| Colors. | Numbers on chart. | Dyestuffs. |
| Yellow Yellow-Orange | No. 1 | Paraphosphine G. |
| Violet | No. 2 | Methylviolett BB 72 No. 1. |
| Brown | No. 3 | Rush Brown B. |
| Orange Red-Red | No. 4 | Rush Red S A. |
| Yellow-Green | No. 5 | Rush Green T B. |
| Blue-Violet | No. 6 | New Methylene Blue R. |
| Red-Violet | No. 7 | Magenta Prima. |
| Black | No. 8 | Rush Black M. |
| Chocolate | No. 9 | Rush Brown X. |
| Red | No. 10 | Rush Red J S. |
| Yellow Orange-Yellow | No. 11 | Auramine II. |
| Blue-Green | No. 12 | Japan Green. |
| Red Violet-Violet | No. 13 | Methylviolett R No. 1. |
| Red-Orange | No. 14 | Chrysoidine A G. |
| Blue Blue-Green | No. 15 | New Methylene Blue N. |
| Violet Red-Red | No. 16 | Safranine S 150. |
Complementary or opposite colors on the color chart are said to be harmonious. Their relation is made more pleasing, however, if one color, usually the more brilliant, is used in very small amount. In many cases in the above combinations colors not exactly opposite have been united. They usually contain a mixture of a primary color common to both. Brown, Black, Chocolate, and Dark Red are complicated mixtures and may be analyzed with a chart which will appear later. Many of these dark colors would harmonize with one another, but would be so dark that they would not be pleasing. In every one of these combinations, the natural straw background figures as another color, and that is why the especially good combinations, as will be noticed, contain browns, yellows and reds, colors which blend particularly well with the background. Red-Violet No. 7 can be used with only a very few colors, and never with Yellow Yellow-Orange No. 1. Yellow Yellow-Orange should be used cautiously.
In sabutan straw, No. 1, Yellow, must be used sparingly. When used in combinations in place of No. 1, Yellow Yellow-Orange, the design should be an open one, rather than solid. Violet Red-Red, No. 16, when being used in place of Red, No. 10, must be used in the same way, and only in places where very, very little is called for. No. 11 is a color that clashes with even a natural straw, so is not advisable in any combination or alone. No. 13 is not a necessary color when No. 2 and No. 6 are available.
In placing the color upon the space to be decorated, the heavier colors should usually appear on the outside and near the edge of the space, although a border may sometimes be outlined with darker color on both inside and outside edges.
The following combinations of these colored straws will prove harmonious. The numbers correspond to those used on the chart and the different kinds of type indicate the proportions of the color to be used—little, Medium Amount, MUCH. The relative positions of the colors must also be observed and the given order followed when more than two colors are combined.
Brown (3) Yellow-Yellow Orange (1). Especially good.
Black (8) Yellow-Yellow Orange (1).
Chocolate (9) Yellow-yellow Orange (1).
RED-ORANGE (14) CHOCOLATE (9) Yellow-Yellow Orange(1). In this case, the heavy color, 9, comes in the center of the design, but is necessary to separate Nos. 14 and 1.