Embroidery thread color and chart

See also

• Embroidery software
• Embroidery glossary
• Concepts of computerized embroidery
• Embroidery and sewing needle
• Embroidery stitch type
• Hooping and stabilizing in computerized embroidery
• Embroider on socks
• Embroidery patch
• Computerized embroidery in education
• Conference embroidery
• Hotfix stone

• Quality: to improve

Introduction

Embroidery thread colors build on palettes based on proprietary spool numbers. They differ by manufacturers and by product lines.

Each brand has its own color numbering system and this makes it very difficult to manage embroidery designs. However, some brands provide equivalence tables with the color Pantone chart, popular with graphic designers and in the textile and plastics industries. However, the Pantone system includes thousands of colors while thread manufacturers have only hundreds. Finally, it is difficult (but possible) to find correspondence tables between digital colors (RGB, HSL, etc.) and yarn colors.

Example:

Name	RGB	Pantone	Madeira Rayon 40! Sulky	Durak
Red	ff0000 (255,0,0)	54029	unknown (1146, 1485 are close)	942-1317 "POPPY" and 942-1246 "ORANGE FLAME"(?)	unknown (527, 3016, 700, 3094 are close)
Orange	ffa500 (255,165,0)	165	unknown (1021 is close)	942-1065 "ORANGE YELLOW"	-

In short, it's almost impossible to know what a brand's color looks like without having the thread in front of you. And without a Pantone color chart, it is difficult to identify. Because online color charts are unreliable due to differences in monitor calibration, you need to order good quality printed versions. Refer to the Links section at the end of this article for some RGB/Pantone conversion charts or check the table below.

Best Practice

Certain types of embroidery, require an effective management strategy. To begin with, we recommend:

• Certain types of embroidery, especially "beautiful embroidery" use sophisticated shades. If you are interested in this type of embroidery, we recommend that you choose a preferred type of thread and brand, such as Rayon size 40 (like Madeira Rayon Classic 40) or polyester 40 (like Gunold Polysoft 40). Then, buy a fairly extensive palette of threads. If you're more interested in embroidering logos, it's not necessary. A few colors are enough and you can easily mix brands and thread types.
• Understand how your embroidery machine handles palettes.
• Use the "palette" functions of your embroidery software, so standardize the colors you use. This also allows you to more easily copy elements from one design to another.

Color management in Stitch Era

In Stitch Era 2.0, you can find the palette manager on top of the embroidery thread palette on the left (small "palette" icon). Then you can choose a palette, create favorites and associate a palette element to a chosen needle (to be developed).

Color management in Inkstitch

Inkscape allows you to manage various palettes. If you did install InkStitch properly, you can choose from a wide range of palettes. Even if you are working with threads from other manufacturers, we recommend that you choose only one, e.g., the one from Brother Embroidery, because there is a small but good selection of colors. This allows you to easily exchange elements from one design to another without having to align the colors.

To choose a palette, click on the small arrow at the bottom right of the palette ribbon. Then choose from the Ink/Stitch palette.

Choose a palette in InkScape

Missing is a palette for the Turkish manufacturer Durak that is often used in some areas of Europe, e.g. by ourselves.

Brother Thread and Color Chart

Brother defines a limited choice of colors in its palettes, but there is a sufficient number for creating not too ambitious embroideries. In other words, if you work with a small Brother palette in a program like InkScape or Stitch Era, you won't get lost in the color forrest. In addition, our Brother PR1050X will display the colors correctly without additional manipulations. Obviously, we work with other threads and that's why the table also includes thread numbers of other brands. There is still a column missing for Gunold Poly and Durak.

Remember that the display of colors on the screen is approximate and that a "flat" color cannot do justice to an embroidered color that will undergo light effects and depending on the type and direction of the patterns. How also can download a tiny PDF version for printing on a A4 or A3 sheet.

Thread definition and conversion chart / Définition et conversion de couleurs de fils à broder

	Names/ noms "brother"			Brother embroidery						Brother country						Autres / Other
	English	Deutsch	Français	No.	#HEX	RGB Color	R	G	B	no.2	#HEX	RGB Color2	R-2	G-2	B-2	Madeira Polyneon	Madeira Rayon	Sulky	R.A. Polyster
1	Black	Schwarz	Noir	900	#000000		0	0	0	100	#000000		0	0	0	1800	1000	1005	5596
2	White	Weiss	Blanc	1	#F0F0F0		240	240	240	0	#F0F0F0		240	240	240	1801	1002	1001	5597
3	Red	Rot	Rouge	800	#ED171F		237	23	31	149	#E70268		231	2	104	1637	1037	1037	5678
4	Pink	Rosa	Rose	85	#F993BC		249	147	188	155	#FD566E		253	86	110	1921	1108	1224	5523
5	Deep Rose	Tiefrot	Rose foncé	86	#F64A8A		246	74	138	24	#CC2838		204	40	56	1721	1117	1154	9168
6	Flesh Pink	Fleischfarben	Rose chair	124	#FDD9DE		253	217	222	152	#FC8DAF		252	141	175	1915	1015	1064	5677
7	Dark Fuchsia	Dunkelviolett	Fuchsia foncé	107	#C70156		199	1	86	126	#A0074E		160	7	78	1984	1383	1533	5804
8	Vermillion	Zinnoberrot	Vermillon	30	#FE370F		254	55	15	148	#FF4209		255	66	9	1779	1179	1184	9023
9	Carmine	Karminrot	Carmin	807	#F73866		247	56	102	158	#E50033		229	0	51	1986	1081	1511	5561
10	Royal Purple	Purpur royale	Pourpre royal	869	#770176		119	1	118	636	#450451		69	4	81	1788	1188	1192	5681
11	Magenta	Magenta	Magenta	620	#913697		145	54	151	625	#670070		103	0	112	1710	1319	1191	5592
12	Salmon Pink	Lachsrosa	Rose saumon	79	#FCBBC4		252	187	196	122	#F19FBC		241	159	188	1816	1317	1225	5773
13	Amber Red	Bernsteinrot	Rouge ambre	333	#B54C64		181	76	100	212	#E94C64		233	76	100	1942	1341	1119	5591
14	Lemon Yellow	Zitronengelb	Jaune citron	202	#F0F970		240	249	112	342	#FEFE7B		254	254	123	1623	1023	1067	5625
15	Yellow	Gelb	Jaune	205	#FFFF00		255	255	0	43	#FBFB20		251	251	32	1980	1068	1187	5860
16	Harvest Gold	Erntegold	Or blé	206	#FFD911		255	217	17	334	#FBE96A		251	233	106	1971	1024	1124	5770
17	Orange	Orange	Orange	208	#FEBA35		254	186	53	335	#FAB600		250	182	0	1951	1137	1024	5694
18	Pumpkin	Kürbisgelb	Citrouille	126	#FEB343		254	179	67	322	#FAAD4E		250	173	78	1952	1155	1065	5630
19	Tangerine	Mandarinenorange	Tangerine	209	#FE9E32		254	158	50	336	#FAB700		250	183	0	1965	1078	1078	5518
20	Cream Brown	Braun Weiss	Brun crème	10	#FFFFB3		255	255	179	331	#FFEFA8		255	239	168	1866	1022	1061	5761
21	Cream Yellow	Gelblich Weiss	Jaune crème	812	#FFF08D		255	240	141	370	#FFEB84		255	235	132	1861	1349	1135	5564
22	Khaki	Khakibraun	Kaki	348	#D0A660		208	166	96	242	#E4983B		228	152	59	1939	1255	1055	5636
23	Deep Gold	Tiefgold	Or foncé	214	#E8A900		232	169	0	354	#F2990E		242	153	14	1772	1172	1025	5770
24	Brass	Messingfarben	Cuivre	328	#BA9800		186	152	0	404	#EECC0C		238	204	12	1791	1192	1159	9109
25	Linen	Leinen Farbig	Drap	307	#FEE3C5		254	227	197	25	#FCDBA1		252	219	161	1682	1149	1082	5635
26	Dark Brown	Dunkelbraun	Brun sombre	58	#2A1301		42	19	1	717	#1D1803		29	24	3	1859	1130	1129	5637
27	Reddish Brown	Rotbraun	Brun rougeâtre	337	#D15C00		209	92	0	264	#FE470C		254	71	12	1753	1253	1021	5781
28	Clay Brown	Lehmbraun	Brun argile	339	#D15400		209	84	0	224	#B87432		184	116	50	1621	1021	1158	5590
29	Beige	Beige	Beige	843	#EFE3B9		239	227	185	12	#F0D5B3		240	213	179	1738	1138	1127	5598
30	Warm Gray	Warmgrau	Gris vif	399	#D8CCC6		216	204	198	706	#AC9A61		172	154	97	1860	1085	1218	9126
31	Russet Brown	Rotbraun	Brun roussâtre	330	#7D6F00		125	111	0	414	#BAA308		186	163	8	1726	1194	1126	5702
32	Light Brown	Hellbraun	Brun clair	323	#B27624		178	118	36	255	#682408		104	36	8	1729	1056	1128	5789
33	Seacrest	Blassgrün	Vert pâle	542	#A8DDC4		168	221	196	505	#74C6B1		116	198	177	1647	1219	1077	5578
34	Mint Green	Pfefferminzgrün	Vert menthe	502	#9ED67D		158	214	125	461	#C8DCC8		200	220	200	1702	1302	1047	5511
35	Leaf Green	Blattgrün	Vert feuille	509	#66BA49		102	186	73	463	#77C487		119	196	135	1749	1050	1510	5514
36	Olive Green	Olivgrün	Vert olive	519	#132B1A		19	43	26	476	#0D2A07		13	42	7	1904	1396	1174	5502
37	Dark Olive	Dunkelolivgrün	Olive foncé	517	#435607		67	86	7	473	#B0CF78		176	207	120	1769	1156	1156	9122
38	Teal Green	Blaugrün	Vert sarcelle	534	#008777		0	135	119	483	#78C79F		120	199	159	1879	1298	1503	5751
39	Emerald Green	Emerald Grün	Vert émeraude	507	#00673E		0	103	62	485	#005127		0	81	39	1750	1250	1079	5508
40	Deep Green	Dunkelgrün	Vert foncé	808	#003822		0	56	34	467	#00301E		0	48	30	1703	1370	1208	5615
41	Fresh Green	Frischgrün	Vert frais	27	#E3F35B		227	243	91	442	#CBE9A2		203	233	162	1706	1102	1209	9153
42	Lime Green	Limonengrün	Vert tilleul	513	#70BC1F		112	188	31	444	#B6DD11		182	221	17	1848	1049	1177	5622
43	Moss Green	Moosgrün	Vert mousse	515	#2F7E20		47	126	32	446	#518921		81	137	33	1770	1369	1176	9091
44	Blue	Blau	Bleu	405	#0A55A3		10	85	163	586	#006390		0	99	144	1829	1177	1076	5684
45	Ultra Marine	Ultra Marin	Outremer	406	#0B3D91		11	61	145	575	#0A59A3		10	89	163	1842	1076	1042	5736
46	Light Blue	Hellblau	Bleu clair	17	#A8DEEB		168	222	235	150	#D5ECEB		213	236	235	1932	1132	1074	5683
47	Sky Blue	Himmelblau	Bleu ciel	19	#2584BB		37	132	187	512	#B1E2DF		177	226	223	1828	1029	1196	5506
48	Electric Blue	Elektrischblau	Bleu électrique	420	#095BA6		9	91	166	564	#085A6F		8	90	111	1797	1297	1250	5829
49	Peacock Blue	Pfauenblau	Bleu paon	415	#134A76		19	74	118	57	#056060		5	96	96	1652	1252	1206	5810
50	Prussian Blue	Berliner Blau	Bleu de Prusse	7	#0E1F7C		14	31	124	588	#062934		6	41	52	1767	1166	1535	5737
51	Cornflower Blue	Kornblumenblau	Bleu centaurée	70	#4B6BAF		75	107	175	15	#557FBA		85	127	186	1830	1335	1028	5601
52	Light Lilac	Helllila	Lilas clair	810	#E49ACB		228	154	203	133	#F36FB1		243	111	177	1911	1031	1121	9016
53	Lilac	Lila	Lilas	612	#915FAC		145	95	172	623	#C4A0CF		196	160	207	1831	1080	1080	9009
54	Violet	Violett	Violet	613	#6A1C8A		106	28	138	624	#B480C4		180	128	196	1631	1033	1194	5588
55	Purple	Purpur	Pourpre	614	#4E2990		78	41	144	635	#691588		105	21	136	1880	1122	1122	5554
56	Lavender	Lavendel	Lavande	804	#B2AFD4		178	175	212	604	#9285C3		146	133	195	1630	1261	1193	5586
57	Wisteria Violet	Wistaria Violett	Violet glycine	607	#686AB0		104	106	176	3	#9CBEDB		156	190	219	1943	1311	1032	5587
58	Pewter	Zinngrau	Étain	704	#4F5556		79	85	86	745	#A8ABAD		168	171	173	1840	1041	1041	9114
59	Dark Gray	Dunkelgrau	Gris sombre	707	#293133		41	49	51	747	#10140C		16	20	12	1841	1241	1220	5565
60	Silver	Silber	Argent	5	#A8A8A8		168	168	168	20	#E0CAC6		224	202	198	1812	1087	1011	5640
61	Gray	Grau	Gris	817	#878787		135	135	135	734	#6E6452		110	100	82	1640	1118	1219	5782

If I understand right, names chosen by thread makers are often badly chosen and some do not correspond to the general consensus, in particular when displayed as RGB colors.

To do one day: Adding web/X11 color because they are often found in designs made for the web and the superb list of colors, because we find it quite convenient to search for a color name on wikipedia and then retrieve the "hex" code, for example the spring green HTML (#00FF80) which is fine for embroidering radioactive monsters, finally the even more appropriate uranium green (#2cfa1f) is missing.

Note on the construction of the table:

• Done with Excel from the InkStitch Palette files (based on a "gpl" convention), then export and clean up the html.
• To create the background colors in the cells, we used the following macro, found on stackoverflow
• The formula to calculate the #hex from 3 cells R,G,B is: ="#"&DEC2HEX(H4,2)&DEC2HEX(I4,2)&DEC2HEX(J4,2)

Gunold / Sulky chart

(à vérifier)

R	G	B	HEX	RGB	Name	No.	No. Sulky
0	0	0	#000000		Black	61005	1005
102	51	0	#663300		Brown	61129	1129
102	55	0	#663700		Expresso	61130	1130
255	102	0	#FF6600		Dk Tex Orange	61078	1078
255	105	0	#FF6900		Sunkist	61184	1184
255	204	0	#FFCC00		Pumpkin	61065	6105
125	80	41	#7D5029		Sienna	61057	1057
102	51	51	#663333		Smokey	61183	1183
204	51	51	#CC3333		Auburn	61169	6119
204	72	51	#CC4833		Dark Rust	61181	1181
0	73	51	#004933		Dk Green	61103	1103
0	75	51	#004B33		Green Sail	61171	1171
0	77	51	#004D33		Green Petal	61174	1174
0	79	51	#004F33		Green Sail2	61536	6153
153	102	51	#996633		Chocolate	61058	1058
153	105	51	#996933		Date	61158	1158
225	120	51	#E17833		Rust	61021	1021
153	153	51	#999933		Palmetto	61176	6117
204	153	51	#CC9933		Almond	61025	1025
204	155	51	#CC9B33		Almond2	61056	6105
204	157	51	#CC9D33		Toast	61126	6112
255	153	51	#FF9933		Yellow	61024	1024
255	155	51	#FF9B33		Yellow2	61137	1137
255	157	51	#FF9D33		Yellow3	61185	1185
204	204	51	#CCCC33		Daffodil	61067	6107
240	204	51	#F0CC33		Sun Gold	61159	1159
225	225	51	#E1E133		Star Gold	61023	1023
225	227	51	#E1E333		Glow	61135	1135
225	229	51	#E1E533		Star Gold2	61187	1187
170	120	53	#AA7835		Wicker	61128	1128
140	95	65	#8C5F41		Lt Cocoa	61170	1170
0	0	75	#00004B		Midnight Navy	61043	1043
0	5	75	#00054B		Midnight Navy2	61044	1044
255	0	75	#FF004B		Red Berry	61039	1039
255	5	75	#FF054B		Red Berry2	61147	1147
102	25	75	#66194B		Red Jubilee	61035	1035
102	27	75	#661B4B		Dark Maroon	61189	1189
75	75	75	#4B4B4B		Twilight	61220	1220
255	80	90	#FF505A		Bashful Pink	61119	1119
255	240	90	#FFF05A		Goldenrod	61124	1124
255	0	102	#FF0066		Persimmon	61037	1037
153	80	102	#995066		Wine	61190	1190
153	83	102	#995366		Wine2	61214	1214
51	120	102	#337866		Greenstone	61079	1079
51	123	102	#337B66		Green Forest	61208	1208
51	125	102	#337D66		Fern Green	61230	1230
51	127	102	#337F66		Oceanic Green	61513	1513
51	129	102	#338166		Fern Green2	61517	1517
153	121	102	#997966		Sand Dune	61156	6115
204	153	102	#CC9966		Ashley Gold	61055	1055
153	204	102	#99CC66		Erin Green	61510	1510
140	230	104	#8CE668		Green Oak	61047	1047
140	233	104	#8CE968		Peapod	61177	1177
215	0	120	#D70078		Cherry Punch	61192	1192
215	5	120	#D70578		Crimson	61533	1533
0	40	120	#002878		Blue Ribbon	61200	1200
61	89	120	#3D5978		Dark Teal	61162	6112
230	51	125	#E6337D		Ruby Glint	61231	1231
230	55	125	#E6377D		Ruby Glint2	61511	1511
0	153	130	#009982		Dk Emerald	61051	1051
240	153	130	#F09982		Flamingo	61019	1019
240	155	130	#F09B82		Coral	61020	1020
240	157	130	#F09D82		Melon	61259	1259
125	0	153	#7D0099		Purple Accent	61112	1112
125	5	153	#7D0599		Purple Accent2	61195	1195
153	0	153	#990099		Purple Shadow	61122	1122
153	5	153	#990599		Mulberry	61255	1255
102	2	153	#660299		Purple Twist	61197	1197
102	5	153	#660599		Purple Maze	61235	1235
120	51	153	#783399		Iris	61032	1032
120	55	153	#783799		Iris2	61194	1194
255	51	153	#FF3399		Azalea	61034	1034
51	102	153	#336699		Baltic Blue	61096	6109
51	105	153	#336999		Teal	61206	6120
51	204	153	#33CC99		Lt Kelly	61101	1101
255	250	153	#FFFA99		Maize	61061	6101
225	255	153	#E1FF99		Pistachio	61209	1209
153	153	154	#99999A		Silvery Gray	61041	1041
153	155	154	#999B9A		Metal	61166	6116
255	154	154	#FF9A9A		Rose	61224	1224
255	180	160	#FFB4A0		Peach	61258	1258
220	200	160	#DCC8A0		Topaz	61070	1070
153	153	165	#9999A5		Storm Gray	61040	1040
153	155	165	#999BA5		Storm Gray2	61219	1219
50	100	170	#3264AA		Imperial Blue	61198	1198
204	180	170	#CCB4AA		Bamboo	61149	1149
204	185	170	#CCB9AA		Rattan	61180	1180
204	0	180	#CC00B4		Plum	61033	1033
204	5	180	#CC05B4		Plum2	61080	1080
204	153	186	#CC99BA		Ducky Mauve	61179	1179
255	80	190	#FF50BE		Begonia	61154	1154
255	85	190	#FF55BE		Passion	61191	1191
255	185	190	#FFB9BE		Pink Mist	61108	1108
230	204	190	#E6CCBE		Opaline	61017	1017
230	207	190	#E6CFBE		Ecru	61127	1127
51	51	200	#3333C8		Empire Blue	61042	1042
51	55	200	#3337C8		Fire Blue	61076	6107
255	130	204	#FF82CC		Floral Pink	61109	1109
51	191	204	#33BFCC		Willow	61211	1211
51	195	204	#33C3CC		Willow2	61212	1212
51	198	204	#33C6CC		Willow3	61508	1508
204	204	204	#CCCCCC		Pearl Grey	61236	6123
255	204	204	#FFCCCC		Pink	61225	1225
204	210	204	#CCD2CC		Skylight	61011	1011
204	215	204	#CCD7CC		Gray	61218	1218
255	170	220	#FFAADC		Pale Orchid	61121	1121
255	204	220	#FFCCDC		Opal Mist	61064	6104
255	240	220	#FFF0DC		Ivory	61082	1082
0	204	230	#00CCE6		Mystic Teal	61090	1090
0	208	230	#00D0E6		Aquamarine	61252	1252
255	230	230	#FFE6E6		Bisque	61113	1113
240	180	235	#F0B4EB		Tulip	61193	1193
255	255	235	#FFFFEB		Natural White	61002	1002
255	255	240	#FFFFF0		Eggshell	61071	1071
0	215	245	#00D7F5		Turquoise	61046	6104
0	215	245	#00D7F5		Periwinkle	61094	1094
0	220	245	#00DCF5		Md Green	61503	1503
90	140	255	#5A8CFF		Misty	61172	1172
165	165	255	#A5A5FF		Jay Blue	61143	1143
165	170	255	#A5AAFF		Blue	61535	1535
150	175	255	#96AFFF		Tropic Blue	61196	6119
210	220	255	#D2DCFF		Ultra Blue	61028	1028
210	223	255	#D2DFFF		Ultra Blue2	61029	1029
210	226	255	#D2E2FF		Sky Blue	61074	1074
210	229	255	#D2E5FF		Baby Blue	61145	1145
210	233	255	#D2E9FF		Sky Blue2	61222	1222
240	250	255	#F0FAFF		Ice Blue	61203	1203
250	250	255	#FAFAFF		Snow White	61001	1001
0	250	255	#00FAFF		Mint Julep	61045	1045
0	255	255	#00FFFF		Lt Blue	61077	1077

Special threads and gradients

In embroidery (as in any other field), there are colors that can not be reduced to a simple RGB type scheme. We can distinguish:

• The bi- or multi-color threads, difficult to represent in a drawing
• Metallic wires that have a brightness, difficult to display on the screen without using superimposed textures. In a design software, it is necessary to choose a close color (for example "gold" or "silver" for two preferred metallic colors).
• Gradients, composed of 2 to 3 threads embroidered at various densities. Stitch Era does not allow to import vector gradients, but allows to define gradients in the embroidery settings. InkStitch (Jan 2021) allows you to create gradients by manipulating code. Look in this wiki for examples.

Links

Lists of colors

• List of RAL colors (Wikipedia Anglais). An open German standard, similar to Pantone
• Portail de couleurs (Wikipédia, français). Voir différentes listes des couleurs à la fin ce cette page Wikipédia
• List of Colors(Wikipedia). Very large collection of names
• Category: Shades of Color, Kategorie Farbname (Wikipedia)

Lists of embroidery thread manufacturers

If you really care about colors, we recommend buying a color chart because it will be printed with some concern for quality, in other words not as far from reality as a computer screen or printer at home. Otherwise, most online specialty vendors also offer a color chart included in the purchase portal.

• Cartes de couleurs Madeira: Des fichier PDF par ligne de produit qui comprennent la liste des fil
• Couleurs Madeira: Des fichiers zip téléchargéables qui contiennent des images jpg pour chacun de leur fils. Pratique analyser les une couleur de près
• Madeira USA resources (notamment des cartes pour tous les fils, no + images de couleur)
• Thread Charts de Sulky USA et free downloads contiennent des informations diverses (listes PDF, feuilles excel, convertisseurs, etc.)

Services de conversion en ligne pour fil à broder

• Madeira pantone colour conversions. Allows finding a thread with a color name or a Pantone color
• Color Conversion & Cross Reference, Sulky (USA). Conversion from Madeira, DMC, et RA

• Thread Conversion Chart

Tableaux conversions de couleurs fils

• Machine Embroidery Thread Conversion Charts (some combinations of Madeira, Isacord, Timeless, Sulky, Mettler)
• Téléchargements pour Fils Sulky (files for download, e.g. RGB Chart 2020)
• Madeira threads in pantone
• Embroidery Thread Color Conversion Charts (combinations of Isacord, RA, Madeira, Mettler, Sulky)

Liens de liens

• Links to Various Thread Charts for Machine Embroidery (best list of other resources)
• Thread Chart information (for many manufacturers)

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