Pantone Fashion Color Recipes for Fall-Winter 2026 - Part 3

 When Pantone posts the Fashion colors for Spring/Summer or Fall/Winter, they also include a few more colors they refer to as neutrals.  These are your basic colors that combine well with any of the colors for that season.

There were five for this fall, but I decided to just mix up 3 of my favorites, Candied Ginger, Toffee and Poseidon.  The color Egret is basically a cream with a very slight tinge of yellow which can be achieved by adding a very small amount of the #2-8 Ecru* to White or #1-2 White Mix*.  Underworld is a basic grey or silver such as the clay recipe #1-15 Pewter*.

So here are the clay recipes for three of the neutral colors:

Candied Ginger

8 parts #2-8 Ecru Mix *

1/2 part #3-5 Chocolate *

Toffee

Same as the color recipe

#3-6 Tanned Leather

(This color was also used in the

Spring 2019 Pantone Fashion Colors)

Poseidon

4 parts #9-7 Navy *

1/4 part #1-2 White Mix *

(Or you can just use #9-7 Navy *)

* 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).

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.

Pantone Fashion Color Recipes for Fall-Winter 2026 - Part 1

 Mixing up the fall Pantone fashion colors for this year wasn't on my agenda, however, as I was looking for some color inspiration, I eventually found myself looking up the new color palette and decided it was worth more exploration.  Before I knew it, I found myself mixing up these new colors so I thought I may as well share the recipes with you!

I am very disappointed that Van Aken decided to quit making the Kato clay, however, I am also not surprised.  While I loved the Kato clay color palate, which was based on the true artist colors, I know a lot of people found it to be a real challenge to work with due to it's "hardness".  In fact, I believe even Donna Kato (the originator of such clay) herself, explained how she would even resort to driving over it with her car several times in order to make it a bit more pliable.  I never did try that trick but did have to pull out my rubber mallet on several occasions to play "Whack-a-mole" with my clay.  Anyhow, I am not too sure about the new clay that Van Aken is now producing.  It is far from the true artist colors and seems to be more of a child's craft supply instead.  According to their announcement, the owner was retiring and passing his company down to his daughter who apparently made the changes.

So, what type of clay am I working with now?  Well that is a good question!  At the moment it all depends on the art I am creating.  For many of my items that I create in the jewel-tone colors (with mica powders) I use a black clay for my base so I use whatever high quality clay I can find at the most affordable price.

For my Pantone color recipes, I still use the Kato clay, at least for now as I still have quite a large supply on hand.  I was in the process of switching to the Cernit brand, but things changed when Shades of Clay decided to discontinue selling polymer clay in her online store (she still sells some of her specialty items such as her Cabezel jewelry molds which are worth checking out).  Below are the Bezels I made with a snap base for interchanging, ready to add the Cabochon later.  You can find the free tutorial here. 

So here are the recipes for some of the Pantone fall 2026 fashion colors to start.  I will share the others in my next few blog posts this week.

Regarding the color "Muted Clay" -- I was sure I remembered this color from a previous year under the name of Sandstone (which is not identical but very similar).  After investigating, I discovered it was one of the Pantone Fall 2020 colors which I had only started to mix up.  So I ended up missing the colors for that season as at that time we were in the middle of a Covid Pandemic and I was in the process of selling my home in Chase, packing up -- moving my items into storage for several months and then renovating my new place in Kelowna before moving in just before Christmas.  Things were crazy busy!

Muted Clay

2 x Kato Brown

1 x Kato Orange

5 x White Mix # 1-2 *

Neptune Green

3 x Kato Green

1/2 x Kato Gold

4 x Kato White

Green Envy

1 x Kato Green

1 x Kato Gold

Arabian Spice

5 x Kato Brown

1/2 x Kato Black

3 x Kato Copper

* 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).

Ring in the Pantone's Color of the Year!

Happy New Year everyone.  I like to generally start out the year exploring new clay colors and mixing up some of the Pantone color recipes.  Pantone actually made the news quite a bit last month with so much talk regarding Pantone's Color of the Year for 2026.  I am curious what your reaction was?

When I first saw it announced, all I could think of was. "WOW, Are they serious?  This must be a joke!"  I have been following the Pantone Fashion Colors since around 2006 when someone first introduced it to me.  A few years later, I started mixing up the colors using Kato Clay but didn't start posting the recipes on my blog until Fall 2011.  Over the years I found each of the season's color palette to be a wonderful mix and provided plenty of inspiration.  The past few years, however, I have found them to be less inspiring as many of the colors are repeated over time.

Pantone Spring 2026 Fashion Colors

When I look at this years spring colors I find most of them are a similar tone and seem more like fall than what you would expect for spring or summer.  

For instance, here are 3 colors from the above Spring 2026 palette that have been used in previous years in fall and winter palettes.  The others are very close variations of previous colors which I will share with you a little bit later.

Colors from left to right:

Marina - Fall 2017

Lava Falls - Fall 2022

Burnt Sienna - Fall 2023

In my eyes, Pantone pretty much hit bottom with Chocolate Mousse (a fancy word for brown) as the color of the year 2025 and I didn't think they could do worse . . . that is until I saw this years!  I actually find the names they use for their colors more inspiring as Cloud Dancer sounds so much better than "white".  So is Black going to be for next year?

I apologize if I sound too cynical, in which I am, but I cannot help it.  To me, a color of the year should be an actual "Color" that is full of life and vibrant!  To me, as someone who also likes to paint, looks at white as not a color but as a "blank canvas" in which to add color.

In the world of polymer clay, it does make a great neutral or contrast in our work.  But working with a large white base or background, however, has a huge challenge of keeping it clean and completely lint or blemish free before baking as well as preventing it from discoloration during the baking process.

Later on I will share with you a few tips that I have discovered in working with white clay -- that is unless you have a pet (cat or dog), it might be hopeless, but I do have tips on that as well.  So here are a few examples of my work using white in my designs which I will talk more on in my next post.

Faux White Stone Marble

Silk screen printing on white clay

Adding white for contrast in Mokume Gane technique.
These are created using the Cabezel Jewelry Molds.

Barbie Pink in Polymer Clay

I don't go out to the movies anymore since I lost my "Claymate" and hubby Dave.  I prefer now to wait until I can watch the latest films from the comfort and convenience of my own home.  Not that I don't miss going out.  I do very much and our favorite way of celebrating our Anniversary was dinner and a movie.  I have seen so many trailers for the latest Barbie movie and I have to say, it looks like a whole lot of fun.  I hope to see it sometime soon, but, in the meantime, I notice a lot of people have been into the color Pink -- specifically pinks that "Barbie" would wear.

So I decided to research the color and see what the Pantone Color Institute had to offer.  I also checked to see if there were other color matches for the Pantone 219 C and my Pantone Connect app came up with 3 close matches -- all of which I have shared my color recipes previously, on this blog.

To make things easier for you, I will provide you the links to these colors here (click on the color name below) so you can mix up some fun "Barbie" pinks in time for the Christmas season!  So here goes:

The best match is:

Cabaret

First Alternative:

Fuchsia Fedora

Second Alternative:

Pink Yarrow

The color Beetroot Purple was one of the spring colors for this year.  A close match to this shade was Pink Yarrow.  If you click on the name you will see the post I wrote on it.

So any of these three magenta pinks can work really well if you would like to create some vivid "Barbie Pinks".  I hope you have some fun with it!

Summary for the Pantone Fall 2023 Fashion Color Recipes

Here is a review of the Pantone Fall 2023 Fashion Color Recipes.  Click on the photos below to see the individual recipes.  You can access the past Pantone seasonal color recipes by clicking on the tab at the top of this blog.  I have my Pantone color recipes posted on this blog that go all the way back to 2011 when I first published my Color System tutorial.  I have been mixing up Pantone colors using Kato clay much longer than that and always found it to be inspiring and a way to spring board my creativity each season. 

Now I feel it is time for a change and so sadly, this was the last time I will be sharing any future Pantone color recipes here on this blog.  You will be able to purchase any new designer colors through my online store in future and I will be sharing here instead ideas on using these new colors.

Viva Magenta - Color of the Year

Red Dahlia - Red Orange - Burnt Sienna - Rose Violet

Carnival Glass - Kohlrabi - High Visibility

Persian Jewel - Tender Peach - Doe

I hope you enjoy these new recipes.  I will be sharing shortly some finished items made in some of these colors.  To see more samples, you can see my work in my online store in the Shop by Color Category.

Pantone Fall 2023 Fashion Colors Persian Jewel, Tender Peach & Doe

I will be sharing the clay recipes for the last three Pantone Fall 2023 fashion colors, Persian Jewel, Tender Peach and Doe.  Doe is a actually one of the Classic Neutrals that I decided to include.

Persian Jewel is a gorgeous blue with a hint of violet yet slightly muted.  Pantone says it is inspired by the precious stone, lapis lazuli.  I really love this color and find it to be very calming.  I would love to have a top or outfit in this color but might just settle for some new clay jewelry instead!

Tender Peach is a soft yet peachy beige with a slight pink flesh undertone.  I think it would combine well with the Persian Jewel or even the Burnt Sienna.  I will have to experiment and see.

Doe is a soft brown with a rich gold undertone and perfect for fall.  It definitely is a great Classic Neutral and thinking animal prints.

Persian Jewel

2 parts Ultramarine #9-2 *

1 part Kato Silver

1/4 part Kato Violet

3 parts White Mix #1-2 *

Tender Peach

8 parts Kato Beige

1 part White Mix #1-2 *

Doe

4 parts Kato Gold

2 parts Kato Silver

4 parts Ecru Mix #2-8 *

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

I haven't had the time to play with these color yet as I am working on my new revised edition to my Clay Color System.  So far I am on schedule to have it published next week.

It is Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada so to all fellow Canadians, Happy Thanksgiving!

Pantone Fall 2023 Fashion Colors Carnival Glass, Kohlrabi, and High Visibility

The Pantone Fall 2023 fashion colors include two shades of green -- one is a mint and the other a more yellow green.

Carnival Glass is the minty shade of green and does have, as Pantone describes, an icy appearance.  While this shade of green is particularly not my favorite, it could look nice when combined with another color such as navy blue.  I will have to experiment and see what I can come up with.

Kohlrabi is a warmer green and while similar to the brighter color, Love Bird, from this year's spring collection, it is slightly muted with a gold undertone.  This is my favorite shade of green that I always tend to be drawn to and can't seem to resist.

High Visibility is a very close match to Empire Yellow, which was also one of this year's spring palette.  It is also very similar to the yellow, Meadowlark, used in the Spring 2018 Pantone collection.  There might be a slight difference between each of these yellows, but it is so slight, one can hardly notice.  It is also on Pantone's list for a "close match" so this is why I chose to use the same color recipe again for this fall.

The only items I have made with the Pantone Fall colors for this year so far are a few of my little textured buttons.  Here are some in the High Visibility (Meadowlark) and Kohlrabi.  These, along with a wide assortment of other colors are available at the Kelowna Yarn & Needlecrafts store.

So here are the recipes for these three colors using Kato clay:

Carnival Glass

2 parts Kato Green

1/2 part Cilantro # 7-3 *

10 parts White Mix # 1-2 *

Kohlrabi

10 parts Kato Yellow

1-1/2 parts Kato Green

1/2 part Kato Gold

3 parts White Mix # 1-2 *

High Visibility

Same recipe as Meadowlark

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

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.

Stitch Markers in Viva Magenta

Wow!  Another fall is here, but with all the raging wildfires that surrounded us this past summer, I must say I am looking forward to cooler weather.  I did manage to work out the Pantone fall colors a while ago but didn't get a chance to post here yet as I was busy filling orders.  I am still dealing with some health issues so I do not get as much done in a day (or week) as I would like, but I am happy if I can at least get a few things accomplished.

I custom make "yarn ball" stitch markers (and holders) for Kelowna Yarn & Needlecrafts based on their store logo.

Yarn Ball Stitch Markers & Holder

Every year I create a batch of stitch markers in the Pantone Color of the Year for their Anniversary sale in September.  Here are the ones I made for this year in Viva Magenta.

Yarn Ball Stitch Markers in Viva Magenta

The stitch markers (and holders) are made exclusively for Kelowna Yarn and available at their store.

I haven't made anything else yet in the Viva Magenta Color but plan to shortly.  I already posted the color recipe with the Pantone Spring colors and you can click on the photo below to see it.

I will be posting the clay recipes for the Pantone fall colors over the next week.  The recipes are again in Kato Clay but may be my final ones I will be sharing.  I am currently working on a revised edition to my Clay Color System tutorial and for those of you who use other brands of clay, will find it to be a very useful tool.  I will share more over the week to give you a sneak peek.

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.