A colour plan does not have to be complicated to be intentional. Start with a small set of colours, decide which one leads, and test their arrangement before making dozens of motifs. The goal is a layout you enjoy and can reproduce, not a rigid rule about which colours are allowed together.
Give the colours different jobs
One useful starting point is a main colour, a supporting colour and an accent. These are design choices rather than universal proportions. A quiet background with a small bright accent can read differently from three colours used in equal amounts, even when the shades are identical.
In the visual blanket planner, choose three colours and compare diagonal repeats, row stripes and an alternating sequence. The preview treats each square as a solid colour. It is a placement study, not a photograph of the finished textile.
Compare arrangement as well as shade
Row stripes create long continuous bands. A diagonal sequence moves a colour across the grid from row to row. Alternating colours interrupt those bands. Switching between these structures is a quick way to see whether you prefer a calmer or more distributed arrangement.
Try one change at a time: keep the palette fixed while comparing arrangements, then keep the arrangement fixed while changing a colour. Changing both at once makes it harder to identify what improved the design for you.
Check how often each colour occurs
In a 6 × 9 layout there are 54 squares. A regular three-colour sequence may distribute them equally at 18 each, but a different number of rows or columns may produce unequal counts. Use the counts reported beside the preview rather than assuming that three colours always means equal thirds.
A colour count is not a yarn estimate. If the squares have different stitch patterns, or each square has multiple coloured rounds, equal motif counts may require different amounts of each yarn. Outer rounds and joining yarn need their own plan.
Move from the screen to real materials
A screen colour is a convenient label for a design, not a precise yarn specification. Displays, lighting and camera processing affect appearance. When you choose actual yarn, record its brand, shade name or number and dye-lot information where provided.
Place sample pieces next to one another in the kind of light where the blanket will be used. Look at the arrangement from both close up and across the room. If the colours merge more than you intended, try greater light-dark contrast before adding more shades.
Create a colour key you can follow
Assign simple labels such as A, B and C to the real yarns. Write a row sequence like A–B–C–A–B–C and note which direction you read the chart. Lay out a complete row before joining it, especially when the reverse side looks similar.
Use the print option to keep the study with your project. Colour printing is helpful but not essential if you also retain written shade names and counts. The planner does not store projects between visits; keep the printed copy or a PDF before closing the page.
Keep a second key for the rounds within each motif. A whole-square preview cannot show how those rounds consume yarn or interact at the joins.