DMC to Anchor Thread Converter
Enter a DMC six-strand floss number and get the five Anchor threads closest to it in color, ranked by CIEDE2000 ΔE. This is not an official DMC-to-Anchor chart: neither brand publishes color values that we could find, so both colors come from open lists, and each match says whether two independent Anchor lists agree on that thread.
DMC 321
Nearest Anchor threads by color
- Anchor 35 Blush Dark≈ #D42B32ApproximateΔE 4.29Lists disagree
- Anchor 29 Carnation Dark≈ #C2282AApproximateΔE 4.40Stable in both lists
- Anchor 1024 Peony Medium≈ #AF4643ApproximateΔE 5.40Lists disagree
- Anchor 42 Carmine Rose≈ #A93B46DistantΔE 6.49Lists disagree
- Anchor 39 Blossom Pink Dark≈ #A23C49DistantΔE 8.42Lists disagree
Not an official conversion. These are the Anchor threads nearest in on-screen color. Printed and shop charts may pair a different number, and open thread lists disagree with each other, so compare real skeins before you swap threads in a pattern.
DMC to Anchor examples
| DMC | Nearest Anchor | ΔE |
|---|---|---|
| 310 Black | 403 Black | 0.8 |
| B5200 Snow White | 1 Snow White | 0.0 |
| 321 Red | 35 Blush Dark | 4.3 |
| 666 Bright Red | 28 Carnation Medium Dark | 4.9 |
| 797 Royal Blue | 132 Blue Medium Dark | 2.3 |
| 3865 Winter White | 2 White | 3.0 |
How the match is found
The DMC thread's color and each of the 442 Anchor colors are converted to CIELAB and compared with CIEDE2000. The five closest are shown with their ΔE: below 1 the difference is not visible, 1 to 3 is a good match, 3 to 6 is noticeable but similar, and from 6 up the thread is visibly different. Both colors are on-screen estimates from open lists, so the result is a shortlist, not a verdict.
DMC to Anchor: questions
- How do I convert a DMC number to Anchor?
- Type the DMC number above and pick the Anchor thread with the lowest ΔE. For example, DMC 310 Black is nearest to Anchor 403 Black (ΔE 0.8). Below ΔE 1 the difference is generally not visible; from 6 up the threads usually look visibly different.
- Is this the official DMC to Anchor conversion chart?
- No. It finds the Anchor thread nearest in on-screen color; it does not copy a conversion chart. We found no DMC–Anchor chart with a clean licence to use: the only MIT-licensed one is copied from an unlicensed chart. According to independent chart makers, DMC publishes no color values for its floss, and we found none from Anchor's maker, so every chart is someone's measurement or estimate. Two independent open Anchor lists differ by a median ΔE of 6.5, and only 54 of 442 Anchor threads agree within ΔE 3; for DMC the figure is 64 of the 482 threads both DMC lists have (median ΔE 6.9).
- What does «stable in both lists» mean?
- Two independent color lists for that brand give the thread nearly the same color (within ΔE 3). For the other threads the lists disagree, so the on-screen color is less certain.
- Can I swap DMC for Anchor in a cross-stitch pattern?
- You can, but a swapped thread can look different next to the others. Use the nearest match as a shortlist and compare real skeins before you buy a whole pattern’s worth.
Anchor color data: go-cross-stitch by lindsaylandry, Copyright (c) 2022 lindsaylandry, MIT License. «Stable in both lists» compares it with the independent Anchor list of KDE KXStitch; only that yes/no is used, not its colors.
Anchor is a trademark of its owner. This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by that owner. All colors are on-screen approximations; check a physical shade card before buying thread.
Color data: craft-color-codes by MakeBead, licensed under CC BY 4.0. «Stable in both lists» compares it with the independent png2dmc list; only that yes/no is used, not its colors. Changes: we add that flag, compute nearest-color matches and substitutes and, on the diamond painting chart, show a subset of the codes; the colors are unchanged.
DMC is a trademark of DMC. This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by DMC. All colors are on-screen approximations; check a physical DMC color card before buying thread.