These are a few of my favorite things: #45 – Stripe Generators

I love stripes!  Stripes allow us to incorporate multiple colors, create effects, and in some cases even make our bodies appear slimmer.  As weavers we can incorporate stripes in our warp, our weft, and even some twill diagonal create angled stripes.  If you think about it, plaids are merely stripes in the warp intersecting with stripes in the weft.  Weaving stripes can also be a way to use up small amounts of yarn and thread.

 

In this installment of my favorite things, I want to share some on-line stripe generators.  A few minutes creating stripes can stimulate new ideas for color combinations, proportion, and much more.

Biscuits and Jam – http://www.biscuitsandjam.com/stripe_maker.php

What’s interesting about the Random Stripe Generator at Biscuits and Jam (other than it’s name) is the step-by-step process.  Below is the screen where you begin.

 

The first thing you do is select your colors.  Below, it shows I chose five different colors.

 

The second thing you do is select the stripe widths that will be allowed.  I was inspired to select the first five numbers of a Fibonacci sequence – 1, 2, 3, 5, 8

 

Then you set the value for the total number of rows that will be generated.  I used 100.

 

 

The click on the button Generate my Stripes and see what happens.  Remember, this is a random stripe generator so you may be very surprised by the results.  Below was the first set of stripes generated from my five colors and five different widths.

 

 

By refreshing the screen, a new set of stripes is generated

And refresh again . . . (I think I like this one best) . . . Although, if I don’t like what I get, I can go back and change my selections.

 

Patternizer – http://patternizer.com/q12i.  Patternizer has something intriguing for weavers . . . there’s an opacity value than can be adjusted.  I find this is  a way of simulating what happens when colors interlace in plain weave.

 

Stripe Generator – http://www.stripegenerator.com/index.php?page=index.  The fourth on-line stripe generating resource has one feature the others don’t . . . if you look in the bottom right hand corner of the page, you can take the colors and generate a tartan pattern.

 

Stripe Generator is also another resource where you can look at stripe combinations other users have generating.

 

I hope you find these resources helpful if you are planning a new project and looking for inspiration.  Stripes can be very powerful in adding visual impact.

Enjoy!