I was first introduced to Cosmo Embroidery Floss about 10 years ago when I signed up for a Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery Stitch-Along. Back then, the Frosted Pumpkins had all their stitch charts in Cosmo colors. I had only ever stitched with DMC (or whatever brand was on the floss bobbins of thread boxes I had picked up at yard sales & thrift shops), so I was intrigued to try a new brand of thread. Once I started stitching with Cosmo, I never went back and I've spent the last 10 years transitioning my thread collection to Cosmo floss.
The first thing that I noticed about Cosmo was how soft the thread feels in your hands. I spend a fair amount of my free time hand stitching, so having a thread that is nice to hold is pretty important. Cosmo uses only the highest quality extra-long staple cotton in the production of their threads to create a cotton floss that is known for its soft texture and durability.
The second thing that sets Cosmo floss apart is the vivid, almost silk-like luster of the thread. The full range of 501 solid colors (plus an additional 140 variegated colors) has this signature sheen that produces vibrant stitch work. All Cosmo floss is colorfast and fade resistant as well.
With the addition of several new colors in 2020, Cosmo & DMC now have about the same number of thread colors, but each company has their own proprietary manufacturing processes to produce their own thread colors. Many colors are similar between the two brands, but each brand also has thread colors that are unique to each brand.
For example, DMC has 13 shades of yellow available, while Cosmo has 17. And conversely, DMC has 12 shades of navy blue while Cosmo only has 9. Both lines offer a full spectrum of colors, but for certain colors one line may have more shades available than the other.
For months, I have been working on creating a new
DMC to Cosmo conversion chart that includes all of the new colors put out in recent years by both brands. The Snuggly Monkey DMC to Cosmo Conversion chart is available to download for free
here.
An important thing to keep in mind when converting between DMC and Cosmo is that even in the case of the most accurate conversions, it is rare that you will find an *exact* perfect match between the two brands. The colors are often close enough that you can almost always convert a DMC stitch chart to Cosmo floss and produce an equally beautiful finished project, but if using an EXACT shade is important to your project, it may be best to stick with the brand that the pattern was originally created in.
The gentle gradation of Cosmo color families makes it an ideal choice for thread painting and other stitch projects that require shading.
Thank you so much for this chart,Joan. I know it will be very helpful. I love this thread! Blessings, Norma Karr
Hi Joan – 2-strands of Cosmo is equivalent to 2-strands of DMC. Hope you enjoy the Cosmo!
I bought my first Cosmo thread. I’m anxious to try iy but am wondering how many strands of Cosmo is equivalent to 2 strands of DMC. Thank you. Joan
Thank you so much for this! It’s been super helpful for a project i’m working on.
Hello. Do you sell Sashiko patterns and floss?
I’m looking for an easy pattern with good directions – a border for a placemat or cloth napkin.
Thanks very much.
Sharon Bushnell
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