DMC Color Chart

How to make it

1. Search or filterEnter a number like 310, part of a name like olive, or a hex code. Family buttons narrow the list to reds, greens, grays and so on.
2. Sort the tableOrder rows by number, alphabetically by name, or by shade so light-to-dark runs of one hue sit together the way they do on a thread rack.
3. Open a colorTap a row to copy the number and see the five closest DMC shades, each with a measured color difference and a plain-words verdict.

What this chart covers

The list holds 454 solid six-strand DMC colors: the numbered shades plus White, B5200 Snow White and Ecru. Each row shows a swatch, the number, the shade name and the hex value the swatch is drawn from. Variegated threads, metallics and the newer colors numbered 01 to 35 are not part of this data set, so search for those on a physical card or the thread label.

A counter above the table says how many of the 454 rows match what you typed, which is handy when you want to know, say, how many shades carry the word blue in their name.

Search is forgiving. A number matches from its first digit, so typing 3 shows every code starting with 3, while a name matches anywhere inside, so gray finds Pearl Gray, Beaver Gray and Brown Gray alike. A full hex code works differently: instead of filtering, the list jumps to the twelve DMC colors nearest to that value, ranked by closeness.

Screen colors are approximate: keep a real card nearby

Every swatch here is a number on a screen, not a dyed thread. Phone and laptop displays differ in brightness, warmth and color range, and floss is a shiny twisted fiber that looks different under daylight, a warm lamp or a cool office light. Two shades that look identical on screen can be clearly different in the hand, especially among pale pinks, beige grays and the dark greens.

Use the chart to find numbers, plan a palette and narrow choices. When an exact match matters, for a repair, a gift that must match a room or a pattern you started years ago, check against a physical DMC color card with real floss samples, or hold the actual skeins together in daylight. Always buy by number, never by how the swatch looks on your phone.

How DMC numbers and names work

DMC numbers are identifiers, not a code for hue or lightness. Neighboring numbers can be unrelated colors, and a single family often jumps around: the salmon run goes 3713, 761, 760, 3712, 3328, 347 from light to dark. Names follow a pattern of family plus a lightness word, such as Light, Medium, Dark, Very Dark or Ultra Very Light, often shortened to Lt, Med, Dk or Vy Dk.

That is why the Shade sort exists. It keeps the original ordering of the data, which runs through each family roughly from light to dark, so 3753, 3752, 932, 931, 930 and 3750 in the antique blues appear as one gradient instead of being scattered across the number sort. To see these colors at work, browse the flower cross stitch patterns or the animal patterns.

Color family filters, and their limits

The family buttons sort every color into whites, blacks, grays, browns, reds, pinks, oranges, yellows, greens, blues and purples. The grouping is done by measuring each swatch's lightness and hue, not by reading the name, so it follows what the color looks like.

Borderline shades can land in a neighboring group. A navy may sit with purples, a strong coral red with oranges, a muted olive with yellows. If a color seems missing from a family, search its name or number instead, or open a nearby shade and check its similar colors.

Families are most useful when you are building a palette from scratch. Pick the greens chip while planning a landscape and you see every candidate for grass, leaves and distant hills on one screen, which is quicker than scrolling through a 454-row number list or guessing names.

Finding substitutes for a color you don't have

Opening a row shows the five DMC shades nearest to it, ranked by a color difference measure called Delta E 2000, with words beside each figure: very close below 2, close below 5, noticeable below 10. A very close substitute usually disappears in a large area; a noticeable one is fine for a small detail but would show as a patch in a background.

For a color you can see but cannot name, a fabric swatch, a paint chip or a spot in a photo, the DMC color picker finds the nearest floss from a picture or a hex code.

Using the chart with your patterns

Patterns built in the cross stitch pattern maker already list DMC numbers, names and skein counts in their key, so the chart is mostly for planning and shopping. A common habit is to copy numbers into a shopping list, then tick them off on your stash. To see how many skeins each color needs, enter stitch counts in the floss calculator.

Diamond painting charts usually label drills with DMC numbers too, and the diamond painting maker uses the same list, so this chart doubles as a drill color reference.