There are a number of signs for colours given in the online materials, but these are by no means the only signs for those listed.   Within BSL there are a number of regional variations for colours.  Again as with Number Systems it is recommended that Level 1 students adopt whichever is used by your tutor.  This should be the one most widely used within your region.

When describing shades in BSL it is usual to give the information in the simplest possible form and as they appear visually.  So, to describe a dark colour such as Navy Blue, you could possibly simply sign BLUE then DARK .   If the actual shade was important, you could then fingerspell NAVY. 

Similarly for a light colour such as Sky Blue, you could sign BLUE then LIGHT, and again fingerspell SKY if required. 

If you were unsure of the actual name of the colour, you could describe how it looks.  An example of this could be Khaki, you could sign GREEN-BROWN to describe is, again fingerspelling the name if it is important.

When describing Patterns and Textures in BSL, we can usually do this using a combination of hand movements and Non Manual Features.  The hand movement can describe how the pattern or texture appears, so by using the hand like a brush to “paint” horizontal and vertical lines, we would know that the pattern is a check or tartan.

Similarly, by using a sinuous combing movement, we would know that the pattern was wavy lines. 

During all of the above, you should try to use the correct Non Manual Feature together with these signs.  In these instances the DARK would be signed together with lowered brow, and the LIGHT would be with slightly widened eyes. Additional details such as whether these are large or small patterns can be shown by using appropriate mouthpattern etc.

Watch your tutor to see which is used when describing different patterns.