Color of the Month for May
Welcome to my new Color of the Month series! Every month, I’ll take a deep dive into the psychology of color and offer curated moods, palettes and patterns. This oughta be fun!
Psychology
Periwinkle is a soft shade of blue-violet derived from the myrtle or lesser periwinkle herb. It evokes serenity and peacefulness and symbolizes friendship, femininity and sentimental memories. Periwinkle is often used to represent spring, new life, womanhood and romantic feelings. Its personality is pure-of-heart, inquisitive and a little shy! Fun fact: Periwinkle was introduced to the Crayola palette in 1949 😉
Compatibility
Like many shades in the blue-violet family, Periwinkle is a mutable, watery shade that pairs well with almost everything and enhances almost every complexion. Check out these ideas for combining Periwinkle with practically everything in your wardrobe!
Youthful
Pump up the volume with modern, urban shades like sandstone and terra cotta. Add contrast with a dark neutral such as charcoal, black or chocolate.
Romantic
Picture yourself in a summer garden! Choose floral, feminine shades like rosewater and cerise to add sweetness while ebony provides a grounding note.
Elegant
Give it an air of sophistication by choosing two shades of periwinkle to pair with a cool neutral like bone. Add a cultured neutral accent like taupe or gray.
Pretty in Periwinkle
Here’s a pretty idea! The color “Dreamboat” from Sweet Georgia Yarns is the perfect shade of periwinkle. I’ve used it here in the Ammonite pullover.
I love unusual openwork patterns. Ammonite is trimmed with a deep band of unexpected lace that is coaxed into a shirt-tale shape using short rows. Swing and drape are key points as this scalloped spring sweater is worked seamlessly upward. Its subtle swingy shape ends just below the waist on the sides and a little longer at the front and back.
A wide rounded neckline trimmed in garter stitch tops the feminine Ammonite pullover. Dropped shoulder shaping and fitted sleeves that flare slightly into a pretty bell complete a quietly draped look. This fanciful scalloped spring sweater is packed with handy techniques, too; short rows, a perpendicular join, and a three-needle bind off are all used to fashion the Ammonite top. Remember that handy three-needle bind off we used for the RipRap top? I’ve used it to close the shoulder seams on Ammonite, too. It makes for such a clean and sturdy seam that I use it on almost all my bottom-up sweaters.
I hope you’ll enjoy exploring this cool and calming color!
