Thread charts with actual thread samples are the best way to compare and choose thread colors. This tip may be the second best!
I thought this was a really clever tip shared by Heather. She was watching one of my videos about thread organization. In it, I mentioned using thread cards to organize and track thread inventory.
Not having a thread card herself, she borrowed one from her dealer. There are plenty of color charts you can download online, but they are not accurate for exact matching. Computer screens show RGB (red, green, blue), however, no two monitors display colors the same. Just look at a row of color TVs in your local electronics store, and you'll see what I mean. Copiers and printers will likewise produce different results depending upon their color processes.
This is where Heather’s tip comes in. She used photo paper and copied the thread card. She said the colors came out nearly the same as the chart.
Here's my Floriani thread chart (right), it's the real thread and you can't replace real thread to see vivid colors. I first printed this with the standard resolution and that wasn't too bad. Then I went ahead and did a higher-resolution copy. This is still just regular paper and I'm sure I'd get better results on photo paper, but at least you can tell if it's a light pink or a bright red or something of that nature.
So that's a nice option if you want to have a thread chart but you don't want to go out and spend the extra money. Maybe a friend or your dealer will loan you the real deal so that you can photocopy it.
May your day be blessed with perfect stitches and GlitterFlex!!
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