RGB values

The standard for textiles is panatone colors. If I remember right I think one of the panatone charts goes to RGB colors. You can see a number of color charts below. The first two are RGB colors. I can sell you cotton or silk dyed in any panatone color. Check out my web page: http://www.handweaver.us/georgia_yarn_company.htm

http://www.web-source.net/216_color_chart.htm

http://cloford.com/resources/colours/500col.htm

zignsinc.com/view/pantone.html COLOR chart

http://www.cal-print.com/InkColorChart.htm 

http://simple.be/web/color/codes

http://www.easymake.com.au/images/PMS%20Color%20Chart.pdf

Thanks Michael.  I noticed during my search that DMC, for example, supplies the RGB values for their color line.  That is great for designing and it would be great if the weaving yarn producers followed suit.

http://www.netfront.fr/Services/rgb2pantone/

http://goffgrafix.com/pantone-rgb-100.php

The color forcast is done in Pantone, Maybe you can get your yarn supplier to give you the values. Hope this helps.

Michael

Pantone sells CD libraries of their colors.

I have this feature integrated in Pointcarre, and when I call up the color description, I get the RGB values as well.

What is it that you want to know about the colors?  If you're not going to dye them, and Pantone won't help you there since they have a color service and would prefer to dye it for you,  you just want to know what the colors are for sure; the standard industry procedure is for you to have a Pantone Textile fan deck

and call up the manufacturer and ask them to give you the Pantone # which you then look up on your fan deck.

If I knew why you wanted the RBG data I could be more help.

The RBG color is what your computer sees. So when you take a picture and want a true color you match RBG colors. This is what Alison is doing I think? I can have cotton or silk dyed in any Pantone color you like. As little as one pound.

Michael 

Colors on the computer are made by mixing beams of light, RedGreenBlue and when all colors are present you get white light.  This is called the additive color system.  The colors from cloth start with white light and are reflected colors,  and losing some wavelenghts by absorbstion; it is called a subtractive color system  and its primaries are red, yellow and blue (or for 4 color process CMYK) and the presence of all colors will give you black.

Because the systems are inherently different there is no direct translation from one to the other. This is why getting a print out from your computer that looks the same as what you see on the monitor is so difficult.

For further info you can go to "Ask a Color Scientist!" :

How do I match the actual fabric color in PhotoshopTM? Images are digitally shot, and the final output is four color offset printing. (810)
This is not a
simple matter, but it can be accomplished with carefully calibrated and
characterized imaging systems (camera, display, printer, and software).
This is the domain of color management and I would suggest you look
further into that area to learn more about it. "Real World Color
Management" by Fraser et al. is one book that provides a useful
introduction.
 

Thanks for your thoughts all.  Actually, I was trying to represent some of my zephyr in my weaving software.  Our monitors are fairly well calibrated as my spouse is a photographer, so I figured it would get me close.  I ended up just creating the colors and am fairly happy with the results.

Michael, good to know that I can turn to you if I need smaller lots dyed.  Sounds like you don't need Karren's class!

Thanks Karren.  The Pantone fan deck looks like a great resource!

Hi Sara,

That is great that Pointcarre has them integrated.  I have Weavepoint and Weavemaker.  They don't seem to have that, but I was able to get pretty much what I wanted using their color features.

Thanks to Karen & Michael for their clear Pantone & RGB color definitions. I don't know when I've heard it spelled out so concisly. 

Hi Alison,

I bought pixeLoom because I can scan in a yarn to my desktop (or desired file) and use the eyedropper to pick up that color and transfer it to my draft. It's not perfect because of light reflection and the dimensionality of the yarn, but it sure beats trying to mix the color with the various color tools. Well worth my money!

Carie

I just have some additional ideas to add to this.

Since textiles don't always dye exactly and all yarns are sold by the dyelot (yes, even white/natural has variance), having the absolutely exact RGB value for a color seems relative.

Since textiles are washed and subject to natural light and fading, one cannot count on theoretical color values to represent the textile even 6 months after completion.

Not every small spinning operation handles dyeing according to Pantone and most yarns come in a limited color range. 

Color blending with thread depends somewhat on fiber content and thickness - thick yarns remaining pretty much solid and very thin yarns having the colors merge.

While color theory is quite interesting, and certainly planning a project with color in mind is necessary, I sometimes think that geting too nit-picky at the planning stage can be a hindrance. I have often changed an idea to reflect the color palette offered by a yarn that had other outstanding characteristics. My best results in using computer software as a design aid were achieved by calibrating PCW and a color chart from Treenway using the same monitor - and then using various shades side by side until the effect was very much what I was seeking. I then chose 5 shades for custom dyed silk yarn. The red silk jacket shown on my web page (won an award at the Blue Ridge Show that year) is the result - not EXACTon the PC screen, but certainly close enough for stunning results.

"Capsure" ($649) and "Color Cue 2" ($349, with a special price $299 currently)

This is a new (new to me anyway!) electronic gadget that captures color from any surface in seconds. And it matches to several of their systems, (fashion, home, paints, interiors, Pantone plus, etc.) including identifying RGB, HTML, and lab values. etc.

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Yes! My frustration when I bought my weaving software was that it cannot access my Pantone systems. (Arghhh! Why not?!!) 

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Okay, this might sound radical from someone who makes their living in the graphic design world, but I think going between a light-based color system (computer) and a pigment-based system (i.e. yarn) is sort of wonky anyway.

If you start to take a lot of color classes in the weaving world, the amazing thing to discover is that in our art form you don't really need an "exact" color match. I think that was one of the biggest "secrets" I have discovered so far in 15+ years of weaving. There are all sorts of workarounds. The Lambert & Fry book has a GREAT chapter about color and yarns and why the traditional mixing systems we are familiar with don't necessarily work with fiber. For instance, weavers use the partitive system, not additive (where the primaries are RGB, examples are computers and theater lights) or subtractive (the primaries are CMYK, using pigment and dyes). The texture of the fiber surface can influence its color. Or how it is woven, what it is surrounded by. Or even by how far away you are from the fabric (sitting at your loom or across the room?) So even if you have an exact "match" numerically, or consistent in dye lot, there can still be differences in the perception of the color.

The best way to test this is when you have a "potpourri" project and have to work with what you have been given, in limited amounts. That *really* stretches the mind when it comes to color AND weaving.

In my day job, color is so nice and tidy with an exact pms# or a formula for a build, but in my weaving life, I have had to learn to live with a little more ambiguity!

like Sally and others have implied "light" is the key to color. In fact the angle of the light is more important. Cheryl when weaving will go outside to check yarn colors, but even the time of day (sun angle) will change the value/hue of color. So use what you have and be thankful that you can "see" the world in color.

Michael