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.
After comparing to my 2002 threaded color card, I think some of the variegated were replaced with Colouris. I can confirm after a VERY quick comparison, that 104 is an almost identical match to 4077, and 57 appears to match 4200. I’d have to make swatches to match the threaded samples, but there may be others.
Also, the 388x/389x series is almost completely gone, except for a few sites that have 3880 and maybe a few other colors. The blues are kaput. Any packages that have the “exclusive” colors still for sale all appear to be replacements.
The 504-868 set (and 3773) are still common enough on US sites and in stores for now. I’ve even found them on the DMC website, though with blurred pictures and no descriptions. I guess that means that they’re still available until they run out of stock. Which is a pity, because those are among my most frequently used colors.
How do you tell the difference on the label between the vintage and newer DMC floss even though it’s the same number. Sometimes dye lots change and a customer wants the vintage one.
Ooo, that’s a hard one. It depends on what you mean by vintage. DMC have changed their labels A LOT, so it’s hard without dates.
As for the dye lot changes, the only one you really need to think about is the 1990s dye lot changes. The threads WITH a * on them are the newer threads. The ones without are older. But you do need to know which threads are impacted.
Thank you so much for these! I’d never encountered the 50XX range, and now I’ve rummaged out a pattern that needs it. Now I can start looking for the replacement.
Has DMC 630 been discontinued? If so, what is the replacement?
I’m afraid there has never been a DMC 630. I had a look to see if it could be 3630, but that doesn’t exist either.
Hello, can you tell me if 3078 has been discontinued? My local craft store doesn’t have a slot for it anymore.
It hasn’t been discontinued no.
Craft stores tend to drop lines that don’t sell, and I suspect that happened in this situation.