It’s been a busy few months for the DMC thread company, with the addition of 35 new threads back in September, and now, a whole new set of specialist threads for October.
 
These 35 new threads dubbed the “DMC Mouline Etoile” (star mill) series are 35 new six-strand threads with the slightest sparkle added to them. They still work in the standard way a 6 strand thread would, but they offer a smaller amount of interest than the standard threads. I’ve actually been able to get hands-on with a small section and confirm they’re rather smooth and stitch well, something which specialty threads have struggled with in the past. They come in these standard colors:
(C)ECRU, (C)BLANC, C310, C318, C321, C415, C433, C436, C444, C471, C519, C550, C554, C600, C603, C666, C699, C725, C738, C740, C798, C814, C816, C820, C823, C840, C890, C900, C907, C915, C938, C972, C995, C3371, C3799

Unlike the 35 non-sparkly threads that came out in September, not much is being made of these new threads, which I personally find interesting. I think the timing is probably one issue. I know that September and October are filled with stitching up Halloween and Christmas stitches, so they might have missed the boat slightly when it comes to timing. It’s clear that these threads probably won’t be used outside of special occasions, and Christmas and Halloween were the time to use them. Sadly, thanks to this I think the Mouline Etoile range might struggle to sell.

But there is a second, and the slightly more interesting reason I think DMC has kept a bit quiet is due to competition, specifically with Anchor, DMC’s traditional rival. Anchor has a small set of Pearl Metallic threads which for all purposes are identical threads. Whilst Anchor have nowhere near as many threads in the range as DMC do now (only 6), with cheaper Chinese brands such as CXC gaining traction, DMC are starting to feel the pinch, and they want to be seen as the one brand pushing thread boundaries, the ‘top dog’. In fact, the Coloris range from DMC released in early 2018 was for exactly the same reason.
 
It’s clear that this year DMC has gone out of their way to match and exceed Anchor’s threads, and now they have a larger set of classic threads, and specialty. However cheaper brands are really getting some steam at the moment, so I wouldn’t be surprised if 2019 had some new threads too.