjes Metropolis.
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Monochromatic
These 2-color combos will always look great. Simply select a hue, and choose a light shade, and a dark shade.
Color numbers for the Metropolis monochromatic selections are as follows, top to bottom, left to right:
- 015 Ulsan / 011 Boston
- 019 Marseille / 017 Multan
- 030 Toulouse / 036 Tehran
- 048 Sydney / 046 Leeds
- 052 Bangalore / 045 Perth
Safe Contrast
This selection of colors features some common pairings. You can go lighter or darker with the shade, but these combos are timeless.
Color numbers for the Metropolis safe contrast selections are as follows, top to bottom, left to right:
- 024 Cota / 023 Monterrey
- 055 Lima / 051 Marrakech
- 003 Dallas / 054 Johannesburg
- 071 Jakarta / 037 Istanbul
- 018 Suwon / 010 Ankara
Bold Combination
The final five color combinations are rather bold, and would require a more daring creative. Typical for me, I like to pair an olive or warm tone with a spring or cool tone. This creates deliciously strong combos every time.
Color numbers for the Metropolis bold combination selections are as follows, top to bottom, left to right:
- 032 Abu Dhabi / 021 Rangpur
- 041 Rabat / 059 Montreal
- 047 Dubai / 009 Madrid
- 038 Brasov / 002 Glasgow
- 022 Pasay / 065 Liverpool
Motif Development Behind the Scenes
In my last post, I revealed the first iteration of the motifs. Something was off though, and I realized I might not like the orange to grey ratio in the mostly orange square on the left.
Here are close-up pics of the motifs:
To test my theory that there is took much orange in the orange square, I used a photo app in my phone to create a virtual layout. By the way, this got me all giddy seeing how the blanket could look as it progresses along!
Now I love how this looks, but some folks in the Facebook Group felt like it would be great for a baby blanket, and it might be too color-blocky without enough nuance. I can completely see that, so I went back to the drawing board for that square.
Final Block Design
Here is the new block, with more grey added in. I even anticipated the amount of crafters who cannot be moved to weave so many ends in, and I crafted a way to make the square with the least amount of ends possible.
I tried to create a virtual layout with the squares, but the lighting was terrible, and it felt like if I took a poll, folks would choose the other layout simply for the better lighting…
So I redid the virtual layout, and I took a vote in my Facebook Group and this new layout won by a landslide. The general consensus was that the eye candy of the orange hourglasses and the bit more grey added in the orange motif helped the piece to have more oomph.
The poll was so much fun, and I will definitely be asking my groups for advice more when I design.
Progress Photos of Shine Bright
In these progress pics, you will note the appearance of some Flying Geese. Told you I am heavily citing fabric quilts with this one!
I used Linen Stitch for the Flying Geese, just to add another element, and there is one more motif up my sleeve for this one!
A few keen-eyed crafters remembered that I had used Flying Geese in a previous design, my City Sunrise Blanket pattern from my book, The Art of Crochet Blankets. See the turquoise and pink/orange geese there at center? This design is a crochet rendition of a fabric quilt by Tula Pink, for her feature.
Making those blocks was absolute joy, and I just had to use one again.
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With those bits and bobs, I created another little virtual blanket with the photo app, and look how it turned out! Remember I mentioned I have another motif up my sleeve, and it will be used as a border around this blanket body. I cannot wait to reveal more! Stay tuned!
Well, I hope you enjoyed a little sneak peek into the behind the scenes of the Shine Bright Blanket that will be released as a free pattern soon!
Thank you for reading, and as always, Happy Crafting to you!
Rachele C.