Finding the best products for you can be a challenge, so we’ve covered the best cross stitch needle brands and the best aida brands in the past. However there was always one topic we tended to stay away from, yet it was always the most requested. The best cross stitch thread brand.
 
We supplied 125 cross stitchers (ranging in ability, and current thread brand preference) with a selection of threads from 9 well-known thread brands, on unmarked bobbins (to remove bias) and asked for their honest feedback.
 
We tested five different variables; price, availability (both locally and online), quality, price, and a new category specific to this test; manufacture. This new variable is all about how the threads are made and includes lots of factors such as environmental, tradition, thread make up and more.
 

Royal Broiderie Threads

Coming up in the last place on our test in Royal Broiderie threads. We actually praised the thread for its coverage in our post, testing to see if cheap embroidery threads are worth it, however, our testers found batch mismatches, the thread knotted more often, it split apart, and one tester reported color loss when washing. It should be noted that Royal Broiderie threads are such a low price point that many testers said they would still consider using the thread, even though it had its problems.
 

Presencia Finca

With 321 colors, Presenica Finca threads do offer problems when switching out DMC colors, although they do have the closest DMC code on their label. However, poor availability worldwide, highish prices, and the lower range meant Presencia Finca rated a little poorly, despite great scores for its quality and manufacture.
 

Cosmo Threads

Never heard of Cosmo threads? Well, that’s not a surprise. Cosmo threads are often used by quilters, even though its a hand embroidery thread, it’s of great quality and they do carry 400 colors. This sadly, is where the problems start creeping in. Cosmo threads are seriously hard to find, often requiring a deep web search to uncover. They don’t even have a website. In addition, the price can be up to double that of DMC threads, making it a costly thread to procure.
 

Appletons Wool

Appletons threads aren’t like the others on this list; they’re wool. At first, we were hesitant to add Appletons for that specific reason, but our Facebook group asked for it to be added, so we did.
Understandably, wool breaks apart easier than cotton, it’s not as smooth, and its slightly harder to deal with. Its range is a healthy 400, so you can use it for almost any cross stitch project, but with it being hard to find inside of the UK (its head office), let alone elsewhere, it sadly slips down our ratings.
 

J&P Coats

J&P Coats, or Coats, or J&P as they are sometimes called, create high-quality products. But just because the threads are well made, doesn’t mean they are actually nice to use. Sadly, this is one of those cases. Our testers found knotting to be an issue, coverage to be an issue, and fuzziness to be an issue (especially as you go to the end of your thread). This, coupled with poor availability and fairly high prices means Coats weren’t as high as we thought they would be.
 

Madeira Cotton Threads

In a not-a-huge surprise, Madeira threads have done well. Madeira is a pleasure to use, and thanks to its unique skein storage reduces the likelihood of knotting and splitting while being used. Our testers also found it to be the shiniest to use, giving any project a slightly glam look. However, outside of the UK and Australia Madeira hand embroidery threads (unlike their machine embroidery threads) are hard to find, and when you do find them, they often come with a healthy price jump.
If you can find them for a good price, these are a great product. With just under 380 colors, conversion to DMC color codes is easy, even if you lose some slight shade differences.
 

Anchor Embroidery Threads

Another well-known choice for embroidery threads, especially in Europe, is Anchor threads. Praised for their soft texture, and for not knotting, or splitting people loved the quality of the threads. Sadly, they’re a little more expensive than its competitors, and outside of the US and Europe, they are hard to come by.
The range is slightly smaller than DMC, but there is a whole raft of DMC to Anchor conversion tables out there, the threads are still interchangeable.
 

Sullivans Threads

Sullivans threads are a delight to work with. Unlike many on our comparison test, Sullivans offers a standard 400 color range, and a further set of metallics, overdyed and variated, meaning its the largest range of any on our list, even DMC. However the manufacturers also know that DMC is the preferred option for many, so each skein is stamped with the closest DMC color code on the label, meaning you don’t need a conversion chart.
Sadly, sourcing these threads outside of North America or Australia isn’t easy, however, there are a few local stores taking up stock, so over time we expect this to alleviate and Sullivans should get easier and easier to find.
 

CXC Threads

We don’t actually have a link to CXC threads, and that is the biggest problem. A Chinese copy of DMC threads, which come in all thread colors bar the new 35 DMC thread colors (although I hear they will do these colors as well soon), these threads were a key feature of one of our previous tests, are cheap embroidery threads worth it, and we found, not only were they worth getting, but thanks to their polyester construction, could actually hold up better than the competition.
One thing we didn’t talk about though, was getting your hands on these threads. Sold through Aliexpress, Etsy or other non-licensed reseller websites, theses threads are super cheap, but take ages to get to you, and are hard to find. Other than that though, they ranked very well with our testers.
 

DMC Threads

DMC is for many, known as the golden standard for thread quality, but many have questioned its crown and wonder if it’s simply a case of DMC being the best-known brand out there. Our tests prove that DMC does still have fantastic threads. The range is copied by others on this list and is the most exhaustive by far, it’s available in almost every country on earth, and it’s made of traditional cotton in the same factory that has been making it for the last 500 years.
Those are the good points. However, there is a downside; cost. It’s a well-known fact that DMC threads vary in price by up to $5 a skein in some locations, but our tests proved that for the quality, people were prepared to pay the averaged out cost. That said, they still only tied for first place, with CXC threads.
 

 
And there you have it, our round-up of the best cross stitch thread brands out there which will hopefully help you pick out a thread supplier for you! We should say though that there are lots of smaller brands out there which we haven’t included, but are great, including hand-dyed options. We also didn’t include any specialty thread suppliers that can really make a cross stitch project sparkle.
 
If you wanted to know, our choice is DMC threads. We prefer using pure cotton threads, and its widespread popularity, availability and color choices make it the easiest for us.