DMC to Anchor Conversion Chart: How to Swap Embroidery Thread Brands
Most modern embroidery patterns list DMC thread numbers, but many stitchers already have a box of Anchor floss, inherited skeins or a local shop that stocks only one brand. A DMC to Anchor conversion chart lets you use the threads you have instead of buying a new set for every pattern.
This guide gives a conversion table for the most common colours, explains why every conversion is a close match rather than an exact copy, and shows how to check a substitute before you stitch a whole design with it.
Why Thread Conversions Are Never Exact
DMC and Anchor both make six-strand cotton embroidery floss, and the two are very similar to work with. But each brand has its own numbering system, its own dyes and its own range of shades. Not every DMC colour has a twin in Anchor, and the two ranges do not grow at the same pace: DMC’s 35 newer colours numbered 01 to 35, for example, are missing from many conversion charts.
So a conversion chart gives the nearest available shade. Sometimes the match is practically invisible; sometimes the substitute is a little warmer, cooler, lighter or darker. That is why different charts occasionally suggest different numbers for the same colour.
DMC to Anchor Conversion Chart
Below is a selection of the shades that come up most often in floral, bird and landscape embroidery. These are the closest matches available; remember that different dye lots can vary slightly.
For colours not listed in the table, use the official conversion charts published by the thread manufacturers, and treat any number as a starting point to check in person.
How to Check a Substitute
A number on a chart is a suggestion. These checks take a few minutes and save you from unpicking later:
- Look in daylight. Artificial light shifts warm and cool tones. Compare the threads by a window, not under a lamp.
- Lay them on your fabric. The background changes how a colour reads. A substitute that matches on white paper can look different on natural linen.
- Stitch a small test. Work a few stitches of the original and the substitute side by side on a scrap. If you cannot see the join from about 30 cm away, the swap works.
- Check the neighbours. In shaded areas, look at the substitute next to the lighter and darker shades around it. A colour can match on its own and still break a gradient.
When to Stick to One Brand
Swapping brands is easy for outlines, small details and separate motifs. Be more careful in two situations:
- Large areas of one colour. In a sky, a background or a big satin stitch fill, a slight difference in tone or sheen between two brands can show as a patch. Use one brand for the whole area.
- Shading families. In thread painting, the steps between shades matter more than any single colour. If you convert one shade of a gradient, convert the whole family and check that the steps still look even. Our guide to thread painting embroidery explains why.
Mixing brands is fine in a single project as long as each area is consistent. Both DMC and Anchor stranded cotton separate into six strands, so you can use the same strand counts the pattern gives.
Shop bird embroidery patterns →
Discontinued and Missing Shades
Sometimes a pattern lists a number you cannot find on any current chart. Older patterns may use shades that have since been retired or renumbered. In that case:
- check the manufacturer’s own list of replacement colours;
- compare the colour in the pattern photo with a thread colour card that has real thread samples, not printed ink;
- choose the nearest shade from the same family, then adjust the neighbouring shades if the gradient no longer looks even.
Our DMC colour chart guide explains how to read a DMC card, how colour families work and how to substitute within one brand.
Building Your Own Conversion Notes
If you swap brands often, keep a small record of the substitutes that worked for you.
- Wind each skein onto a bobbin and write both numbers on it, for example “DMC 3345 / Anchor 268”.
- Note any match you were not happy with, so you remember to look for an alternative next time.
- Group your threads by colour family rather than brand, so you can see the closest options side by side.
Your notes become more useful than any printed chart, because they are based on the threads and fabrics you actually use.
What’s Inside a Lumellu Pattern
Every paid Lumellu pattern is a PDF that includes:
- vector line art in several hoop sizes (listed on each product page) that prints with clean, sharp lines;
- DMC colour codes;
- a list of materials and tools;
- a separate Stitch Guide PDF.
The colours are given as DMC numbers, so if you stitch with Anchor, use the table above to make your shopping list. Landscape designs such as the Mountain Landscape use several shades of green and blue, so they are good practice in checking a whole colour family. More designs in the landscape embroidery patterns category.
DMC to Anchor Conversion FAQ
Is Anchor the same quality as DMC?
Both are high-quality six-strand cotton floss and handle in a very similar way. Many stitchers use them together in one project.
Why do different charts give different Anchor numbers?
Because conversions are judged by eye. When no Anchor shade is an exact match, different chart makers may choose different nearest colours.
Do the new DMC colours 01 to 35 have Anchor equivalents?
Many conversion charts do not include them. Compare them with real Anchor skeins and choose the nearest shade yourself.
Can I mix DMC and Anchor in one design?
Yes. Keep each area or shading family in one brand, and check substitutes on your fabric in daylight before you start.
