QUILTING WITH COLOUR BLINDNESS
“When I was a kid my mother was preparing a meal and I asked her to put the salad in the green bowl. She replied in a very surprised tone that we did not have a green bowl and asked me to show it to her. Well… the bowl was orange”. This was the first time that quilt pattern designer Augusto García realised that he was colour blind – a challenge that he’s not let get in the way of being able to work as a designer all his life. Augusto has developed many tips to distinguish shades (particularly pale ones) over the years, from checking CMYK composition of shades when working digitally, to referring to fabric names for confirmation and labelling all pieces that might be unclear.
A fan of warmer shades, Augusto is often inspired by several Spanish artists he admires who have caught his attention since he was a child. His palette production process is perhaps the most intricate; beginning with a background colour, he embarks on swapping out different shades to create an “infinite number of colour combinations”.
Quilter Tom Bathgate shares Augusto’s experience and lives with Protanomaly colour blindness. “I don’t see enough red light, so colours containing red (like purple), I see as blue. Greens, yellows, oranges, reds and browns can all appear similar. Grey can appear pink and red can appear darker than it is.” This means Tom often relies on tried-and-trusted two-tone combinations, sharing that “the more colours a pattern requires (especially if they are medium colours), the more challenging and longer it takes”.
Though avoiding quilt-making altogether might seem like the easy option, Tom took on the challenge, partly because the pattern process reminded him of a familiar degree of programming that he’s experienced in his background in website development. “I didn’t have a clue about colour use in quilting, so I didn’t know any better. My partner suffered years of “does this go with this?” Tom remarks, adding that “it took a lot of practice, trial and error before I started learning what worked”. Though his partner and designer friends are always willing to help, he finds value in trying independently.
“Get an app to help you see colours. The first time I saw colours properly was a life-changing experience. And above all, don’t be frightened to ask for help!”