How to read the DMC color chart
A DMC number is a catalog number: it names one thread and nothing else. Numbers were handed out over time, so neighbors on the DMC color chart are not always neighbors in shade. 310 is black, while 311 is a dark blue-teal and 312 is a dark blue. Use the swatch and the name, not the position in the list, to compare colors.
Most names pair a color with a depth: “Salmon Very Light”, “Salmon Light”, “Salmon”, “Salmon Medium” and “Salmon Dark” are one family stepping from pale to deep. That is why a search for a word like “salmon” or “avocado” collects a whole run of shades at once.
Blanc, B5200, Ecru and the numbers that start with 0
Three colors are letters rather than numbers: Blanc, B5200 and Ecru. Blanc (#FCFBF8) and B5200 (#FFFFFF) are both whites, but B5200 is the brighter one. Ecru (#F0EADA) is a warm off-white. They are listed first here.
Nine colors, 01 to 09, are written with a leading zero, for example 01 White Tin and 09 Cocoa Very Dark. When you search, type the zero as well.
Why screen colors never match thread exactly
Every HEX and RGB value on this page is a screen value. Thread has texture and is dyed in batches, and a monitor adds its own brightness and tint on top. Treat the swatch as a close guide and confirm a shade on a DMC color card or the skein before you commit to a big project, especially for pale tints and for dark colors that look nearly black on screen.
The chart is also a good place to catch near-duplicates. If two colors in your pattern are only a few steps apart, they will look the same once stitched, and merging them leaves you one less thread to buy and keep track of.
Matching a photo or a color to DMC
For one color, use the finder above the chart. For a whole picture, the photo to cross stitch pattern maker does the matching for you: it picks colors from these same 489 threads and prints a legend with each DMC code, name and stitch count. Every code in that legend can be looked up in the DMC color chart above. Our guide to making a cross stitch pattern walks through the full process, from photo to printed chart.