DMC floss colour numbers, explained
The numbers are catalogue codes, not a colour system. They are not in rainbow order and never were.
What the number is
Each DMC six-strand floss shade has a number that was assigned when it was added to the range, so 310 and 311 are black and navy, and 3865 is a winter white added decades later. The letters on B5200 (snow white), ECRU and BLANC are the only exceptions. A chart that names DMC numbers is naming exact dye lots you can buy anywhere.
The ones you will meet constantly
310 is black. BLANC and B5200 are whites. 3865 is a soft white, 3799 a charcoal, 844 and 646 greys. 321 is a true red, 3371 the darkest brown, 729 old gold, 3820 bright gold. On our black-aida charts the cloth is usually counted as 310 and excluded from the skein list, because you do not stitch the background.
Out of stock
Shades close in number are not close in colour, so do not substitute by number. Use the colour name and the swatch in the key to pick a near shade, or any published DMC-to-Anchor conversion chart to switch brands. One substituted shade inside a block of similar colours is invisible; a substituted outline colour is not.
