Embroidery thread color charts: how to convert thread colors between brands

It depends on the format, and this catches many people out.

• PES (Brother, Baby Lock, Bernette): stores a thread palette. Each color block in the design is linked to a thread entry, and the machine shows a color and, on many models, a Brother thread number on screen.
• JEF (Janome, Elna): stores a color index for each block, linked to Janome's own thread list.
• DST (Tajima and most commercial machines): stores no colors at all. It only records stitches, jumps, trims and color changes. A commercial machine assigns needles 1, 2, 3 and so on, and the operator decides which cone goes on which needle.
• EXP (Bernina, Melco): also stitch data with color changes; colors normally travel in a separate file or on paper.

So when you send a DST to a shop, or open one in your software, the colors you see on screen are a guess or a default palette. The real color information has to travel separately, usually as a production sheet (also called a run sheet or color sheet) that lists each color stop with its thread brand and number.

Even in a PES, the stored color is only as good as the chart used when the file was saved. If the designer picked colors from a Madeira chart and you sew with Brother thread, you still need to convert.

Almost all machine embroidery thread is one of two fibers.

• Polyester: strong, colorfast and resistant to chlorine and sunlight. Madeira says its Polyneon threads have a color-fastness that can withstand chlorine, which is why polyester is the default for workwear, kidswear, towels and anything washed hot or often. Modern trilobal polyester, such as Isacord, has a three-lobed filament that reflects light and gives a shine close to rayon.
• Rayon (viscose): a soft, high-sheen thread that many home embroiderers love for its luster. It is a little weaker than polyester and less tolerant of bleach, so it is a better fit for decorative items, quilts and garments with gentle care.

The two fibers take dye differently, so the same number in a brand's polyester and rayon lines is not always identical in color, and a rayon chart should not be used for a polyester order.

Weight: 40 wt is the standard thickness for machine embroidery, and almost all designs are digitized for it. Madeira calls Polyneon 40 the standard weight for all purposes, and offers 60 and 75 for fine work, with 75 aimed at details down to 2 mm. Isacord is sold as No. 40, and Madeira recommends a 65/9 or 75/11 needle for Polyneon 40. If you switch a design to a finer thread you usually need a denser design, so stick to 40 wt unless the file was made for something else.

Most embroiderers end up with a mix of brands: a starter kit that came with the machine, a few cones of whatever the local shop stocks, and a favorite for everyday work. These are the names you will see most often on charts and in design files.

Color counts change as brands add and drop shades, so treat any number of shades as a snapshot. Many budget brands (Simthread, Marathon and similar) number their spools to match Brother or Madeira codes, which makes them easy to slot into an existing chart, but the actual dye can still differ from the original brand.

A conversion chart says which color in brand B is the nearest neighbor of a color in brand A. It never says the two are identical, and there are good reasons for that.

• Different dye ranges: each brand chose its own set of shades. If Madeira has a red that Isacord simply does not make, the chart has to pick the closest Isacord red, which may be slightly warmer or darker.
• Different fibers and sheen: polyester and rayon reflect light differently, and trilobal polyester shines more than a matte or standard polyester. Two threads that match on a card can look different once sewn as a satin column, because the satin shows the sheen.
• Dye lots: the same number from the same brand can vary slightly between production batches. On a single design it rarely matters, but a reorder for a uniform program a year later can show a difference next to the old garments.
• Charts are made by people: conversion charts are often made by a brand converting a competitor's colors into its own range, sometimes from a Pantone reference. Two charts converting the same pair of brands can disagree.

Brands say this themselves. Brother's help page on its thread color conversion chart notes that not all thread brands are listed, Gunold suggests checking its free color card of actual thread strands before relying on its conversion charts.

So a conversion chart is a fast, sensible starting point. For anything that must match, such as a client logo, the final check is your eyes and a real thread sample.

This is the routine experienced embroiderers use when a design arrives in Madeira numbers and their shelf is full of Isacord, or the other way round.

1. Find out which chart the design uses. Look at the production sheet or the color list in your software. If the file is a DST with no sheet, ask the digitizer or the client for the color list. Without it, you are guessing from screen colors.
2. Look up the nearest match by number. Use the target brand's own conversion chart where one exists (Gunold publishes charts from Madeira, Robison-Anton and Isacord to its own threads; Brother's machines and software include tables for Madeira, Sulky and Robison-Anton). Write the converted number next to each color stop.
3. Check against a physical color card. Brands sell or give away cards with real thread wrapped or glued on. Hold the suggested spool next to the original shade, or next to the client's printed logo or fabric swatch.
4. Look in daylight. Shop lights, especially warm LEDs, hide differences between blues, greys and greens. Compare by a window, or under a daylight (around 5000–6500 K) lamp.
5. Compare thread laid flat, not just on the spool. A full cone looks darker than a single strand. Unwind a short length and lay it on the actual fabric color.
6. Sew a test for critical colors. Satin stitches show sheen far more than fills. For a logo, a quick 50 × 50 mm (2 × 2 in) test patch on the real garment fabric settles any doubt.
7. Record what you chose. Note the final numbers on the production sheet so the next run uses the same threads.

When no number matches well, choose by what matters most: for brand colors, match hue first; for faces and photos, match lightness first, because a slightly wrong tone is less noticeable than a too-dark or too-light patch.

Converting colors gets much easier once you know exactly what you own.

• Pick one main brand and one weight. A single 40 wt polyester line covers nearly everything. Mixing brands is fine, but each extra brand is another chart to manage.
• Start with a core set. Black, white, a true red, navy, royal blue, a mid grey, a bright yellow, a kelly green, a brown and two skin tones cover a surprising share of logos and simple designs. Add colors when jobs need them, not in bulk.
• Keep a list with numbers. A simple spreadsheet with brand, line, number, name and quantity is enough. Mark which spools are nearly empty.
• Keep the physical color card. The card is the reference you check against, not your phone screen.
• Store thread out of light. Sunlight fades spools on an open rack over time, which changes how they match the card. A closed drawer or box keeps colors true.
• Note dye-lot-sensitive jobs. For repeat client work, buy enough of the key colors for the whole run, or keep a sewn sample to compare future spools against.

When you turn a picture into an embroidery file in StitchMyPic, every color in the design is matched to the nearest real thread number from the chart you choose. There are more than 100 real thread charts, including Brother Embroidery, Madeira Polyneon and Rayon, Isacord, Robison-Anton, Sulky, Gunold, Coats, Marathon and Simthread, so you can pick the brand that is actually on your shelf instead of converting afterwards.

The result is listed on a printable production sheet with the stitch order: color stop by color stop, with brand, number and name. That sheet is what makes a DST usable on a commercial machine, and it is a handy checklist for a home machine too. If the nearest match in your brand looks wrong next to the real spool, switch to another chart and compare.

The stitch preview is free and needs no signup. A download (1 credit) gives you PES, DST, JEF and EXP together, with 7 days of re-downloads if you want to try a different thread chart after checking colors against your card.