Stylecraft Special - New Colours!

By the time you'll be reading this, I'll be off in sunny Spain enjoying some sand, sun and sea.  But, because one of the things I look forward to on our little Blogstar jaunts to visit Stylecraft HQ is finding out what the brand new shades of Stylecraft Special DK will be, I just had to set this post to appear while I was away...

There's an impressive 77 solid colours in the Special DK range so far and that's one of the main reasons I love and adore it.  Not only is there endless combinations to find but it's the variety of tones that really make it for me.  Bright and pastel selections are common enough but where can you also decide to go for something rich and saturated or vintage and subtle all in the same range?

Of course having said that, in my book there's always room for a few more.  I've got about 5 or 6 shades that I'm hankering to see introduced.  For me I've always struggled to find the greens I need, particularly the paler shades which are practically non-exsistant.  But I'd love to see some peachy pinks, a soft jade, a banana yellow and wouldn't an antique cream be lovely?

We all have our own ideas about where the gaps in colour might be though and I dare say your wish list will be different again.  That's why the prospect of some new colours coming and the possibility of a new perfect colour entering the range gets my excitement levels rising!

Well, enough waffle, let's get to the money shot.  A picture of the three new colours...

Here they are.  What do you think?

From left to right we have... a mid-tone blue called Lapis (1831), a pale sage-ish green called Lincoln (1834) and a warmer peachy pink called Blush (1833)

Needless to say I'm fairly happy with that selection.  I yummy paler green which I really love and know I'll use a lot and the warmer pink is pretty too.  I'm less enamoured with the blue to be honest.  It's a very nice blue but (for me) it's not distinctly different enough when there are other, bigger gaps to fill.

But, let me help you make your mind up about the new colours.  Let me show you where they fit into the range and compare them with the shades you know.


Let's start with Lincoln, cos that's my favourite...

L-R: Meadow, Cypress, Lincoln, Sage 

Let's show it first with the next closest colours in the range.  Actually there aren't any other close colours to this lovely new green, this is the first paler green in the range really.  But you can see how beautifully it works as a pastel to both the Sage and the Cypress.  So happy with this addition!

L-R: Duck Egg, Storm Blue, Lincoln, Sage

I think it's fits in so nicely as a subtle and slightly muted vintage style Sage along with the Duck Egg and Storm Blue too.  That's my kind of colours right there.

L-R: Pistachio, Meadow, Lincoln, Cypress

I also think it fills out the green range nicely too and will work really nicely with the existing yellowy greens like Pistachio and Meadow.

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Next up let's look at the new pink, Blush...

L-R: Pale Rose, Fondant, Blush, Vintage Peach 

 Here's how it sits with the existing mid-tone pinks.  You can see that's it's warmer than the Pale Rose and the Fondant.  I was surprised to see how close to the Vintage Peach it looks here because it definitely falls into the pink category seen on it's own.

L-R: Soft Peach, Candy Floss, Blush, Pomegranate

I love how it sits so nicely in this little palette of pinks.  I particularly like how it really ties the pomegranate in with the other pinks now as that's a colour I've always struggled to use before.
Wouldn't this make a fab Cath Kidston style flower palette?

 L-R: Vintage Peach, Apricot, Shrimp, Blush

Just to show you how the blush sits with the other peachy colours in the range.  I think it works really well, it's a beautiful bridge colour between the pinks and the peaches.

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Last but not least, Lapis...

L-R:  Denim, Lapis, Lobelia, Royal

This is what I mean about the mid-tone blues.  The Royal blue was recently joined by the Lobelia which is quite similar and now Lapis is added in too and it also seems to be pretty similar.  I'd have much preferred to see something a little more distinct.

L-R: Cloud Blue, Aster, Lapis, Midnight

Having said that, I much prefer the Lapis to the Royal or the Lobelia, it fits in perfectly in this range of blues here.  The Lapis is a slightly softer colour than the Royal so that makes it first choice for me and I always struggle to fit the Lobelia into a palette anyway.  Although it works much better with the slightly more purpley shades like Bluebell.

Looking at this though I'm thinking a nice darker blue which would sit between the Lapis and the Midnight would be fab too.  The Midnight is a lovely navy shade but it's so dark it almost reads as black on most palettes which is a shame as I like a navy and would use it more if it was a bit more subtle.

L-R: Storm Blue, Duck Egg, Lapis

Finally I thought I'd show you how it compares to the tinted blues.  I think it fits in well with those too, I particularly like it next to the Duck Egg here.

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So, that's what I think.  But what do you think of these new shades? 

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S x

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