How it works
From a photo of your painted canvas to a list of DMC threads, in six steps.
Six steps
Photograph your canvas
Use your phone's camera or upload a JPG or PNG up to 15 MB. Even daylight gives the truest colors.
Crop to the design
Trim the photo to just the painted canvas, leaving out the table, frame, and your fingers. If indoor light has tinted the photo, correct it from the bare canvas or anything white.
Find the colors
Your browser picks out the colors in the crop, keeping small accents like an eye or a window, and merges shades that are nearly identical.
Match each to DMC
Each color is compared with 489 DMC six-strand shades using CIEDE2000, the standard measure of how different two colors look. You get the closest thread and two alternates, or can pick any DMC shade yourself.
Estimate and shop
Enter the size of the canvas in your crop and your mesh count for skein estimates, counted for the strands of floss that cover that mesh, then shop each thread, copy the list, or print it for the store.
Plan your background
If your design has a background, try colors picked to stand apart from its edges, a pattern such as stripes or gingham, and a background stitch. A preview draws your whole canvas stitch by stitch at its mesh, and “Add to my list” adds its threads, counted for that stitch.
Tips for a good photo
- Shoot near a window in daylight, with the flash off.
- Hold the phone straight above the canvas so it isn't skewed.
- Keep your hand and phone from casting a shadow across the design.
- Fill the frame with the canvas, then crop tightly around the painted area.
Frequently asked questions
How accurate are the matches?
Each match carries a label based on how far the thread is from the photo color:
- Excellent: side by side, most people can't tell them apart.
- Good: close, but worth checking against the canvas in person.
- Approximate: the nearest DMC shade, but visibly different. Open the row to compare the alternates, or search for any DMC thread by number or name.
Cameras and screens shift color, so treat every match as a starting point and check skeins against your canvas before you buy.
My photo looks yellow or dim. Can Threadwise correct it?
Yes. On the crop step, say whether your bare canvas is white or ecru, and Threadwise adjusts the whole photo so that canvas comes out its true color. When the bare canvas looks neutral or blue, it can only be white, so Threadwise picks White for you; switch to Ecru if that's wrong. The photo shows the correction before you match.
With no bare canvas in the photo, tap anything white instead, such as paper. Like the rest of the matching, this happens in your browser.
Why is the background listed on its own?
It's usually the biggest area on the canvas, so the biggest purchase. When the background is bare canvas, Threadwise asks whether you'll stitch it: it's counted in until you answer, and “Leave it bare” takes it off the list. White painted inside the design, such as an apron or a collar, looks just like bare canvas in a photo, so Threadwise lists what the design closes in as a color of its own, stitched either way. A painted background is always counted. Basketweave and decorative stitches take more thread there, so use “Plan your background” to count the thread your stitch needs.
How are skein counts estimated?
As a rule of thumb, tent stitch uses about 0.11 yards of thread per square inch for each hole per inch of mesh, and a DMC skein holds about 8.7 yards of six strands. Floss is stitched several strands at a time: the usual is 12 strands on 13-mesh (two full lengths, so a skein goes half as far), 10 on 14-mesh, and 6 on 18-mesh. Threadwise counts the usual for your mesh, or the number you choose, applies that to each color's share of the canvas, and rounds up to whole skeins, with a minimum of one.
Until you enter a size, the estimates are for a guess: 10 inches on the longer side, in your photo's proportions. Measure the part of your canvas inside the crop, since each color's share is of the crop. Type one side and Threadwise fills in the other.
Basketweave and decorative stitches use more thread, so buy an extra skein for colors that cover large areas.
Which threads does it match?
DMC six-strand embroidery floss only; browse the full DMC color chart. Other brands and fibers such as wool or silk aren't in the catalog yet.
Why is a color marked “Not buying”?
It was left off your shopping list, usually because it looks like blank canvas, the shadows between the mesh's threads, or glare rather than paint. Tick “Buying” on the row to add it back. Untick it yourself for threads you already have.
What if a color is missing from the list?
Small details can get folded into a neighboring color. Under the list, choose “Pick it on your canvas” and tap the spot, or add a DMC thread by number. Threadwise can't tell how much of the canvas an added color covers, so it counts one skein.
Does it cost anything, or need an account?
No. Threadwise is free and there is nothing to sign up for.
Does Threadwise keep my photo?
No. Photos are never stored, and only a small preview of your crop leaves your browser. The photo is discarded when you start over or leave the page. Your last thread list, without the photo, stays in this browser so you can come back to it. Read the privacy page for details.