Anchor Stranded Cotton

131 — Sky Blue Medium

Blues family

Below: Anchor 131 (Sky Blue Medium), a medium, muted blue shade with hex #535D86 and RGB 83, 93, 134. Find its closest J&P Coates, Sullivans, and Cosmo matches ranked by visual similarity, plus 8 similar Anchor shades and a full set of color harmony picks.

Hex
#535D86
RGB
83, 93, 134
HSL
228°, 24%, 43%
Lab
40.2, 7.0, -24.1
Lightness
43%
Medium
Saturation
24%
Neutral
Hue
228°
Family
Blues

Brand Equivalents for Anchor 131

Top 5 closest matches in each brand, ranked by visual color similarity. How matching works

Anchor 131 Sky Blue Medium

Sullivans

Grey Blue 45476 81% Good
Cornflower Blue Medium 45204 71% Approx
Antique Blue Medium 45274 65% Approx
Lavender Blue Dark 45436 64% Fair
Baby Blue Dark 45063 58% Fair

Crescent Colours

Blue Beatrice 132 94% Good
Blue Moon 005 64% Fair
Vintage Violet 045 63% Fair
Blooming Crocus 032 61% Fair
Smoke 039 59% Fair

Similar Anchor Colors to 131

Closest Anchor threads by perceptual color distance, sorted from most to least similar.

Anchor 131 Sky Blue Medium
Delft Medium Dark Anchor 137 Very close ΔE 3.83 Navy Blue Light Anchor 146 Very close ΔE 4.25 Cornflower Blue Medium Anchor 176 Very close ΔE 4.94 Antique Blue Medium Dark Anchor 1034 Noticeable ΔE 6.69 Blue Purple Light Anchor 121 Noticeable ΔE 7.24 Blue Medium Anchor 977 Noticeable ΔE 7.69 Antique Blue Medium Anchor 921 Noticeable ΔE 8.32 Grey Blue Very Dark Anchor 779 Noticeable ΔE 8.69

Working with Anchor 131

On white fabric
6.4:1
On dark fabric
3.3:1
Temperature
soft cool
Closest to
indigo

It has moderate contrast on both light and dark fabric — usable on either, but test a few stitches on your chosen ground first.

Color Harmonies for Anchor 131

Anchor threads that pair well with 131, based on color theory harmony rules in CIELAB color space.

Complementary
Opposite on the color wheel — maximum contrast
131
844 Khaki Green Medium
Analogous
Adjacent hues — smooth, natural transitions
131
110 Lavender Medium 162 Baby Blue Very Dark
Triadic
Evenly spaced at 120° — vibrant and balanced
131
1007 Flesh Very Dark 188 Turquoise Dark
Monochromatic
Same hue, different lightness — great for shading
131
132 Sky Blue Dark 175 Cornflower Blue Light 128 Sky Blue Very Light

Blues Family

Anchor 131 in context with nearby shades from the blues color family.

131 Sky Blue Medium 131 1030 Blue Violet Medium 1030 121 Blue Purple Light 121 176 Cornflower Blue Medium 176 161 Baby Blue Dark 161 977 Blue Medium 977 921 Antique Blue Medium 921 137 Delft Medium Dark 137 1034 Antique Blue Medium Dark 1034 146 Navy Blue Light 146 410 Electric Blue Dark 410

About Anchor 131

A medium, muted entry in the blues family, Anchor 131 carries the name Sky Blue Medium with true blue tones. The steady and quiet character of this shade lends itself well to porcelain patterns and hydrangea blooms. Stitchers frequently choose it for skies and water in their projects.

Frequently Asked Questions

What color is Anchor 131?

Anchor 131 is called Sky Blue Medium. It's a medium blue shade (hex #535D86, RGB 83, 93, 134) in the blues family, commonly used for winter scenes, forget-me-nots, and similar motifs.

What's the closest DMC match for Anchor 131?

The closest DMC match for Anchor 131 (Sky Blue Medium) is DMC 161 (Grey Blue) with a 95% match based on visual color similarity. Other near matches include DMC 793 (Cornflower Blue medium, 81%) and DMC 3807 (Cornflower Blue, 76%).

What's a good substitute for Anchor 131?

The closest Anchor threads to 131 are 137 Delft Medium Dark (ΔE 3.83), 146 Navy Blue Light (ΔE 4.25), and 176 Cornflower Blue Medium (ΔE 4.94). These are useful substitutes when 131 is unavailable or for building gradients.

What projects use Anchor 131?

Cross-stitchers pull Anchor 131 (Sky Blue Medium) for charts featuring winter scenes, forget-me-nots, bluebird motifs, whale designs. The medium tone reads cleanly on its own and slots into multi-color palettes — see the color harmonies below for pairing ideas.

What fabric color works best with Anchor 131 (Sky Blue Medium)?

It has moderate contrast on both light and dark fabric — usable on either, but test a few stitches on your chosen ground first. For reference, 131 has a contrast ratio of about 6.4:1 on white fabric and 3.3:1 on black. As a soft cool shade, its cool cast recedes visually — useful for backgrounds, shadows, water and sky, and calm, restful palettes.

Anchor Color Chart DMC ↔ Anchor Conversion