DMC Retors Mat Art. 89
DMC Retors Mat Art. 89
DMC Retors Mat thread, also known as Art. 89, is the upholstery thread par excellence: a matte, flexible, and soft cotton that works wonderfully for both needlepoint and long stitch. It's also a thread with history: major French canvas houses—SEG de Paris among them—included it as standard in their classic kits. So, if you have a needlepoint project on your hands, you're most likely embroidering with it.
Key features:
- Composition: 100% cotton.
- Thickness: Classified as thickness 4.
- Presentation: Skeins of 10 meters.
- Colors: Available in a wide range of 285 colors — the complete chart is below.
- Manufacture: Product Made in France.
Recommended uses:
Ideal for upholstery projects, DMC Retors Mat thread is especially suitable for techniques such as needlepoint and long stitch. Its 5-ply inseparable structure offers a unique texture that gives a distinctive finish to upholstery works, and its manufacturing process includes combing and gassing, ensuring that the thread does not pill and maintains optimal light resistance.
Missing a skein from an old kit?
This is the most common scenario: an inherited or discontinued vintage kit where a color ran out mid-project. Good news: Retors Mat is still manufactured, and with the numbered paper band on the skein (or by comparing the shade on the chart below), you can find the exact color and buy the single skein to finish your piece. We tell you more about these kits in our guides for SEG de Paris and Margot de Paris.
Usage tips:
To preserve the integrity of the thread, cut strands no longer than 40 cm and work stitch by stitch. If you're just starting, our page on needlepoint embroidery explains the technique step by step.
Have you found a French kit and don't know where to start?
If you've come this far looking for a Retors Mat number, you're probably mid-project. And if it's an old kit—SEG de Paris, Margot, Royal Paris— the instructions are in French and scarce.
We've written a free guide on how to read a vintage French needlepoint kit: how to interpret the reference printed on the box, what's inside, and where to start embroidering.
