Three main colors are used when printing images–magenta, cyan, and yellow. These three colors can be used to make all of the other colors. So when the powers that be at Pantone announced the color of the year for 2023, it was no surprise that the choice was magenta.
Okay, okay. I said that like I REALLY understand all about Pantone and color theory. The truth is that I do not know nearly as much about either as I would like. However, I love to select fabrics and colors, and I spend a great deal of time looking at collections, paint chips, and nature to hone my ability to select gorgeous fabric colors for my creations.
So today let's talk MAGENTA! Is it purple, pink, red, or mauve? Actually, it is sort of all of those. On a color wheel, it is smack in the middle of red and indigo. The “ish” of color all depends on the tone, the lightness or darkness, of the color. So, if you have a pinkish purplish reddish mauve, it is probably a lighter tone. Similarly, if you have a purplish reddish pinkish color the tone is probably darker. To me, that makes mauve somewhere in the middle.
This is the swatch you can find on Wikipedia. It shows a range of tones that might just help you decide if you have any magenta in your collection of fabrics. I think I have a little, but very little.
I dashed outside this morning and took some pictures of fabrics I have at the moment. I wanted to catch them in the sunlight because here we have had very little since the first of the year, and I needed an excuse to go out and enjoy it.
Do you see magenta? I think the fabric on the red swatch is magenta, but some may call it raspberry.
This flannel fabric has threads running through it that I consider to be magenta and yellow.
I like that this print has a variety of colors in it. One is a shade of magenta. So many people struggle with finding coordinates when they do not stay within specific collections. Fabrics like these allow you to look beyond and find other ways to complement your choices. Speaking of complementary fabrics, green is a great complementary color for magenta.
Right now this is my favorite magenta! It is from the Figo Local Honey collection. Do you see greens, oranges, and pinkish-gray? Those colors really make the magenta background pop! ( I have no affiliations. I just share what I like.)
I doubt that what I have said here has cleared much up when it comes to what the color magenta really is, but I hope you found something that helps!
Happy Stitches
Mary