Cross Stitch Floss: DMC, Hand-Dyed Brands, and Strand Counts Explained

The first time I bought floss for a project, I grabbed a bag of assorted DMC skeins from a craft store bin because they were cheap and the colors looked nice. Three projects later I ran out of a color mid-stitch, couldn’t find a replacement skein anywhere nearby, and spent two weeks waiting on shipping instead of stitching. I’ve since bought floss from half a dozen brands, ruined a few skeins by washing them wrong, and untangled more knots than I care to admit. This guide is everything I wish someone had told me before that first bag.

Quick answer: Cross stitch floss is six-strand cotton (or occasionally silk or wool) embroidery thread, and DMC stranded cotton is the industry standard that most patterns are charted for. If you’re just starting out, buy DMC in the exact numbers your pattern calls for rather than “close enough” substitutes, use two strands on 14-count Aida (one on higher counts, three or more on lower counts), and keep your skeins organized by number from day one so you’re not hunting through a tangled bag every time you sit down to stitch.

This one’s for stitchers past their very first project, ready to stop grabbing whatever’s in the craft store bin and buy floss on purpose instead. If you’re mid-pattern right now, our floss conversion charts and floss usage estimator can save you a trip back to the store.

What cross stitch floss actually is

Most cross stitch floss is stranded cotton: a loosely twisted bundle of six thin strands that you separate and recombine depending on how many you need for your fabric count. A single skein is about 8 meters long and typically costs $0.40 to $1.50 depending on the brand. Almost every pattern you’ll ever stitch is charted using DMC color numbers, even when the designer used a different brand to make the original model, because DMC is the reference point the whole industry converts against.

You’ll occasionally see patterns calling for pearl cotton (a twisted, non-divisible thread used for outlining or specialty stitches), silk floss, or wool. Those are worth knowing exist, but they’re the exception. For a first guide, six-strand cotton is what you need to understand well.

DMC: the default for a reason

DMC stranded cotton comes in over 500 numbered colors, is sold almost everywhere that carries cross stitch supplies, and is what the vast majority of commercial and independent patterns are charted in. If you want to check exactly what a DMC number looks like before you buy, or find the color family it belongs to, our DMC color chart has swatches, names, and numbers for the full line.

Buying DMC for a specific pattern is straightforward: buy the exact numbers listed, not a “similar shade” from the discount bin. Cross stitch colors are chosen deliberately for contrast and shading, and even a close substitute can throw off blending in a shaded design.

Overdyed and hand-dyed floss brands

Hand-dyed and overdyed floss brands, like Weeks Dye Works, Classic Colorworks, and Cottage Garden Threads, are cotton floss dyed in small batches so each skein carries subtle color variation instead of being perfectly flat and uniform. Once you’ve stitched a few DMC projects, you’ll start seeing patterns that call for one of these by name. That variation is the entire appeal: it gives a stitched piece a soft, watercolor-like depth that flat DMC can’t produce on its own.

The tradeoff is availability and price. Hand-dyed skeins run $2 to $4 each, dye lots vary batch to batch, and small designers sometimes go out of stock on popular colors for months. If a pattern calls for a hand-dyed color you can’t find, or you’d rather stitch it in DMC you already own, our floss conversion charts convert between DMC, Weeks Dye Works, Classic Colorworks, Cottage Garden Threads, and Anchor, in both directions, with a confidence rating on each match so you know how close the substitute really is.

Other cotton brands worth knowing

Anchor is DMC’s oldest competitor, a UK-based stranded cotton line that’s still common on older and vintage patterns, especially anything originally charted in Britain or Europe. Anchor numbers don’t match DMC numbers directly, so if you’re working from an Anchor-charted pattern and want to stitch it in DMC (or the reverse), you’ll need a conversion rather than guessing by color name.

Beyond Anchor, there’s a long tail of smaller cotton brands (Sullivans, J&P Coats, various house brands sold by individual needlework shops) that mostly matter if a specific pattern calls for one by name. For everyday stitching, DMC and the major hand-dyed brands cover nearly everything you’ll run into.

Specialty threads, briefly

Pearl cotton, metallic and blending filament, and silk or wool floss are the specialty threads worth knowing even though most patterns never call for them. Pearl cotton (also called perle cotton) is a single twisted strand, not meant to be separated, used mostly for blackwork outlines, borders, and some specialty stitches. Metallic and blending filament threads add sparkle to snowflakes, ornaments, and holiday pieces, usually combined with regular cotton rather than stitched alone. Silk and wool floss both exist and both stitch beautifully, but they’re pricier and less forgiving, so most stitchers don’t reach for them until they’ve got a few finished projects behind them.

How many strands, and how to separate them

Strand count depends on your fabric count, not your personal preference alone: fewer strands on finer fabric, more strands on coarser fabric, so the coverage looks even rather than sparse or overstuffed. As a starting point, 14-count Aida generally uses two strands for cross stitches and one for backstitch; 11-count Aida or lower typically wants three strands; 18-count Aida or higher (and most evenweave and linen) often drops to one strand. Your pattern will usually specify the intended count, but if it doesn’t, our fabric calculator can help you work out sizing once you know your count and stitch dimensions.

To separate strands cleanly, cut a length of floss about 18 to 24 inches (any longer and it wears thin and frays before you finish using it), then pull one strand out at a time from the top of the bundle rather than trying to split all six at once. Let the floss hang and untwist as you pull. It’ll want to tangle if you rush it.

Converting between brands

Converting floss between brands means matching colors using verified color data instead of eyeballing them on a screen, since screens render color inconsistently and “close enough” often isn’t. You’ll need this sooner or later: substituting DMC for an out-of-stock hand-dyed color, or converting an old Anchor-charted pattern into DMC because that’s what you have on hand. Our floss conversion charts handle DMC, Anchor, Weeks Dye Works, Classic Colorworks, and Cottage Garden Threads, matched using actual color math rather than eyeballing, with a confidence rating so you can tell a near-perfect match from a rough approximation before you commit a whole project to it.

Organizing and storing your floss

However you store floss, the goal is the same: know what you have before you buy more, and find a specific number in seconds instead of digging through a bag. Bobbins with the DMC number written on each one, sorted in a binder or box by number order, are the most common system, and they’re worth the initial time investment the first time you’re mid-project and need a color fast. Floss also degrades faster than most stitchers expect if it’s left in direct sunlight or damp storage, so a closed box or binder beats an open basket for anything you’re not using immediately.

If you’re accumulating patterns faster than you can stitch them, our pattern stash is a free library of real patterns from independent designers, worth a browse next time you’re floss shopping and want a project to match a color you already own.

Common floss mistakes

The mistakes that come up again and again: substituting a “close” color instead of the exact charted number, then noticing the mismatch only after the section is finished; separating all six strands at once instead of pulling them individually, which leaves them twisted and uneven when restitched; cutting floss too long, which causes fraying and thinning by the time you’re using the last few inches; and washing a finished piece with hand-dyed or overdyed floss without testing for colorfastness first, which can bleed dye into surrounding white fabric. A quick colorfastness test (dab a damp white cloth on a cut end of the skein before you stitch) takes thirty seconds and can save a finished project.

Frequently asked questions

Can I substitute any floss brand for the one a pattern calls for?
Cotton-for-cotton substitutions generally work fine as long as you convert the color properly rather than guessing by eye. Substituting a flat brand like DMC for a hand-dyed brand like Weeks Dye Works changes the look of the finished piece, since you lose the color variation, so it’s worth deciding on purpose rather than by accident.

How much floss do I need for a project?
It depends on the stitch count, fabric count, and number of strands you’re using per color. Our floss usage estimator calculates skein counts per color based on your pattern’s details so you’re not guessing or overbuying.

Does floss expire or go bad?
Cotton floss doesn’t expire in the food sense, but colors can fade with prolonged light exposure and the thread can weaken if stored somewhere humid. Stored flat, out of direct sun, in a closed container, floss easily lasts decades.

Is DMC or Anchor better?
Neither is objectively better; they’re both reputable stranded cotton lines. DMC has wider availability in most regions and more patterns charted directly in its numbering, which is why it’s the more common default for new stitchers.

Do I need to buy specialty threads as a beginner?
No. Six-strand cotton (DMC or a comparable brand) covers the overwhelming majority of beginner and intermediate patterns. Pearl cotton, metallics, and silk are worth picking up only once a specific pattern calls for them.

I’m Laura, and I write StitchLand’s guides on materials, techniques, and everything else that comes up between the first stitch and the last. If you’re working out your fabric next, our fabric guide covers Aida, evenweave, and linen, and our floss usage estimator can tell you exactly how many skeins of each color to buy before you start.