Anchor Stranded Cotton

831 — Drab Brown Light

Browns family

Anchor 831 — Drab Brown Light — has hex #A69380 and RGB 166, 147, 128. This medium-light, muted brown thread sits alongside its closest Classic Colorworks, Weeks Dye Works, and Gentle Art Sampler matches below, with 8 similar Anchor shades and a panel of color harmonies for palette planning.

Hex
#A69380
RGB
166, 147, 128
HSL
30°, 18%, 58%
Lab
62.1, 4.0, 12.6
Lightness
58%
Medium
Saturation
18%
Neutral
Hue
30°
Family
Browns

Brand Equivalents for Anchor 831

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

Anchor 831 Drab Brown Light

Madeira

Drab Brown Light 2109 86% Good
Beige Grey Light 1901 73% Approx
Beige Brown Light 1910 64% Fair
Hazelnut Brown Very Light 2102 55% Fair
Beige Grey Medium Light 1907 54% Fair

J&P Coates

Rose Grey 8233 60% Fair
Grey Medium 8512 50% Fair
Charcoal Grey Medium 8513 50% Fair
Tawny Light 5388 50% Fair
Tawny Medium 5393 49% Fair

Sullivans

Mocha Brown Light 45394 85% Good
Brown Grey Light 45321 66% Approx
Beaver Grey Light 45154 63% Fair
Mustard Light 45085 59% Fair
Mocha Beige Light 45462 56% Fair

Cosmo

Cosmo 2036 2036 73% Approx
Cosmo 713 713 66% Approx
Cosmo 891 891 66% Approx
Cosmo 714 714 64% Fair
Cosmo 382 382 64% Fair

Classic Colorworks

12-Grain 12-Grain 89% Good
Baby Blanket Baby Blanket 83% Good
Mariner's Compass Mariner's Compass 81% Good
Eggshell Eggshell 80% Good
Tea and Biscuits Tea and Biscuits 78% Approx

Weeks Dye Works

Spumoni (obsolete) 4147 91% Good
Cattail 1107 85% Good
London Fog 1198 71% Approx
Pebble 1151 71% Approx
Latte (obsolete) 1221 69% Approx

Gentle Art Sampler

Adzuki 1193 70% Approx
Flax 1150 66% Approx
Fudge Ripple 1180 66% Approx
Wood Smoke 1130 66% Approx
Dried Thyme 0110 59% Fair

Valdani

Mocha Brown light 148 85% Good
Mocha Brown medium P3 66% Approx
Mocha Beige light 174 62% Fair
Beaver Grey light 178 54% Fair
Brown Grey very light P4 53% Fair

Crescent Colours

Ripple 086 72% Approx
River Rocks 109 72% Approx
Khaki Mocha 055 64% Fair
Garden Trellis 128 59% Fair
Bamboo 003 56% Fair

Similar Anchor Colors to 831

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

Anchor 831 Drab Brown Light
Beige Grey Medium Anchor 391 Very close ΔE 4.73 Brown Grey Light Anchor 899 Noticeable ΔE 5.95 Taupe Anchor 1084 Noticeable ΔE 6.65 Coffee Anchor 368 Noticeable ΔE 8.42 Tan Medium Light Anchor 362 Noticeable ΔE 8.58 Avocado Very Light Anchor 853 Noticeable ΔE 8.83 Gold Very Light Anchor 874 Noticeable ΔE 9.6 Taupe Medium Light Anchor 1082 Noticeable ΔE 9.78

Color Harmonies for Anchor 831

Anchor threads that pair well with 831, based on color theory harmony rules in CIELAB color space.

Complementary
Opposite on the color wheel — maximum contrast
831
976 Blue Light
Analogous
Adjacent hues — smooth, natural transitions
831
853 Avocado Very Light 1008 Flesh Medium
Triadic
Evenly spaced at 120° — vibrant and balanced
831
1064 Teal Medium Light 869 Antique Violet Very Light
Monochromatic
Same hue, different lightness — great for shading
831
904 Brown Grey Medium 392 Beige Grey Dark 1011 Peach Flesh Very Light

Browns Family

Anchor 831 in context with nearby shades from the browns color family.

831 Drab Brown Light 831 1082 Taupe Medium Light 1082 887 Yellow Beige Medium 887 391 Beige Grey Medium 391 368 Coffee 368 1008 Flesh Medium 1008 362 Tan Medium Light 362 874 Gold Very Light 874 1084 Taupe 1084 899 Brown Grey Light 899 943 Tan Medium 943

About Anchor 831

Drab Brown Light (catalog code Anchor 831) is a medium-light, muted shade from the browns family with earthy sienna tones. It has a gentle and grounded feel that suits earth tones and animal fur particularly well. Designers often pair this shade with warm outlines or wooden textures for balanced palettes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What color is Anchor 831?

Anchor 831 is called Drab Brown Light. It's a medium-light brown shade (hex #A69380, RGB 166, 147, 128) in the browns family, commonly used for horse designs, cinnamon motifs, and similar motifs.

What's the closest DMC match for Anchor 831?

The closest DMC match for Anchor 831 (Drab Brown Light) is DMC 3782 (Mocha Brown light) with a 85% match based on visual color similarity. Other near matches include DMC 06 (Medium Light Driftwood, 75%) and DMC 842 (Beige Brown very light, 67%).

What's a good substitute for Anchor 831?

The closest Anchor threads to 831 are 391 Beige Grey Medium (ΔE 4.73), 899 Brown Grey Light (ΔE 5.95), and 1084 Taupe (ΔE 6.65). These are useful substitutes when 831 is unavailable or for building gradients.

What projects use Anchor 831?

Cross-stitchers pull Anchor 831 (Drab Brown Light) for charts featuring horse designs, cinnamon motifs, bark patterns, gingerbread themes. The medium-light tone reads cleanly on its own and slots into multi-color palettes — see the color harmonies below for pairing ideas.

Anchor Color Chart DMC ↔ Anchor Conversion