Shading ratios is the term we use when we are describing the amount of threads used between two or more colors. Shading ratios can be any of the following but not limited to:
2:1
3:1
4:1
5:1
and so on. The lower the ratio, the quicker the transition between colors. The higher the ratio, the slower the transition and more subtle the shade is. In order to understand how the shade ratio works, I’ll give you an example of the 3:1 ratio with four different colors.
So from the chart above, you can see for every three threads of the Light Blue, we will place one thread of the Med Blue. Then the next step is to do two threads of the Light Blue and two threads of the Med Blue, then one thread of the Light Blue, three threads of Med Blue and then we place the third color in with one thread of the Dark Blue. This continues until we have run through all of the colors in our shade. This is called the shading chart. It’s helpful to have a few of these printed out and laminated with blank cells so that you can write in the colors to utilize over and over again. I’ve provided a 3:1 Ratio sheet and a 4:1 ratio sheet with slots for your thread colors for ease. I only did those two as they are the most common shade ratios. Feel free to download, print, and laminate to keep at your wrapping bench. Remember to use a dry erase marker though so you don’t have to reprint.
So the big question is how do you work this into your wraps?
