Pantone Fashion Color Recipes for Fall-Winter 2026 - Part 2

 So I thought I would have all my color recipes worked out for the remainder Pantone Fall 2026 Fashion colors before now, but I kind of ran into a snag.  Have you ever made something in that perfect color to discover it had shifted and changed after it was baked?  Well that is the reason I like to mix up my clay recipes and bake beforehand to test, before actually using them in my final art work.  Those kind of surprises can be very upsetting after you have put a lot of time and work into that project.

So after baking my Pantone color samples, I discovered that several did not come out the same afterwards.  I have always had issues with the Kato Red, Magenta and Violet darkening somewhat after baking.  I remember a discussion about this on a forum a few years ago where we were discussing this issue with Donna Kato.  Now I am wondering if something changed in the actual clay producing process over the years.  

I had found the magenta color would darken quite a bit after baking.  I was allowing this factor in when mixing up the colors Foxglove and Festival Fuchsia.  The colors shifted a bit but mainly came out much lighter.  You can see the difference in the photo below.  The color sample on the left I made at least 12 years ago.  The color sample on the right was from 2 days ago.  Would you agree that the difference is quite extreme?

The only difference I can think of is that I had opened a new block noticed how fresh it was and how it was extremely soft -- and that is after having it in my stash for at least 4 years.  After baking, I was completely surprised that the color did not darken at all.  So I am wondering how it will affect other colors I had mixed using the magenta.  I will have to test a few of my recipes out and get back to you later on my results.

So, now that I discovered this difference, I had to go back to the drawing board and remix my Foxglove and Festival Fuchsia.  I am happy to say they came out perfect this time and now have the recipes to share with you.

Foxglove

2 parts Kato Magenta

2 parts Kato Brown

1/2 part #10-2 Purple Base *

6 parts #2-7 Ecru Mix *

Festival Fuchsia

3 parts Kato Magenta
 1 part Kato Violet

1/2 part Kato Red

Red Mahogany

3 parts Recipe #3-2 Burnt Umber *

1/2 part Kato Red

Acacia

Same recipe as Lemon Grass

from Fall 2025

All Aboard

1 part Recipe #9-2 Ultra Marine Base *

2 parts Recipe #1-2 White Mix *

Burnt Olive

2 parts Kato Blue

2 parts Kato Gold

2 parts Kato Black

1-1/2 parts Kato White

* Note:  These clay color recipes are created using Kato clay.  Any of the base color "mixes" used (such as the white mix base) are from my Clay Color System, which is on sale until the end of this week (August 8).

There are 5 more Pantone Fashion colors for this fall which are referred to as the seasonal neutrals.  I mixed up 3 of those neutrals and will share those recipes with you tomorrow.  I hope you find these colors can provide you with a little inspiration.

More Fall 2025 Pantone Fashion Color Recipes

I am not sure how many of you out there have ever heard of Color Draping?  It was very popular back in the 1980's and 1990's.  I remember going to home "parties" where they determine your "seasonal" colors and then you purchase color swatches in those colors for color matching while shopping for clothes.  We were told that if someone compliments your outfit (but not yourself) then they are saying the outfit is nice but not necessarily in your proper seasonal color, otherwise they would tell you how nice "you" look (in that outfit).  I found it quite interesting and even though I somehow lost my color swatches a while back, I still remember that I was told I am a "Vivid Summer".  These are examples of the seasonal colors today and I noticed that the colors are somewhat similar but the titles have changed.

I had discovered that when I wear the colors from my palette, people always notice it and tell me how "that color really looks good on you" so it does make a difference.  I think that was what first really introduced me to color palettes or variations.  I use to paint, but never really developed a true love for mixing and combining color until I discovered polymer clay.  To me, polymer clay became the "3-D" version of color!

The other thing I noticed about this years fall/winter colors is that most of them have a red or brown tone or undertone which is a little unusual for the typical Pantone seasonal palettes.

So even if you are someone who likes to make jewelry (either for yourself or to sell) or someone who likes to wear jewelry or other accessories, these can be in colors to compliment the clothes in your own  wardrobe as an accent but does not necessarily have to be so "matchy".

I like making my clay tiles as they are great for matching items while shopping or looking for various combinations.  I have these listed in my online store (made to order) and will be available when my shipping issues are resolved (hopefully this week).

So here are some recipes to start out that I think could make some fun combinations with:

Primrose Pink (Kato Clay)

1/2 part Dusty Rose - Recipe #11-5 *

2 parts Ecru Mix #208 *

10 parts White

Primrose Pink (Cernit Clay)

Will be posted at a later date

Damson (Kato Clay)

2 parts Kato Violet

3 parts Crimson - Recipe #4-5 *

1 part Purple - Recipe #10-2 *

3 parts Ecru Base #2-7 *

Damson (Cernit Clay)

Will be posted at a later date

Hot Chocolate (Kato Clay)

Same as Recipe for Burnt Umber #3-2 *

but increase the red from 1 part to 1-1/2 parts

Hot Chocolate (Cernit Clay)

Will be posted at a later date

Bronze Brown (Kato Clay)

7 parts Burnt Umber #3-2 *

2 parts Kato Gold

1 part Kato Black

Bronze Brown (Cernit Clay)

Will be posted at a later date

Chili Oil (Kato Clay)

Same as the recipe for Chili Pepper #4-4 *

Chili Oil (Cernit Clay)

Will be posted at a later date

* Note:  These clay color recipes are created using Kato clay.  Any of the base color "mixes" used are from my Clay Color System.  And don't forget that our Tutorial lessons are on sale right now in our online store -- I have extended the sale to the end of the week -- Sunday, October 5.

I will be sharing the other 5 color recipes very soon.

Mocha Mousse - Pantone Color of the Year

 I have been busy setting up a business account with several couriers to replace Canada Post.  If and when Canada Post starts functioning again, I will still have those other shipping options available.  I find dealing with these companies are a little more complicated than the postal system so hopefully I will have it running smoothly very soon.

In the meantime, I had finished and delivered the fall order to Kelowna Yarn & Needlecrafts in time for their anniversary sale which was over a week ago.  They sell a lot of yarn for baby and children's items and so my small buttons are quite popular.  My best seller is the simply textured Rainbow buttons which I make in "all the colors of the rainbow" including the Pantone colors.

Rainbow Buttons in Pantone Fall 2021 Colors

I now expanded these Rainbow buttons into little heart shapes which are also now available at the Kelowna Yarn store.

I also make custom stitch markers that are based on their store logo (shown below).

This is a hint on how they are created.  I first make a large cane and then reduce it smaller to the size I need.  Then each "yarn ball" is created by sandwiching a bit of clay filler in between two slices of the cane.

Each year for their anniversary I create stitch markers in the Pantone Color for the Year so the batch I made up here is in Mocha Mousse.

Since I mixed up the Pantone clay colors for this fall (using Kato clay) I thought I would share them here one final time.  I have been slowly using up the large supply of Kato clay I still have and now even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to purchase any more soon as Donna Kato just announced that Van Aken International is clearing out all their stock and will no longer manufacture it.  So in the future, any new colors created with be using Cernit clay.  If you do use other clays that are in the true artisan colors (Fimo professional or Cernit No. One)  you can improvise and still mix up these colors.  When I get the chance, I will add the converted Cernit recipes here later.

So here is the recipe for Mocha Mousse, the Pantone Color of the Year.

Mocha Mousse (Kato Clay)

4 parts Kato Brown
1 part Ecru Mix - Recipe # 2-7

Mocha Mousse (Cernit Clay)

Posted at a later date

* Note:  These clay color recipes are created using Kato clay.  Any of the base color "mixes" used are from my Clay Color System.  And don't forget that our Tutorial lessons are on sale right now in our online store.

I will be sharing the other Pantone fall colors for this year later this week.

I was Down But Not Out

Hi again.  I don't know where the time has gone these past 6 months but I will give you a quick update before I get into the new stuff:

As I have shared before, back in January 2020 my dad sadly passed away.  When Covid hit very shortly after, I brought my mom out to Chase, BC to stay with me.  We decided to make it permanent and so the two of us moved together in a new condo in Kelowna.  My plan was to take care of her until the end and avoid her having to go to a care home.  She had 2 leaking heart valves and one valve occluded (due to the pressure caused from the leak) so her heart was only functioning at 25%.

So mom's mind was very good and I enjoyed our time together including our talks about family history, etc.  Sadly, on May 29th, my mom passed away and she will be missed so much.  Our family had a beautiful memorial service for her in Alberta and her ashes along with dad's ashes were buried together.

While in Alberta, I stayed a bit for my nephew's wedding and visiting family and friends whom I hadn't seen in awhile.  Between all of this I have been learning to deal with my new "normal" -- Fibromyalgia.  I didn't realize how many of my health problems were all related to this one diagnosis.  Fortunately I have several wonderful doctors (family GP, Neurologist, Gastroenterologist and doctors at the Pain Clinic) who are working with me to improve my situation as much as possible.  I have to say there has been quite a bit of improvement in the past few months -- and as long as I can pace myself and not push too hard, it should be a bit more manageable.

So to add more misery to my life (any many others who are affected), the wonderful orange guy from south of the border has inflicted our country, along with the rest of the world, tariffs on anything shipped to the US.  The tariffs are 35% on top of what is purchased.  We also have to pay an extra 10% to the company that would be collecting the tariffs plus an extra charge of  $2/package to Canada post.  I refuse to pay these extremely high taxes/charges and I cannot see anyone wanting to pay that as an extra fee to their order so, sadly I have decided to suspend any orders shipped to the United States.

Then to beat us up even more . . . the Canadian Postal Workers decided to go on strike .. Again!  Yes this is the same strike that disrupted our deliveries for last Christmas.  It was suspended but not resolved and so here we go again!

In the meantime, my tutorial/lessons do not require physical shipping as they are PDF files that are sent directly to your e-mail address that is provided when purchased.  And right now I have a 30% off sale which will run until Tuesday, September 30th. 

So I have been able to do a bit of claying over this time to fill some store orders.  I will share some of that in my next post.  While working on an order for Kelowna Yarn & Needlecrafts (here in Kelowna), I managed to mix up the Pantone colors for this Fall/Winter using the Kato Clay so I am planning on sharing those here if any of you are still interested.

These recipes will be posted in a few days later in the week.  They are built on my "Clay Color System" so if you are looking for a unique way to mix colors and even a way to organize your clay and recipes, you might want to buy it now while it is on sale.

A Total Blackout so Make Hay While the Sun Shines!

Happy New Year to everyone!  I was quite surprised to discover that almost a year has gone by since I last posted!  This has been quite the year with so many ups and downs for myself and my mom (who lives with me and I take care of).  She is now considered palliative as her heart continues to fail more each day.  We are still thankful for another year together and didn't think she would see her 91st birthday which we just celebrated this past week.

My own health has been slowly deteriorating for quite a few years with this past year being the worst.  After being referred to several specialists, a surgery (which led to the discovery of my sleep apnea) and lots of x-rays, scans, ultrasound and finally an MRI that finally led to my diagnosis of Fibromyalgia.  I am still going through a lot of emotions trying to process this news.  I have learned there is no cure but just finding ways to manage the pain in which I am currently waiting for a consult with a local pain clinic.

All I do know, for me right now, is that I will have to accept the fact that my life has slowed down a fair bit but I refuse to have it come to a grinding halt.  I have heard my parents and grandparents use the phrase "Make hay while the sun shines!" but now I understand the meaning.  I have good days and bad days that are total write-offs.  I have also learned that if something important needs to be done, leave it until a little later in the afternoon or evening when I am feeling a bit more normal.  I do have orders to fill that I need to work on so I have learned to take more advantage of the good days or times when I am struggling less.

So during those "good" days, I managed to fill a recent button order for Kelowna Yarn & Needlecrafts store.  They have a rich texture in jewel-tone colors.  Thank goodness for my Dream Machine (a huge oversize pasta-like machine) with a motor to help with my creating, as my hands would not be able to do this without it.

The colors are created using various mica powders or colored pigments.  I share lots of tips in several of my tutorials on how to work with these powders and achieve certain colors.  (Click on photo below for link).

I use a lot of black clay for the background, which helps makes the jewel-tone colors pop.  As I am using up most of my Kato clay (and in the process of changing to another clay brand), I realized I was running out of black.  I had heard about the new "Black-out" clay the Kato brand came out with and so decided to order some to try out.  With this Black-out clay, one is suppose to be able to tint any scrap clay into black.

I have to say that this stuff is so amazing and a real game changer!!!  I have plenty of scrap but an abundance of "mud" or brown.  I generally use this color as bead filler but one can only use so much of it.  You can see in the above photo the black clay on the left was created from the same brown clay on the right -- and I only used maybe 1/10 of the blackout for mixing.  It not only tints the clay but also makes a wonderful conditioner.  The brown was a little on the dry side but really soft and pliable after tinting.

I create a lot of items using this coloring textured technique such as our interchangeable jewelry snaps and buttons for sewing or knitting.  The stores we sell to have samples like these that are all numbered.  This way they can match the color samples with their fabric, or yarn to make it easier for ordering.  It also allows them to be creative as well in selecting the texture with the color to suit their project.

The bags shown above and below, for instance, are examples of the kits created by Fibre Expressions, a quilt shop in the Sunshine Coast of BC.  They put together amazing quilted bag kits which include one of our coordinating buttons.

And if you are just looking for buttons that I create, you will find a wide assortment in our online store in our Sew, Knit, Crochet Section.  Some of these are stocked or can be made to order.

Pantone Fall 2023 Fashion Colors Red Dahlia, Red Orange, Burnt Sienna & Rose Violet

While most of the Pantone Fall Fashion colors for 2023-2024 tend to be somewhat bright they all still have slight earthy undertones.

Besides Viva Magenta, there are 4 other colors in the red or magenta specter.  I will share the clay recipes for these with you today.

Red Dahlia is a rich wine red and is a very close match to the Pantone Fall 2019 color Chili Pepper so I am using the exact same recipe again.  This clay color may appear light after mixing but you will find it to become darker after it is baked.  That is one of things I noticed with using Kato Brand Clay, especially when working with red, magenta and sometimes violet if added as an ingredient. I have learned to make an allowance for this when mixing my colors.  I am currently working out some of these recipes with other clay brands, particularly Cernit, to see if I get the same results.

Red Orange is not exactly as it sounds.  It is in fact a more orange shade of red as compared to the swatch shown on a computer screen.  

Burnt Sienna is an earthy rust red that reminds me of autumn leaves.

Rose Violet was a Pantone Fashion color from last year - Fall 2022 - 2023.  It is gorgeous fuchsia and combines quite nicely with this years fall palette.  

Here are some pieces I made with the Rose Violet last fall that I screen printed in white.

Interchangeable Earring Beads in Rose Violet

Large interchangeable snap in Rose Violet

I still haven't had time to make much with these new colors yet but need to get cracking!  So in the meantime I will share these recipes with you so that you can start mixing them up as well.  So here are the four recipes using Kato Clay.

Red Dahlia

6 parts Kato Red

1/2 part Kato Violet

Red Orange

1 part Kato Orange

1/4 part Kato Red

Burnt Sienna

4 parts Kato Red

1 part Kato Magenta

1 part Kato Gold

Rose Violet

3 parts Kato Magenta

1/2 part Kato Violet

1 part White Mix # 1-2 *

* Note: These base color mixes are found in my Clay Color System Tutorial.

My Clay Color System tutorial is based on using Kato clay. If you like to work with other clays, (Cernit, Fimo Professional, Premo, etc.) my revised edition will be available very soon and I will have a special introductory sale price for it then -- (next week).  I will be announcing it here and on my facebook page when it is ready.

Pantone Spring 2023 Fashion Colors - Final Clay Recipes

The final five Pantone Spring 2023 Fashion Color recipes that I will be sharing are Blue Perennial, Summer Song, Skylight, Macchiato and Gray Lilac - shown from left to right in the samples below.

The illustration below shows where these colors are located on the color wheel.  You can see where Macchiato is a mix of orange and green (half way between - more or less), thus creating a shade of brown.  It is also on the opposite side of the color wheel to the two blue colors making them "complimentary".  Complimentary colors generally make a good contrast to each other and can also look good together.

Here are a few other illustrations combining these same five colors to see how they look on various color backgrounds and also as a gradient blend.

Gradient Blend

Mixing the different color backgrounds

Colors shown on a white vs. black background

I like to play with my Pantone app and create various color palettes to see how they look together.

I should mention that the Pantone color Skylight is a lighter version of the Pantone Spring 2022 color Blue Harbor.  Since it takes a fair amount of white to lighten, it is much easier to use a small amount of the Blue Harbor as the base rather than mixing the Skylight color from scratch.  If you already follow my Clay Color System and saved any left over clay in the color Harbor Blue, you already know how convenient this method is.  That is why my Color System tutorial is more than just color recipes.  It is a simple easy to understand way to mix and combine color but also how to organize your recipes and your clay colors that are mixed.

So here are the recipes for these five Pantone colors.  I hope you have fun with them and I would love to see any samples you come up with.  You can always share them on my facebook page.

BLUE PERENNIAL

2 parts Ultra Marine # 9-2 *

2 parts White Mix # 1-2 *

1 part Ecru Mix # 2-8 *

SUMMER SONG

2 parts Kato Blue

1/2 part Kato Turquoise

2 parts Kato Silver

2 parts Ecru Mix # 2-8*

15 parts White Mix # 1-2 *

SKYLIGHT

4 parts White Mix # 1-2 *

1/4 part "Harbor Blue"

(see recipe here from Pantone Spring 2022)

MACCHIATO

4 parts Kato Brown

1 part Ecru Mix # 2-8 *

GRAY LILAC

1/4 part Kato Violet

1 part Kato Silver

6 parts White Mix # 1-2 *

* Note:  These clay color recipes are created using Kato clay.  Any of the base color "mixes" used are from my Clay Color System.

Pantone Spring 2023 Fashion Colors - Orange, Yellow & Green

The Pantone Spring color Tangelo is next on the color wheel following the reds and peaches I shared yesterday.  I should have included it as well since it combines and blends best with those shades.

Tangelo shown at far right on color wheel

Tangelo at far left of the gradient blend

Shown below are the next five Pantone spring colors going around the color wheel.  Starting from the top, and working to the right are the following colors in order: Tangelo, Empire Yellow, Leek Green (behind Empire Yellow), Love Bird & Classic Green.

Colors shown on various backgrounds

Colors shown on white vs. black background

Gradient Blend

I really like the color blend combination of the orange yellow and greens -- you just have to be careful when combining or blending the orange next to green as they are both "secondary" colors and when combined they become a "mud" color-- or in other words, brown.  That is why having a yellow in between works as a sort of "bridge" and prevents the mud effect.  I explain a lot of these color mixing rules and tips in my Clay Color System.

So here are the recipes for these five colors using Kato clay.  Again, two of the colors are a very close match to previous Pantone colors and I have provided a link to those original recipes.

TANGELO

5 parts Kato Yellow

1 part Kato Orange

EMPIRE YELLOW

Same recipe as Meadowlark

LEEK GREEN

2 parts Kato Yellow

1/4 part Kato Green

1/4 part Kato Gold

4 parts Ecru Mix #2-8 *

LOVE BIRD

Same recipe as Lime Punch

CLASSIC GREEN

1 part Kato Green

2 parts Kato Yellow

1/4 part White Mix #1-2 *

* Note:  These clay color recipes are created using Kato clay.  Any of the base color "mixes" used are from my Clay Color System.