Choose Colors That Keep the Pattern Readable

Every pattern in the shop is available in the same three palettes, so the drawing stays identical and only the colors change. Each palette sits on a soft cream ground and adds three accent colors, numbered 2 through 4 in the painting-map PDF (the cream ground itself is color 1).

The three palettes

Coastal: navy blue, burnt orange, and gold on cream. The navy is the darkest color in any of the three palettes, which gives it the strongest contrast against the cream ground.

Harvest: warm brown, rust, and gold on cream. Brown and rust sit closer together in value than Coastal's navy and orange, for a warmer, more blended look.

Garden: green, rose, and olive on cream. The three accents sit closer in value to each other than in the other two palettes, so zone edges rely more on the drawn outline than on strong color contrast.

Matching a palette to a pattern

On a pattern with fewer, larger zones, such as North Star, any of the three palettes reads clearly since each zone has room to show its color. On a busier pattern with more adjacent zones, such as Harvest Weave, a palette with more contrast between neighboring colors, like Coastal, keeps individual bands easier to tell apart at a glance.

Using the numbered key

The painting-map PDF in your download prints each palette color with its number and hex value, so you (or anyone helping you paint) can match a zone in the outline to the right paint without guessing. Preview all three palettes on any pattern for free in the Barn Quilt Planner before you buy.