DMC 986 — Very Dark Forest Green

Quick Conversion Table

Brand	Equivalent	Match	Buy links
Anchor	246	exact	Amazon → LoveCrafts →
Madeira	1312	close	Amazon → LoveCrafts →
Cosmo ⚠	320	close	Amazon → LoveCrafts →
Sullivans	45307	close	Amazon → LoveCrafts →
J&P Coats	6021	close	Amazon → LoveCrafts →
Dimensions	6325	close	Amazon → LoveCrafts →
Bucilla	986	close	Amazon → LoveCrafts →

Into the Deep Woods with DMC 986 Very Dark Forest Green

Stand at the edge of an old-growth forest and look into the canopy where the branches are thickest and the light barely reaches. That shadowed interior, where green becomes so dark it almost reads as black but still holds its living color — that is DMC 986. This is the deepest, most serious green in the forest green family, and it anchors woodland scenes like nothing else in the DMC range.

The hex value (#405230) reveals the truth about this shade: it is warm. Unlike the blue-greens (500 series) or the jade family (561 series), Forest Green has a yellow-brown underpinning that keeps it rooted firmly in the natural, organic world. This is the green of moss on old stone, of pine needles in deep shade, of lichen growing on the north side of oak trees. It reads as earthy and real rather than decorative or stylized.

In practice, 986 functions as one of the most useful shadow tones in cross stitch. Wherever a design needs the deepest point of green foliage — the underside of a canopy, the base of a hedge, the darkness between tree trunks — 986 provides that anchor without resorting to black. And that distinction matters enormously. Black creates dead spots in a design where the eye stops. Very Dark Forest Green creates depth while still conveying living, organic material. Your trees look like trees, not silhouettes.

It belongs to a gradient with DMC 987 (Dark Forest Green) and DMC 988 (Medium Forest Green), and the three together produce convincingly natural foliage when used in a landscape. Add DMC 989 (Forest Green) as a highlight tone and you have a four-step gradient that handles everything from dense woodland to sunlit meadow edge.

This shade also appears frequently in designs featuring evergreen trees. Christmas scenes, winter landscapes, and Pacific Northwest themes all call for a green this dark to represent fir, spruce, and cedar. Unlike the Christmas Green family (699-701), which is brighter and more decorative, Forest Green reads as realistic rather than festive.

Be aware that 986 is dark enough to be confused with black or very dark brown under artificial lighting. Always stitch with adequate light — a daylight-spectrum craft lamp is almost essential when working with shades this deep. Your eyes will thank you, and your stitch placement will be more accurate.

Alternatives to DMC 986 Very Dark Forest Green

Anchor 246 is an exact match and reproduces the warm, earthy quality of this shade faithfully. The depth is right, and the warmth is preserved — important for a color that gets its character from that yellow-brown undertone.

Madeira 1312 is also listed as exact. Madeira's version works well in the same landscape and botanical contexts. Some stitchers report that Madeira's dark greens have a fractionally more uniform appearance when stitched in large areas, which can be an advantage for dense foliage fills.

Cosmo 320 is a close match. In very dark greens, the differences between brands can be hard to spot in small areas but may become apparent in larger fills. Cosmo's version may lean slightly cooler, which would shift the character from "warm forest" toward "cool conifer." Depending on your project, that could be a feature or a problem.

At this depth of color, the brand of your fabric and your lighting conditions will affect perceived color as much as the thread choice. A substitute that looks identical under your stitching lamp may read differently in the daylight where the finished piece will hang. Test in both conditions if the project is important to you.

Remember that all cross-brand conversions are approximate. For very dark shades, the practical impact of "approximate" is smaller than for mid-tones — the eye is less sensitive to slight hue shifts in deep shadows. This means substitution risk is actually lower for 986 than for brighter greens, even when the match is rated "close" rather than "exact."

Reference quality

How We Validate This Color Record

Use this page as a reference card for DMC 986: the structured data, quick conversions, and long-form copy are all tied back to the same stored color record.

Methodology: This page renders DMC 986, its hex value, and every brand equivalent from the site's source-of-truth color record, then checks long-form body copy against those same stored fields.
Verification status: Source-field checked. The page content is audited against the stored DMC number, brand equivalents, and match-quality labels before publishing.
Last reviewed: 2026-04-20
Approximation warning: Screen hex values, thread photos, and cross-brand conversions are reference aids. Dye lots, thread sheen, and fabric color can still shift the result in hand.

Read the Stitchies methodology

Decision guide

When to use the DMC 986 reference page

This page should help you decide faster between palette planning, brand substitution, and shade comparison without turning the color record into a thin lookup page.

Best for

+ Palette planning when you want the stored DMC 986 Very Dark Forest Green record, hex value #405230, and linked brand equivalents in one place.
+ Checking the quickest cross-brand shortlist before you buy floss, compare stash substitutes, or route into a more specific conversion page.
+ Finding nearby shades in the greens family before you commit to accents, shading, or background blends.

Watch for

! Screen previews are only reference aids. Very Dark Forest Green can shift on real fabric because thread sheen, stitch coverage, and room lighting change how the color reads.
! A stored equivalent is still a shortlist, not a guarantee that two brands will disappear into each other in the same stitched motif.
! Older charts, discontinued kit floss, and dye-lot variation can all introduce small but visible differences that the page cannot detect for you.

Before you commit

Confirm the role of DMC 986 Very Dark Forest Green: decide whether you need an exact hero shade, a forgiving background, or a rough stash substitute.
Compare on project fabric: view the skein or stitched sample on the same fabric count and color you will actually use.
Use the linked conversion pages next: open the brand-specific pages when you need match-quality caveats before substituting away from the DMC reference.