How do cotton, linen and wool affect a colour?

These fabrics scatter light diffusely rather than reflecting it in one direction, so colour reads close to a flat, true reading with little added shine — a reliable way to judge a colour's real depth and saturation.

Close-up of ribbed hand-knitted wool in a heathered grey-brown yarn. — Heathered wool yarn is spun from fibres of more than one colour, which is why it reads as a soft, complex grey-brown rather than one flat tone — useful to know when trying to match it to a single paint or fabric colour.

CottonLinenWoolKnit

What it affects

Colour saturation shift
Perceived depth

Practical advice

Because these fabrics show colour relatively 'honestly', they're a good choice for comparing a shortlist of colours against each other.

Always confirm with the physical garment under real light before committing to a colour choice — see methodology.

Related terms

Saturation

Sources

Colourwise editorial synthesis — Colourwise