mixing floss from 2 brands in a chart

by Linda
(North Bay, ON Canada)

I have a large number of both Anchor and DMC floss colours in my cross stitch stash.

Here is my question: is it OK to mix different brands in a chart? By this I mean if I don't have 10 Anchor floss colours that might be listed but I do have their equivalents in DMC, can I use them instead?

What are the pros/cons of doing this?

Linda

Carol answers...

There are some designers that will use threads from more than one manufacturer in a design. This is normally because a particular thread colour is only available from one source.

There is certainly no reason why you cannot do this, if you have the equivalent thread number in another brand of threads.

However, do be sure that it is a close match for the original colour, especially if it is to be used in in a shaded area in conjunction with a charted colour, as there may be enough difference in the shade to mean things look "wrong" when stitched.

You may want to try a sample section on a piece of scrap cloth first, as the colour can look different in the skein to how it looks once stitched.

I hope this helps.

Regards,

Carol