Reference
Thread charts and conversions.
Every chart below is the manufacturer's published colour list as RGB approximations, the same data Ink/Stitch ships. Conversion tables match each thread to the perceptually closest thread in the other brand (CIEDE2000) and say how close it really is. For a colour that is not in a chart, or every thread in a file, use the converter tool.
Charts
- Isacord Polyester398 colours
- Madeira Polyneon349 colours
- Madeira Rayon357 colours
- Sulky Rayon289 colours
- Sulky Polyester907 colours
- Robison-Anton Polyester452 colours
- Floriani Polyester286 colours
- Hemingworth294 colours
- Marathon Polyester301 colours
- Gutermann Creativ Dekor200 colours
- Coats Sylko399 colours
- Brother Embroidery61 colours
- Janome78 colours
Conversion tables
- Isacord Polyester → Madeira Polyneon
- Madeira Polyneon → Isacord Polyester
- Isacord Polyester → Sulky Rayon
- Sulky Rayon → Isacord Polyester
- Isacord Polyester → Robison-Anton Polyester
- Robison-Anton Polyester → Isacord Polyester
- Madeira Rayon → Isacord Polyester
- Isacord Polyester → Madeira Rayon
- Brother Embroidery → Isacord Polyester
- Isacord Polyester → Brother Embroidery
- Janome → Isacord Polyester
- Brother Embroidery → Madeira Polyneon
- Floriani Polyester → Isacord Polyester
- Isacord Polyester → Floriani Polyester
- Hemingworth → Isacord Polyester
- Sulky Rayon → Madeira Rayon
- Madeira Rayon → Sulky Rayon
- Robison-Anton Polyester → Madeira Polyneon
How to use these charts
A design arrives with a colour sheet in the digitiser's brand, usually Isacord or Madeira, and a PES file that shows Brother palette names on the machine screen. Neither is the thread on your shelf. Open the conversion table for your pair, or drop the file on the thread colour converter to match every block at once, and write the chosen threads on the colour sheet so the next run does not re-decide them.
Matches are rated by CIEDE2000 distance: under 1 indistinguishable, under 2.3 very close, under 5 close enough for most work, over 10 a different colour. Between the big polyester charts more than 80 percent of colours have a match under ΔE 5; the misses cluster in pastels and greys, which is where a physical thread card earns its keep. The thread conversion guide explains how the charts are made and why two of them can disagree.
Chart RGB values are manufacturer approximations, not spectrophotometer readings. Confirm against a physical thread card before a customer job.