Leaves Changing Colors

Posted byAzariah Fibre ArtsPosted incrochetTags:, , ,

Yes, you read the title correctly and no, the post isn’t late. I want to share with you what I learned about leaves changing colors in the fall as I was doing some research for the Falling Leaves Tote.

If you have been here, or in my newsletter, for a while you might already know that I love fall. It is my favorite time of year. Last year I decided the best way to have a little fall with me every day is to make a tote that is fall themed and has fall colors. This was helped along by some of the yarn I had bought from the Brown Sheep Company at the Maker’s Festival in Loveland, Colorado in April of 2024.

Five balls of yarn arranged in a rough circle on a brown background. The yarns are yellow, brown, yellow, orange and a couple shade of red. In the center of the circle is black script lettering in the middle that says "Azariah's Fibre Arts".
First balls I bought in Loveland.

As I was laying the leaf colors out in different orders trying to decide which went where, I decided to Google “leaves changing colors order” just in case there was a right way to do this. I was surprised to find that not only is there a right way to order the colors, but there is a very scientific reason for it all as well. Knowing all of this made me enjoy fall that much more.

Six balls of yarn in a line on a gray table. They are all fall colors going from left to right, green, yellow, yellow orange, orange, red and brown.

I am going to sum up what I learned and share the links with you if you’d like to dive deeper.

To be green, trees need to make chlorophyll. To do that they need sun and warm temperatures. As fall approaches, there is less sun and colder temps so the amount of chlorophyll in the leaves is less and begins to break down into different types of carotenoids that cause the different colors. For more, including a molecular model, CHECK THIS OUT.

Leaves of a deciduous tree that are changing from green to yellow and red against a bright blue sky.
Image by günter from Pixabay

There are different color families of leaves changing colors, not all of the trees go through every color stage. Aspens, for example, go from green to gold to brown. Some trees do go through all of the colors, like maple. HERE is a photo showing that.

Four maples leaves, size getting larger as you go to the left, with the color shifting from yellow to red, laying on a wooden background.
Image by congerdesign from Pixabay

The leaves on my Falling Leaves Tote don’t belong to any particular tree, they are just leaves. I wanted to use as many fall colors as I could cram into this piece. So I ordered a couple more from Brown Sheep as you saw in the photo earlier. I then ordered more so that purple would be included, but was struggling to find the right shade of red.

I went through almost all of the shades of red that Brown Sheep Company offers in Nature Spun to find the right one, both in the lineup and that would still contrast enough with the background color.

Four balls of red yarn, all different shades, sit on a brown background. There is black script lettering in the middle that says "Azariah's Fibre Arts".
The red at the top is the main color of the bag. The ball sitting at 3 o’clock is the final color choice for the red leaves.

I am very pleased with how this entire project is turning out and I can’t wait to share it with you all. The next step is to get it tech edited, then I will be looking for pattern testers. If you are interested in being a pattern tester please email me sara@azariahsfibrearts.com and I’ll get you on the list.

Nine balls of yarn are time are sitting on a brown background. The center ball is a dark red. The surrounding eight balls are all fall colors, in line around the center ball from brown to green, including purple, red, oranges and yellows.
This is my final color line up. Main color is the center ball, then I went up the bag from brown around to the green.
Close up of a crocheted piece. The tight background fabric has stitches of leaves in five different colors from brown to yellow from bottom to top.

Happy Making!

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