Pull a length of DMC floss apart and you will find six fine strands twisted loosely together. How many of them you put through the needle is the single biggest choice in hand embroidery.
Fewer strands give you delicate lines and fine detail. More strands give you bold colour that covers quickly. Once you know which to use where, your stitching looks deliberate instead of accidental.
The quick answer
| Strands | The look | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hair-fine | Tiny lettering, faces, the finest outlines |
| 2 | Neat and crisp | Most surface embroidery, and cross stitch on 14-count Aida |
| 3 | Fuller | Bolder outlines, and cross stitch on 11-count Aida |
| 4 to 6 | Thick and textured | Chunky French knots, bold fills, stitching with children |
If your pattern says nothing
Start with two strands. It is the most common choice for both embroidery and cross stitch, and it is easy to go up or down once you see how it looks on your fabric.
How to separate strands without a tangle
Cut a length about as long as your forearm, roughly 45 cm. Longer threads knot and fray.
Hold the cut end, pinch a single strand, and pull it straight up and out. The rest will bunch, then fall straight again.
Pull out one strand at a time, even if you need three. Then lay them back together and thread the needle.
Separating and recombining the strands makes them lie flat and side by side on the fabric, so the stitches cover better and catch the light.
See it done
DMC's short guide to starting a cross stitch shows how to prepare your thread and make the first stitches.
Video: DMC
What you need
Six strands, 497 colours
DMC Embroidery Floss
KES 130 a skein
Each skein holds 8 metres of six-strand cotton. Split into pairs, that is 24 metres of stitching thread from a single skein, which is why a little DMC goes such a long way.
Choose your colours
For cross stitch
DMC Aida fabric
From KES 3,250
Aida is woven in a grid of tiny squares, so every cross comes out the same size. The count is the number of squares to the inch: the higher the count, the finer the work and the fewer strands you need.
See Aida and embroidery fabricMatch your thread to your pattern
Bring your chart to our shop on the 1st floor of Sarit Centre and we will pull the DMC numbers for you.
Shop embroidery threadsOr call us on +254 798 316860
In Stitches is the authorised DMC distributor in Kenya.
Prices correct at the time of writing.
