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.

Summary of the Fall/Winter 2025 Pantone Fashion Color Clay Recipes

After sharing the clay recipes for the Pantone seasonal colors, I like to have a summary posted.  It is then added to the page (see the tab at the top of this blog "Pantone Color Recipes") where you can find other clay recipes from the past years.  You can see that I have been mixing these colors up and sharing them for quite a few years.  The first ones I share here were in 2011.

So you can click on the color cube photos below to see the clay recipes I recently shared with you.  I would love to see anything you might have created in these colors and you could share them with us on our facebook page if you like.

Mocha Mousse

Pantone color of the Year for 2025

Clay Recipes for:

Primrose Pink, Damson, Hot Chocolate,

Bronze Brown, Chili Oil

Clay Recipes for:

Brandied Melon, Lemon Grass, Lyons Blue,

Poppy Red, Winterberry

Look for the new adapted recipes using Cernit Clay which will be posted in the near future.

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 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.

Pantone Spring 2023 Fashion Colors - From Magenta to Red to Peach

The five colors, Fiery Red, Beetroot Purple, Peach Pink, Crystal Rose & Vanilla Cream are all close to each other on the color wheel.  They range from a magenta to red to a peachy pink.  The color wheel diagram below shows where they are actually located and how close they are to each other.

Colors left to right:
Beetroot Purple, Fiery Red, Crystal Rose, Peach Pink, Vanilla Cream

In fact, the color wheel below shows where Viva Magenta (Pantone Color of the Year 2023) fits in, which is right between Beetroot Purple (far left) and Fiery Red.

Colors Left to Right:
Beetroot Purple, Viva Magenta, Fiery Red, Peach Pink

I have the Pantone Connect app which is a lot of fun to play with.  You can create your own color palettes and see how the colors go together.  Here are a few examples using these five colors:

Gradient Blend

Different Background Combinations

Light vs Dark Background

Another feature with this app is that you can cross match Pantone colors and find other colors that are a close match.  I have so many clay color recipes in my "library collection" and if a new Pantone color is a close match to one I already have, I will prefer to just stay with that color instead of tweaking it ever so slightly.  It makes life in the studio a whole lot easier!  One example of this is the new Spring 2023 color, Beetroot purple, is a close match to a previous Pantone color from Spring 2017 called Pink Yarrow.

Another close match to the Pantone color, Crystal Rose, is Gossamer Pink which was one of the Pantone Spring colors from last year.

The Pantone color, Peach Pink was the exact same color used in the Pantone Fall 2019 palette.  Creme De Peche was another color used in the same Pantone Palette and is a close match to this year's spring color, Vanilla Cream.

And lastly, if you have my Clay Color System tutorial, then you already have the clay recipe for Fiery Red.  It is a very close match to Cadmium Red, recipe # 4-2.

So just click on the color names below to see the original recipes posted on my blog:

BEETROOT PURPLE

(same as Pink Yarrow)

CRYSTAL ROSE

(same as Gossamer Pink)

PEACH PINK

&

VANILLA CREAM

(same as Creme De Peche)

FIERY RED

(see Recipe #4-2 * in Carolyn's Clay Color System)

Summary for the Pantone Fall 2022 to Winter 2023 Fashion Colors

Here is a review of the Pantone Fall 2022 to Winter 2023 Fashion Colors.  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.

Lava Falls  --  Samoan Sun  --  Orange Tiger

Rose Violet  --  Amazon

Nosegay  --  Waterspout

Caramel Cafe  --  Midnight  --  Martini Olive

Core Classics

Pantone Fall Colors Nosegay & Waterspout

The two Pantone fall colors Nosegay and Waterspout are much lighter and less intense than the other colors in this seasons pallet and have a very calming effect.

They may seem more like summer colors but combined with some other colors in the winter palette can really change the effect.

Nosegay with Midnight and Amazon

Waterspout with Caramel Cafe and Midnight

And here are the two colors that have a silkscreen pattern in black which creates a great contrast and dramatic effect.  Both silkscreens are new ones I am trying out that were created by Tina Holden which are available in her Beadcomber Etsy shop here.  I will show you how my pieces I am making with these clay sheets come out when they are finished.

When I researched the color Nosegay, I discovered that Sweet Lilac is a close match and was previously used in the Pantone fall 2012 color collection.  I will share the same recipe again here but you can also find it in my first original post in February 2012 for reference.

Nosegay is a close match to Sweet Lilac

Waterspout is a gorgeous turquoise-like shade that reminds me of the ocean waters surrounding a tropical island.

So here are the color recipes using Kato clay.

Nosegay (Sweet Lilac)

1 part Kato Magenta
15 parts White Mix # 1-2 *

Waterspout

1 part Kato Turquoise
1/4 part Kato Green
10 parts White Mix # 1-2 *

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

Pantone Colors Rose Violet & Amazon

Today I will be sharing two more clay recipes from the Pantone fall fashion color collection.  Rose Violet, as Pantone describes, "is vivid, vibrant and full of zing.  Amazon is a lush and fertile broadleaf green".

When I see these colors together I immediately think of tropical plants such as Hibiscus flowers and the large Monstera plant.  I textured a sheet of clay in the Amazon color here with Shades of Clay Monstera Love Texture Stamp.  It is thin enough to run through the pasta machine together with the sheet of clay to make a nice deep and even texture.  Now I have to decide what to create with this. 

The photo below shows Monstera leaves screen printed in black on the Amazon colored clay.  These will make nice earrings once they are cut out and finished off.  I will share my finished results later.

"Monstera Leaf" silkscreen by Tina Holden

While these designs are not Hibiscus flowers, they do have a fun look and I wanted to compare white vs black print.

"Mandala" and "Floral Tapestry" silkscreens by Tina Holden

These and the leaf print silkscreens, shown above, are created by Tina Holden and you can find them in her Etsy shop here.

I really love these two colors together and thinking some mokume gane patterns. I like to make large tiles in the Pantone colors so I can play with them and such as mixing and matching.  These tiles are about 1-1/2 inches in size.

So here are the color recipes using Kato clay.

Rose Violet

3 parts Kato Magenta
1/2 part Kato Violet

1 part White Mix # 1-2 *

Amazon

5 parts Kato Green
1/4 part Kato Black

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

Why Pantone Colors and Polymer Clay Recipes?

Since the pandemic hit in 2020, there has been a huge influx of people wanting to find ways to fill their time and explore new crafts, many of which have discovered polymer clay.  I have been playing with this type of clay for quite a few years and I still appreciate how one can be so creative with it but what attracted me the most was the possibilities with mixing colors.  I started out using the typical Sculpey Premo clay until I discovered Kato clay.  I immediately preferred this brand due to it being formulated in the "true artist colors".  It can be mixed and combined to create other colors, shades and hue just like using artist quality paints.  I quickly learned that I could do so much more by mixing my own colors, rather than just using it right out of the package.

I soon had so many colors mixed that I needed a way to organize my color stash so I could use it again later.  This eventually expanded into my first tutorial, Carolyn's Clay Color System.  This lesson contains a whole lot more than just mixing up color recipes.  It is an easy way to learn all about color and how to create your own blends.  There are easy to follow charts for creating your new colors which can be so much fun.  And with this system, you are not wasting a lot of clay like other color mixing methods.

My Color System tutorial is available in my online store (Canadian) here,

NOTE:  Check out my facebook page here to see my special sales on all of my tutorial lessons (until March 10).

So what is Pantone?  And why do I share clay recipes for these colors?  The Pantone Color Institute determines the color palettes for the fashion industry and there is a new palette of colors twice a year -- Spring & Summer and Fall & Winter.  I am a Pantone "member" and with my Pantone color charts plus apps, I like to mix up the latest fashion colors in clay to create up-to-date jewelry pieces, buttons and other items.

I also like to share these new recipes for those who have purchased my Color System tutorial, so they can add them to their collection.  My Color System contains the base colors that are sometimes used to create these new Pantone recipes as in the example shown below as in the "White Mix" and "Ecru Mix":

So this system was created using Kato clay but it can also be adapted to other clays but mainly brands that are created in true artist colors such as Fimo Professional.  Because some of the saturation in the colors can vary between clays, the amounts might require some tweaking.  I am currently working on some variations of my Color system using other clay brands plus more color recipes that will be using those other brands as well.  Follow this blog or my facebook page to keep up to date.

So tomorrow I will share the remaining Pantone color recipes for this Spring and then follow up with some ideas and inspiration for you.

If you have any questions or want to share, you can always post on my facebook page.  I would love to hear back from some of my followers.