Hues     Primaries        Secondaries        Tertiaries    

Complements and Split Complements     Shades     Tones     Tints

Rather than copying a color wheel, I thought it might be interesting to see color in a different manner.  Shown below is the outside circle formed around a color wheel.  A large X from corner to corner, a smaller X inside the gray square and and X from blue to orange and red orange to blue green make up the complementary hues. 

Primaries are always a good combination as they are as the name implies and the base of all color.  

Secondaries are the hues created from mixing the primaries:  yellow and red= orange, red and blue = violet and blue and yellow = green.  Results will vary with type of medium and type within a medium such as dye.

These are the colors created by mixing the secondaries:  yellow and orange = yellow orange, orange and red = red orange, red and violet = red violet, violet and blue = blue violet, blue and green = blue green and green and yellow = yellow green.  Primaries, secondaries and tertiaries all have equidistance on the color wheel in common and look good in combination.  Or the vertical bars below would work, i.e., yellow orange and red orange, red violet and blue violet or blue green and yellow green as they are adjacent on the color wheel.

Here are some colors that will work in some situations when in solid colors, i.e., not necessarily prints.  For example, the top row of red, blue green, green and yellow green would be great in a quilt (not considering prints) or possibly in knitting if these colors were in a colorway.  However, in weaving the weft must be considered as it becomes a part of the fabric.  A safer combination to include weft would be red and the hues on either side of its complement, blue green and yellow green otherwise known as split complements.  The same applies for the remaining colors read from left to right.

Other good combinations can be created from taking 3 of the hues adjacent to each other in a vertical bar (for lack of a color wheel).  These are analagous colors and "safer" in color blending of small woven items; larger pieces are more forgiving. 

Shades are derived from adding black or the complement and this chart can be used the same as above.   

Tones

Tones are derived from adding gray or less black or complement than the colors above.  These tend to be my favorites; which are yours? 

Want a pastel?  Tints are derived from adding water with dye, white or extender with paints.