Embroidery thread color and chart
Introduction
Embroidery thread colors build on palettes based on proprietary bobbin 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) |
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 Practices
Certain types of embroidery, especially "beautiful embroidery" using sophisticated shades, 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 have InkStitch installed 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, the one from Brother Embroidery, because there is a 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. image:inkscape-choice-palette.png|none|500px|thumb|Choose a palette in InkScape
Missing is a palette for the Turkish manufacturer [Durak] that is often used.
Brother Thread and Color Chart
Brother defines a limited choice of colors in its palettes, but there is a sufficient number to make 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 colors as easily. 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.
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 |
It understand that the names chosen by the thread makers are often badly chosen and some do not correspond to the general consensus.
To do one day: Adding colors web/X11 close to each other 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. The liste en français is significantly shorter.
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)
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. Permet de taper un nom de couleur en Anglais ou un no pantone et de trouver un no de fil . Disponible aussi comme app.
- Color Conversion & Cross Reference de Sulky (USA). Conversion depuis Madeira, DMC, et RA
- Thread Conversion Chart (en Anglais) Permet de retrouver des couleurs similaires d'une marque à l'autre.
Tableaux conversions de couleurs fils
- Sewing Thread Conversion Chart
- Machine Embroidery Thread Conversion Charts (certains combinaisons de Madeira, Isacord, Timeless, Sulky, Mettler)
- Téléchargements pour Fils Sulky (plusieurs tableaux à télécharger), par exemple le RGB Chart 2020
- Fils Madeira en pantone
- Embroidery Thread Color Conversion Charts (certaines combinaisons de Isacord, RA, Madeira, Mettler, Sulky)
Liens de liens
- Links to Various Thread Charts for Machine Embroidery (liste beaucoup d'autres ressources, meilleur site)
- Thread Chart information (pour pleins de constructeurs)