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.

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.

Introducing the new Revised Edition and Sale

I am happy to announce I finally finished the revised edition to my Clay Color System tutorial.  My original tutorial was first published 12 years ago (2011).  It is my own concept that I had been using for several years before that.

My original Color System tutorial was first based on Kato clay.  At that time, it was the only brand that was made in the true artist colors.  Previous to that, Premo (Sculpey brand) also had the true artist colors, but made the huge mistake of discontinuing them.  This created quite an uproar within the polymer clay artist community, so Sculpey decided to put back some of the colors into circulation -- but only the three primary colors -- Red, Yellow and Blue.  When the Sculpey company did this, a lot of clay artists jumped ship and switched to Kato clay.

While I personally like working with Kato clay, many artists find it difficult to condition (it is very hard/firm) and many have issues with the smell.  For me, it had become more difficult to obtain here in Canada as the shipping charges and extra import fees are horrendous.  And in the last few years, other clay brands that are made in the true artist colors have become more widely available, like Cernit (Number One series) and Fimo Professional (Not Fimo soft). 

I have tried Fimo Professional and find it quite nice to work with, however it does have it's issues.  For instance I like to make impressions in my clay which requires a mold release.  I generally prefer to use water instead of cornstarch.  Fimo clay reacts to water and becomes sticky and gummy.  If you would like to apply any type of powders to your textured clay, after using cornstarch as a mold release, any colored powders will not stick.

Since a year ago, I started experimenting with the Cernit brand clay and discovered how much I like it.  Not only are the colors true (Number One series) and vibrant, it is soft enough to work with without being too soft or sticky.  I also have all the colors in the Metallic, Pearl and Translucent.  Other than the Number One series, I love the Metallic the most.  The colors are just so scrumptious!  I am also intrigued with the Translucent as I have seen some amazing faux glass pieces created by other artists.

So in my last blog post, I announced that the Pantone color recipes would be the last I would be sharing with you here as I will be no longer using Kato clay.  You might be wondering about what will be next.  Any future recipes will be available in my online store and I will be sharing here inspiration on using those new colors.

The new Revised Edition of my Clay Color System was revamped to work with other brand clays besides Kato.  It does not have all the extra color recipes provided in my Original Clay Color System that uses Kato clay but these recipes can be purchased separately or as an extra bonus.  Many of these recipes are used as base colors to create the Pantone color recipes provided on this blog (see the link at the top of this page).  This means you can still create the older color recipes provided here using other clay brands besides Kato, but the end results might not be the same.

So if you do not have my Clay Color System and would like to learn more about an easy way of mixing color, I have it on sale (30% off until the end of this week.  To celebrate finishing my work, I decided to put all my other tutorials on sale for 30% off as well (excluding my snap tutorial with the bonus Starter packs).  No coupon code is necessary.  The prices have already been reduced.  The sale will end on midnight next Saturday, October 28.

* Also my preprinted color recipe cards will be available soon - as soon as my materials arrive.  I will keep you up to date on this.

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!