I realize that headline doesn’t really tell you anything about what is happening in this project, but it’s really cool so I hope you’ll bear with me through some explanation.
Whether you want to design cross stitch patterns or just have the freedom to pick colors out of your stash to substitute for those used in a pattern, understanding a bit of how colors work together can be super helpful.
This project from Koekoek has you choose a picture you like and pull out different colors in the design to stitch into a project. Instead of trying to re-create the photograph you’re just using colors from the photograph to make a Sudoku like color study.
If you’ve ever play Sudoku, you know that it’s a numbers game played on a grid of squares. There are 3 sets of squares across and 3 up and down, and each of those squares also has sets of 3 squares across and up and down, for a total of 81 squares. In the game you’re trying to fill the squares with numbers, ensuring that for each number in a given square, the same number doesn’t appear in the same column or row across the board, but it also doesn’t appear elsewhere in the block of 9 squares it is in.
This project starts with 9 colors that come from your photo (or you could do it with any colors you like) and a real Sudoku game board to help you distribute your color blocks throughout the puzzle.
When you’re done you’ll have a reminder of a picture you love that doesn’t really look anything like the picture but carries the same feelings because you’re using the same colors.
It will also teach you about how colors work together as you see how the same color looks different placed next to other colors in your grid.
For the full tutorial on this one, head to the Koekoek blog. If you try this one I’d love to hear how it goes!
[Photo: Koekoek]
