DMC to Sullivans Conversion Chart

About Sullivans Embroidery Floss

Sullivans is an Australian brand that has earned a loyal following among kit stitchers and budget-conscious crafters worldwide. Founded in South Africa and now headquartered in Australia, Sullivans supplies thread to a huge portion of the packaged cross-stitch kit market — if you've worked from a craft-store kit, there's a good chance the included floss was Sullivans. Their color range closely mirrors DMC's lineup, making conversion straightforward for most colors.

The most notable difference between Sullivans and DMC is in the dye formulation. Sullivans uses slightly different dye chemistry, which means that while the color families align closely, individual shades can sit a touch warmer or cooler than their DMC counterparts. The thread itself has a comparable twist and weight to DMC, so tension and coverage are generally consistent when swapping brands. For the vast majority of projects, Sullivans performs well alongside DMC without any adjustments.

Where Sullivans really shines is value. A single skein typically costs noticeably less than DMC, and the quality holds up well for standard counted cross-stitch. If you're working through a kit that came pre-packed with Sullivans, you can confidently use the included thread without substituting — it's designed to produce the finished look shown on the pattern packaging. When you do need to supplement or replace Sullivans with DMC, this conversion chart will show you the closest equivalent for every color.

One practical consideration: Sullivans thread is sold in skeins of 8 meters rather than DMC's standard 8-meter skeins, so the lengths are comparable. However, Sullivans colors use a numbering system in the 45000s range, which looks very different from DMC's familiar 3-digit numbers. Always use a conversion chart like this one rather than trying to guess equivalents by number. For colors rated "approximate" below, we recommend stitching a small test swatch before committing to a full project, as the color difference may be visible in certain lighting conditions.