The Thread DMC Should Make: Cosmo 601

When I started kitting up my recent Casio F-91W cross stitch, I came across an issue.

 
And this led me on a hell of a journey to find one.

The DMC Runs

Let me start by setting the scene.
DMC produced two runs of grey. There was the lighter run (762, 415, 318, 414) and the darker one:

 
However, this was a problem run anyway, so when DMC launched their new colors in 2013, they reworked the ranges.
Both feature 3799 and 310 right at the end.
These new ranges looked good on paper and even in photos, but in real life, DMC 3799 just doesn’t fit the ranges all that well.

And in fact, the data backs this up. If we plot the colors on a black-to-white scale, we can see there is a big jump between 3799 and 310.
And this is where the missing thread exists.

 
For me, making a proper dark scene just isn’t going to work without that super dark grey.

The Possible Solutions

Finding this issue, I went straight to a series of cross stitch blogs to find the answer. But instead, I found loads of people saying the same thing!

“There was no very dark grey.”
“The look of my design is off.”
“I can’t get a smooth black and white look.”
“I avoid designing dark patterns.”

All of this annoyed the heck out of me, but faithful cross stitchers everywhere suggested trying to find alternative brand manufacturers that might have something they need.
Now, I happen to have listed all the best cross stitch thread makers, and even have contacts with many, so you bet I went searching!

CXC, Royal Broiderie & Paintbox

As the current second-best-selling thread out there, initially, my mind jumped to the series of DMC copy brands. However, this was, of course, pointless. Following DMC’s range meant they also copied their missing super dark thread.

Presenica Finica

Presenica got my hopes up slightly before dashing them again.
They do have lovely threads (I suggest you try them sometime), but they also have a seriously limited range. At only 200 threads, they have less than half of DMC’s range.
But that said, 8756 did look darker than DMC’s 3799. And it is.
But only by the tiniest amount.
It still wasn’t what I was looking for.

Madeira Cotton

At 380 threads, Madeira did offer a larger range than Presnica, but for whatever reason, they go for bright, punchy threads. Their darkest grey, 1713, is closest to DMC 04 or 414. Far from the dark value I’m looking for.

J&P Coats, Anchor & Sullivans

This left me with three well-known brands that have fallen from grace slightly following the dominance of DMC’s cross stitch monopoly.
However, they all suffer from the same issue; they’ve attempted to compete with DMC. Therefore, whilst they do have differing threads from DMC, they still don’t have anything dark enough.

Only one brand left…

 

Cosmo 601

This is where the hero of our story comes in.
Cosmo, much like every thread manufacturer, has 500 threads (501 actually, maybe to literally ‘one up’ DMC?). So nothing crazy. But unlike DMC and others, they don’t have multiple runs of one color.
They have two runs for red, versus DMC’s four. Two runs for yellow, versus DMC’s 5-6. And importantly, two runs for black.
This means they can devote more shades to each run, and in turn, solve our problem!

These black runs are particularly interesting to us.
There is the standard black run, 2151 to 156, which basically replicates the DMC one. 156 is actually shockingly similar in color to DMC 3799.

But they also have a ‘pure black’ run. This offers us a lot of interesting threads.

Think of this black run like DMC’s white runs.
DMC has BLANC (sometimes called WHITE), B5100, and 3865. All of which are white.
Cosmo has the same, but for black.

 
Cosmo 600 is the same as DMC’s 310.
But then they have 601, 602, and 603.
603 is a super dark blue, closest to DMC 939.
602 is black, but so close to that of 600/310 that it really doesn’t get picked up on a pattern.
But 601; that’s perfect.

Cosmo 601 is a very dark grey, fitting nicely into the DMC Black/Grey run.

And for me, this is the thread that DMC should have added.

Is Cosmo 601 The Best Alternative?

Well, that’s a hard one to answer. It is the best color to match to fit into the space left by DMC, and there are no alternatives. But Cosmo threads aren’t easy to get hold of.

As a Japanese company without market penetration in the US, UK, or Australia, picking up these threads usually means going to a speciality online cross stitch store. And it also comes with a cost to back that up.

But, until DMC comes up with an alternative, I’ll be keeping my hands on a few skeins of Cosmo 601.

 

What About Independent Thread Companies?

And finally, I end on a note about independent thread companies. There are brands out there, mostly on the likes of Etsy that produce amazing hand-dyed cross stitch threads.

Many of these brands rock and produce just what is needed; however, scale, cost, and matching colors on various dye runs are issues.
But there is one standout; Studio Flax.
They produce a series of threads that are consistent and, price-wise, pretty affordable (still 3x higher than DMC).
Their 149 was a high contender, but I’ve heard of people struggling to get their threads, so I had to exclude them from the post!

Happy stitching,
Lord Libidan