286 DMC Thread Colours: How to Choose Yours

Opening the DMC colour chart is a small addiction: 286 shades lined up in a row, from off-white to the deepest black, taking in every pink, green and blue you can imagine. It's beautiful… and also a little overwhelming. How do you choose from so many? Here are the keys.

How the chart is organised

Every DMC colour has a unique number: 310 is black, white is "B5200" or "Blanc", and from there the shades group into families. The important bit: that number is universal. If a pattern asks for DMC 666, that red will be the same here and anywhere in the world. So always go by the number, not the colour name.

If you're following a pattern

Easy: the pattern tells you exactly which numbers you need in its key. Don't improvise substitutions at first; designers choose the shades carefully so the gradient works. Buy the numbers it asks for and play it safe.

If you're choosing the colours yourself

This is where the fun starts. A few tricks so you don't get lost:

• Work in tonal families: pick a base colour and its lighter and darker neighbours. Three shades from the same family give volume and realism to flowers, leaves or skies.
• Use the contrast rule: if your whole piece is soft tones, the design gets "lost". Save a dark shade for the outlines and the motif comes to life.
• Look at the thread in daylight: warm indoor light changes colours a lot. If you can, decide by a window.

A golden tip: buy extra for backgrounds

If a colour covers a large area (a sky, a background), estimate generously and buy one extra skein. Running out halfway and finding the new batch is a slightly different shade is one of the few mishaps you really notice in the final result.

In short

Go by the number, not the name; follow the key if you have a pattern, and play with tonal families if you're choosing yourself. And remember: thread is the perfect complement to your piece, so it's worth keeping good colours to hand. Discover all 286 shades in our range of DMC threads.