Anchor Stranded Cotton

978 — Blue Dark

Blues family

Anchor 978 (Blue Dark) is a medium-dark, muted blue shade with hex code #46576B and RGB values 70, 87, 107. Below you'll find the closest Sullivans, Cosmo, and Classic Colorworks equivalents — ranked by visual color similarity — plus 8 similar Anchor shades and color harmony pairings.

Hex

#46576B

RGB

70, 87, 107

HSL

212°, 21%, 35%

Lab

36.3, -1.2, -13.6

Lightness

35%

Dark

Saturation

21%

Neutral

Hue

212°

Family

Blues

Brand Equivalents for Anchor 978

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

Anchor 978 Blue Dark

Sullivans

Grey Green Dark 45384 72% Approx

Pewter Grey 45058 67% Approx

Antique Blue Medium 45274 66% Approx

Very Dark Peacock Blue 45382 58% Fair

Grey Blue 45476 58% Fair

Cosmo

734 74% Approx 2019 69% Approx 376 65% Approx 735 63% Fair 166 59% Fair

Classic Colorworks

Summer Sky 83% Good Milady's Teal 73% Approx Chesapeake Bay 72% Approx Zach Black 71% Approx Old Blue Jeans 67% Approx

Weeks Dye Works

Shepard's Blue 2108a 81% Good Father's Day 4117 80% Good Battleship 2108 72% Approx Michael's Navy 1309 67% Approx Twilight 1285 62% Fair

Gentle Art Sampler

Distressed Denim 0293 64% Fair Midnight 0240 55% Fair Peacock 0910 50% Fair Island Blue 0940 50% Fair Blue Jay 0210 48% Fair

Valdani

Antique Blue dark O126 69% Approx Antique Blue medium 126 65% Approx Grey Blue 122 60% Fair Cornflower Blue O583 55% Fair Grey Green dark 891 55% Fair

Crescent Colours

Deep Blue Sea 065 64% Fair

Blacksmith Blue 187 60% Fair

Blue Moon 005 56% Fair

Blue Beatrice 132 55% Fair

Nighty Nite 160 50% Fair

Similar Anchor Colors to 978

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

Anchor 978 Blue Dark

Grey Blue Very Dark Anchor 779 Near identical ΔE 1.98 Antique Blue Medium Dark Anchor 1034 Very close ΔE 4.01 Antique Blue Medium Anchor 921 Close ΔE 5.01 Baby Blue Very Dark Anchor 162 Noticeable ΔE 6.85 Blue Medium Anchor 977 Noticeable ΔE 7.13 Navy Blue Light Anchor 146 Noticeable ΔE 7.27 Grey Blue Ultra Very Dark Anchor 851 Noticeable ΔE 7.76 Delft Medium Dark Anchor 137 Noticeable ΔE 8.27

Working with Anchor 978

On white fabric

7.4:1

On dark fabric

2.8:1

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.

Blending & gradients

Because Anchor 779 (Grey Blue Very Dark) is so near (ΔE 1.98), the pair makes a natural two-step gradient — handy for shading skin, petals, or skies without a hard seam.

Color Harmonies for Anchor 978

Anchor threads that pair well with 978, based on color theory harmony rules in CIELAB color space.

Complementary

Opposite on the color wheel — maximum contrast

978

903 Brown Grey Medium

Analogous

Adjacent hues — smooth, natural transitions

978

1034 Antique Blue Medium Dark 169 Blue Green Dark

Triadic

Evenly spaced at 120° — vibrant and balanced

978

1007 Flesh Very Dark 860 Fern Green Medium

Monochromatic

Same hue, different lightness — great for shading

978

979 Blue Very Dark 976 Blue Light 120 Blue Purple Very Light

Blues Family

Anchor 978 in context with nearby shades from the blues color family.

978 Blue Dark 978 921 Antique Blue Medium 921 137 Delft Medium Dark 137 1034 Antique Blue Medium Dark 1034 146 Navy Blue Light 146 410 Electric Blue Dark 410 779 Grey Blue Very Dark 779 142 Royal Blue Medium 142 132 Sky Blue Dark 132 940 Delft Dark 940 162 Baby Blue Very Dark 162

About Anchor 978

Anchor 978 (Blue Dark) is a medium-dark, muted shade in the blues family with sky blue tones. This thread brings a deep and grounded presence to projects featuring winter scenes or forget-me-nots. Look for it in charts that feature bluebird motifs or whale designs.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Anchor 978 look like?

Anchor 978 (Blue Dark) is a medium-dark shade in the blues family with hex #46576B and RGB 70, 87, 107. Stitchers reach for it in projects featuring skies and water.

Which DMC thread matches Anchor 978?

The closest DMC match for Anchor 978 (Blue Dark) is DMC 317 (Pewter Grey) with a 75% match based on visual color similarity. Other near matches include DMC 930 (Antique Blue dark, 69%) and DMC 931 (Antique Blue medium, 65%).

What Anchor colors are similar to 978?

The closest Anchor threads to 978 are 779 Grey Blue Very Dark (ΔE 1.98), 1034 Antique Blue Medium Dark (ΔE 4.01), and 921 Antique Blue Medium (ΔE 5.01). These are useful substitutes when 978 is unavailable or for building gradients.

When should I use Anchor 978?

Reach for Anchor 978 (Blue Dark) when your project calls for skies, water, denim textures, cool-toned backgrounds. Its medium-dark character carries both small accents and wider palette work; the harmony picks on this page show natural companions to 978.

What fabric color works best with Anchor 978 (Blue Dark)?

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, 978 has a contrast ratio of about 7.4:1 on white fabric and 2.8:1 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