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 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.

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 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 Fall Fashion Colors Lava Falls, Samoan Sun & Orange Tiger

The Pantone fashion colors for this fall are very rich and vibrant.  Pantone describes them as "Contrasting colors that bring together our co-existing desires for rest and relaxation with exuberant expression".

I am going to start with the first three colors that to me are perfect fall colors, a rich red, deep yellow and autumn orange.

Two of these colors have been used in previous Pantone color collections.  Lava Falls isn't in my latest Pantone color swatches but Pantone tells me that the color Samba is a very close match.  Samba was in the Pantone Fall 2013 Fashion Color Collection.  

You can find links to all the clay recipes I shared here for the previous Pantone colors back as far as Spring 2011 if you click on the "Pantone Color Recipes" tab at the top of this blog.

The color Orange Tiger was previously used in the Pantone Fall 2019 Fashion Color Collection.  These orange flatback "hotfix" crystals are a perfect match to the Orange Tiger and are available in my online store.  They are made in Canada and the cut, clarity and color are absolutely incredible and I find them very comparable to the expensive and now hard to get Swarovski crystals. 

I will share the recipes here again but wanted to let you know in case you already added these colors to your "Clay Color System" recipe cards.

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

Lava Falls (Samba)

3 parts Kato Red
1 part Kato Magenta

Samoan Sun

10 parts Kato Yellow
1/4 part Kato Gold
1/8 part Kato Orange
6 parts White Mix # 1-2 *

Orange Tiger

4 parts Kato Orange
1 part Kato Gold
4 parts Kato Yellow

* Note:  These clay color recipes are created using Kato clay.  Any of the base color "mixes" used are from my Clay Color System.  You can read more here why I use Kato clay when mixing up my Pantone colors and still my preferred clay type.

Clay Recipes for the Pantone Spring 2022 Fashion Colors

 So here are is a review of all the Pantone Spring & Summer fashion colors for 2022.  Click on the photos below to see the individual recipes and inspiration ideas.  If you would like to see more Pantone clay recipes from the past, click on the tab at the top of this blog.

Pantone Fashion Colors for Spring & Summer 2021 -- Better Late than Never?

I hope this is better late than never . . .  I was rather frustrated last year with the lack of feedback on this blog as well as my facebook page but sometimes you wonder if anyone is actually out there reading this or most followers are just "lurkers".  I did have a few diehards comment how much they really appreciate the new clay recipes from the Pantone Color Collection.  It was very encouraging to hear from you!

So I did finally get around to mixing up the new Spring & Summer Pantone Colors.  I had planned to do this a while ago but life just kept getting in the way.  I have still been working on updates to my new condo apartment and I am nearly done!  Just a few more things to finish yet and I will post some photos soon.

In the meantime, I hope you find these new colors and the recipes inspiring.  Some of the recipes are already in your collection that was included in my Clay Color System tutorial.  If you do not have my Color System yet, check it out on my website.  I have it on sale right now at 30% off -- but only until Monday evening.   I have also put it on sale in my Etsy shop -- just keep in mind the price difference is Canadian prices on my website and US prices in the Etsy shop.

I usually post the clay recipes over a period of time as I mix them up and experiment but since this is so late, I want to post them all here so you can have some fun and inspiring colors to play with over the weekend.  (It is a long weekend here in Canada).  You will also find the recipe cards at the end that you can download and print out onto 4x6 index cards.  So here goes!

Pantone Colors of the Year - 2021

Yes you read that right!  Pantone has 2 colors of the year for the first time instead of the usual single color.  Here are the clay recipes for the Pantone Spring & Summer Colors using Kato clay.

Illuminating

10 parts Kato Yellow

1 part Kato White

1/4 part Lime Punch

(See the clay recipe from Spring 2018)

Ultimate Gray

Use Kato Silver

Marigold

5 parts Kato Yellow

1 part Orange Base #5-2 *

Cerulean

1 part Kato Blue

1/2 part Kato Violet

1 part Kato Silver

7 parts White Mix #1-2 *

Rust

Same as Clay Recipe #2-15 *

(Shiny Copper)

French Blue

5 parts Kato Blue

2 parts White Mix #1-2 *

Green Ash

1/2 part Cilantro #7-3 *

2 parts Kato Green

1 part Kato Yellow

10 parts White Mix #1-2 *

Burnt Coral

1 part Kato Magenta

1 part Kato Orange

2 parts Kato Yellow

10 parts White Mix #1-2 *

Mint

Same as Clay Recipe #7-5 *

(Christmas Green)

Amethyst Orchid

Same as Clay Recipe #10-5 *

(Plum)

Raspberry Sorbet

10 parts Kato Magenta

1 part Kato Orange

5 parts White Mix #1-2 *

Inkwell

Use Kato Black

Buttercream

Use Recipe #1-2 *

(White Mix)

Desert Mist

Same as Clay Recipe #2-8 *

(Ecru Mix)

Willow

Same as Clay Recipe #7-8 *

(Olive Green)

* 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 2020 Fashion Color Clay Recipes Summary

Sorry this is so late but here is the review of the Pantone Fall 2020 Fashion colors.  Click on the photos below to see the clay recipes using Kato clay.  If you would like to see more clay recipes for the past Pantone fashion colors, go to the color recipe page at the top of this blog.

Color of the Year:  Classic Blue

Flame Scarlet, Saffron

Biscay Bay, Chive, Orange Peel,
Mosaic Blue, Sunlight

Grape Compote, Faded Denim, Cinnamon Stick, Coral Pink

Pantone Spring 2020 Fashion Colors Grape Compote, Faded Denim, Coral Pink and Cinnamon Stick

Updating items in my online store is taking much longer than I had hoped so bear with me and eventually I will be having a big sale -- but need to be sure everything is up and running first.  In the meantime, my tutorials are all available and I am having a sale on those -- you can see the details at the end of this post.

I quite like these last four colors -- but then again, maybe they are just growing on me!  I do find inspired mixing up the new shades.  I know some people told me they find mixing the clay colors takes too much work.  They want to just open a package and get playing.  But I find the whole mixing process is a great time to think.  It actually gets my creative juices flowing and as I mix up each color, ideas are running through my head.  I have time to think things through and plan.  It really is a spring board for what I am going to make.

One of the colors I actually didn't have to mix up at all.  I was working on a recipe for the Cinnamon Stick when I suddenly realized that the Kato Copper is a perfect match!  Just to make it more workable, I like to mix in some transluscent.

So here are the recipes for the last four Pantone Spring 2020 Fashion colors using Kato clay.  I hope you have fun with them and find mixing them up to be inspiring as well.  I hope to play with the new colors as soon as all this computer stuff is out of the way!

Grape Compote

6 parts Dark Purple #10-2 *

2 parts Ecru Mix #2-8

Faded Denim

1 part Navy Blue #9-7 *

1 part Kato Silver

2 parts White Mix #1-2 *

Coral Pink

1/2 part Kato Magenta

1/2 part Kato Orange

1 parts Kato Yellow

4 parts Ecru Base #2-7 *

3 parts White Mix #1-2 *

Cinnamon Stick

Kato Copper clay

add some translucent (optional)

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

So now for my sale....  Something to give you inspiration and take your mind off all what is going on in the world for the next few weeks!

Pantone Spring 2020 Fashion Colors Chive, Biscay Green, Mosaic Blue, Orange Peel and Sunlight

I am currently updating my online store and ran into a major hiccup.  While transferring my items, many were lost and none of the photos loaded.  This has caused me a big headache as I have to go in and fix every single item and when you have several thousand, it adds up to a lot of hours!  And of course things never run as smoothly as hoped and the site keeps crashing every so often.  So if you are looking for something there and it is blank, bare with me for a bit.  After all is done I hope you will find it to be a better shopping experience.

So in the meantime to speed things up, I will share with you five more clay recipes for the spring Pantone colors and the last four tomorrow.  I am sure many of you are keeping occupied with your clay right now while at home more and practicing your social distancing.  I know it is nice to have some good distractions from all the covid-19 stuff we have been bombarded with.  The main focus is to stay healthy -- physically and mentally.

So here are the recipes using Kato clay:

Chive

10 parts Kato Yellow

4 parts Kato Green

1/2 part Kato Gold

3 parts Kato Black

Biscay Green

3 parts Kato Green

1/4 part Kato Blue

6 parts White Mix #1-2 *

Mosaic Blue

6 parts Kato Turquoise

1 part Kato Green

1/2 part White Mix #1-2 *

Orange Peel

Same as Orange Base recipe # 5-2 *

Sunlight

1 part Yellow

2 parts White Mix #1-2 *

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

And I would still like to hear from anyone who is interested in these clay recipes.  (See my previous post here). Sadly I only had 2 responses so if there are not many more comments here or on my facebook page, I may continue these recipes by only sharing through a private e-mail or facebook group.  Thanks and hoping for more of a response.

Pantone Fall 2019 Fashion Colors - Fruit Dove and Paloma

The last two colors of the Pantone Fall 2019 fashion color palette are a pink, Fruit Dove, and a grey, Paloma.  Fruit Dove is a bold yet pretty pink which Pantone describes as "extroverted" and "creates a presence that cannot be ignored." Paloma is "unpretentious and yet elegant".  It is one of the Fall Classics and was also one of the colors in the Pantone Spring 2014 palette.  You can see my post about it here.

Fruit Dove & Black (left) -- Fruit Dove & Guacamole (right)

 Here are the recipes using Kato clay.

Fruit Dove

8 parts Kato Magenta

6 parts Kato Yellow

3 parts White Mix #1-2 *

Paloma

3 parts Kato Silver

1 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 Fall 2019 Fashion Colors - Guacamole & Eden

There are two shades of green in the Pantone Fall 2019 fashion colors -- both very different from each other.  Guacamole is my favorite type of green and is considered one of the "Classics" for the fall.  Pantone describes it as a "nutrient-enriched green and establishes a refreshing foundation.  Eden is a forest green and if you have my Clay Color System, you already have this recipe as it is the same as Cilantro #7-3.

Here are a few samples of these colors combined with some of the other Pantone Fall colors.  I didn't get the chance to play with the color Eden yet but I will have some samples later.

Here are the recipes using Kato polyclay:

Guacamole

10 parts Kato Yellow

1-1/2 parts Kato Green

1-1/2 parts Kato Gold

1 part Kato Black

Eden

Follow clay recipe for

Cilantro #7-3 *

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