With the DMC company being in operation for well over 270 years, it’s no wonder that they’ve had to discontinue a few threads. And whilst we’ve looked into the reasons DMC threads have been discontinued I couldn’t find a full list anywhere. So, please find the attached list, with replacements (if there is one): Updated June 2023
57 (variegated) no replacement
61 (variegated) no replacement
75 (variegated) no replacement
91 (variegated) no replacement
95 (variegated) no replacement
101 (variegated) no replacement
102 (variegated) no replacement
103 (variegated) no replacement
104 (variegated) no replacement
108 (variegated) no replacement
112 (variegated) no replacement
113 (variegated) no replacement
114 (variegated) no replacement
116 (variegated) no replacement
122 (variegated) no replacement
123 (variegated) no replacement
124 (variegated) no replacement
126 (variegated) no replacement
504 replaced with 3813
731 replaced with 732
776 replaced with 3326
781 replaced with 782
971 replaced with 740
806 replaced with 3760
868 replaced with 801
724 replaced with 725
5269 replaced with E699
5270 replaced with E815
5272 replaced with E5200
5279 replaced with E301
5282 replaced with E3821
5283 replaced with E168
5284 replaced with E3852
5287 replaced with E317
5288 replaced with E316
5289 replaced with E3837
5290 replaced with E3843
3773* replaced with 407
3880* replaced with 3722
3881* replaced with 3364
3882* replaced with 801
3883* replaced with 722
3884* replaced with 04
3885* replaced with 312
3886* replaced with 035
3887* replaced with 3837
3888* replaced with 3041
3889* replaced with 445
3890* replaced with 3846
3891* replaced with 3844
3892* replaced with 970
3893* replaced with 543
3894* replaced with 907
3895* replaced with 648
4000^ (variegated) no replacement
4017^ (variegated) no replacement
4022^ (variegated) no replacement
4042^ (variegated) no replacement
4047^ (variegated) no replacement
4066^ (variegated) no replacement
4068^ (variegated) no replacement
4069^ (variegated) no replacement
4072^ (variegated) no replacement
4073^ (variegated) no replacement
4095^ (variegated) no replacement
4122^ (variegated) no replacement
4129^ (variegated) no replacement
4135^ (variegated) no replacement
4205 (variegated) no replacement
4211^ (variegated) no replacement
4212^ (variegated) no replacement
4214^ (variegated) no replacement
4237^ (variegated) no replacement
4245 (variegated) no replacement
4250^ (variegated) no replacement
4255^ (variegated) no replacement
4260^ (variegated) no replacement
4265^ (variegated) no replacement
E131 (Carnivale Fun Metallic) no replacement
E133 (Midnight Madness Metallic) no replacement
E136 (Emerald Isle Metallic) no replacement
E138 (Opalescent Rays Metallic) no replacement
E140 (Tropical Delight Metallic) no replacement
E141 (Holiday Sparkle Metallic) no replacement
E144 (Majestic Metals Metallic) no replacement
E146 (Caribbean Ripples Metallic) no replacement
E148 (Purple Essence Metallic) no replacement
E150 (Deep Water Blue Metallic) no replacement
E152 (Pink Shimmer Metallic) no replacement
E154 (All That Jazz Metallic) no replacement
E170 (White Silver Metallic) no replacement
E305 (Titanium Metallic) no replacement
E3821 (Straw Gold Metallic) no replacement
E3868 (Light Silver Metallic) no replacement
E3870 (Bronze Gold Metallic) no replacement
* These threads aren’t officially discontinued, however, they are only available in the US and Australia, and are mostly sold in packs. You can still pick these up individually from the DMC US website though.
^ Can still be found as part of large variations packs in Northern America.
Need a DMC thread card with the new colors? We have you covered.
I’m trying to put together image swatches of all DMC threads but I can’t find any trace of 116 anywhere online! Do you have any info about why it’s so elusive (or even better an image of it)?
It was just an unloved thread as far as we can tell! Many variations of the time were sold in packs and we think 116 was only sold in one of these packs, so had less shelf space. And they were all discontinued fairly quickly.
Per my 2002 threaded color card, 116 was a pink variegated floss, ranging between about 3805 down to 3607 on the color cards. That’s a best estimate, I’d have to spend time doing a more complete comparison to get you the exact colors.
I have inherited several skeins of thick DMC Size 1 Perle Coton made in Switzerland. There’s no reference to this, apparently, discontinued product on the internet. Do you know any history concerning it?
We don’t have a lot of information on pearl cotton I’m afraid! Sorry!
I am currently working on a little bookmark for my grandson. It calls for 415. I used up the last of a skein and opened a new one. It was a totally different shade – much much lighter. Granted. the first was probably 38 years old as My Mom bought me every color DMC made back in 1983 when I first started stitching. So, I’m wondering if it’s a dye lot thing or if the color has actually changed.
No, 415 isn’t one that’s changed. I think the age of the thread was the issue here. 415 is one of the threads that tend to darken over time.
Hello Lord Libidan, and thank you for your articles, they have been so much help to me as I go through my grandma’s old DMC collection. I have two codes, 973 and 796 who do not correspond to the current color chart, so I thought they have been discontinued, but it seems they are not. Their labels are in Greek, would that have to do anything with it? I will ask a local shop to give me replacements but I was wandering about them (and a bunch of others with no label I found the other day). The first time the shopkeeper looked at them he said they were old and not produced any more.
To my knowledge, DMC has never produced labels in Greek, so I would imagine they are another brand using the same numbers.
Your posts and downloads have been a huge help to me. Thanks for doing all the work. And a huge thanks for putting much of the information in Excel spreadsheets. It helps so much to be able to manipulate and sort all the info into useful. groups depending upon the project. In the above list of 4xxx series, did they used to have truly variegated colors with these numbers and simply rolled the numbers over into their Variations group? If so, do the colors match? In other words does the variegated 4000 match the Variations 4000? Thanks.
I think so. It’s hard to tell to be honest.
The only variegated versions we’ve been able to get hold of have light damage, so don’t match the variations versions perfectly. But they’re similar enough that we think its likely they were juts rolled over into the new branding.
You may have found the reference chart on the DMC website for the variations/variegated colors and the colors that comprise them. It’s helped me immensely.