The colors and design of decorative Bargello needlepoint for the home should both highlight and complement whatever surrounds it. Complementary colors are fun to stitch in Bargello needlepoint, especially when using bold primary or secondary colors because they bring greater contrast, balance and completeness to a Bargello design.
Complementary colors are opposite each other on the color wheel, such as red and green. When used appropriately, one color should predominate since in equal amounts they tend to radiate off each other and diminish the Bargello design’s effect.
For originality and uniqueness, try using split-complementary colors in your designs. They consist of a main color and the two colors adjacent to its complement. In this Bargello Christmas ornament, I used red and green complementary colors.
If I had chosen to work a design in split-complementary colors with red as the main color, instead of using green, I could have split the complement into two parts and chosen yellow-green and blue-green as the complements.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with complementary colors and their split complements in your Bargello needlepoint. The important thing to remember is not to overdo the use of any one or more colors that may destroy the creative message you’re trying to send.
[...] Complementary Color Scheme [...]