Classic Colorworks color chart

Browse 280 Classic Colorworks hand-dyed embroidery floss colors — search by name, number, or color family. See the closest DMC equivalent for each shade, track colors you own, and build your project palette. Classic Colorworks (formerly Crescent Colours) is known for warm, subtle color transitions that give cross stitch and embroidery work a handcrafted, heirloom feel.

Classic Colorworks color chart

Use the chart below to browse the full Classic Colorworks color list. Every color shows its CCW number, name, and closest DMC equivalent.

Like all hand-dyed threads, each Classic Colorworks skein has natural variation — the color shown here represents the general hue. Your actual skein will shift subtly within that range.

How many Classic Colorworks colors are there?

Classic Colorworks currently offers around 270 active colors of hand-dyed six-strand cotton embroidery floss. This chart lists 280 shades — the full range plus a few now-retired Crescent Colors-era colors — each with its closest DMC equivalent, and new additions are released each year. The range has grown steadily since the brand's origins as Crescent Colors, and new colors are often debuted at the Nashville Needlework Market or created in collaboration with specific cross stitch designers.

Classic Colorworks uses a simple numeric system (001 through ~300, with gaps for retired colors). Unlike DMC or Anchor, the names are the primary identifier — colors have evocative names like Roasted Chestnut, Pea Pod, and Hickory Sticks that make them easy to remember and fun to browse.

Screen colors vary. With hand-dyed threads, slight variation between dye lots is normal and expected.

Track your Classic Colorworks collection

Use "I own this" to mark colors you have. It saves in your browser — no account needed. Useful for building a Classic Colorworks stash over time, especially when you spot colors at local needlework shops or markets.

Classic Colorworks ↔ DMC conversion

Tap any color in the chart above to see its closest DMC match. These conversions are approximate — Classic Colorworks has subtle tone-on-tone variation that solid DMC cannot replicate. The DMC match gives you the right hue family, but the stitched result will look different.

Retailers like 123Stitch.com maintain Classic Colorworks to DMC conversion charts. The matches shown here are based on perceptual color distance to the midpoint of each CCW color's range.

For the full DMC reference palette, see the DMC color chart — useful when a pattern gives only a DMC number and you want to find the closest Classic Colorworks match.

About Classic Colorworks

Classic Colorworks (formerly Crescent Colours) produces hand-dyed cotton embroidery floss with an unusual starting point: they begin with actual DMC six-strand floss as the base, then overdye it with gentle fabric dyes formulated specifically for cotton. This gives the finished thread DMC's familiar handling characteristics — the same strand separation, the same weight, the same way it pulls through fabric — but with the soft, variegated color transitions that only hand-dyeing produces.

The brand has become a staple in the sampler and primitive cross stitch community. Designers like Little House Needleworks, Country Cottage Needleworks, and Blackbird Designs frequently specify Classic Colorworks colors alongside Weeks Dye Works and Gentle Art Sampler Threads. The three brands form an informal trio that most sampler stitchers collect — Classic Colorworks, Weeks Dye Works, and The Gentle Art.

Classic Colorworks offers three product lines: cotton floss (the main range, and what this chart covers), Belle Soie silk floss, and pearl cotton. The cotton floss is sold in 5-yard skeins at approximately $2.60 per skein — similar in pricing and format to Weeks Dye Works.

One important characteristic that sets Classic Colorworks apart from Weeks Dye Works: Classic Colorworks floss is not colorfast. The brand states this explicitly. Do not wash finished projects that include Classic Colorworks threads. If you're stitching something that will need washing — a kitchen piece, a baby item, anything functional — either substitute with a colorfast alternative or accept the risk of color bleeding. This is a well-known tradeoff in the community, not a quality issue — it's a consequence of the specific dyes and overdyeing process used.

Patterns specifying Classic Colorworks often call for a mix of hand-dyed and solid threads — the hand-dyed for featured design elements, with DMC or Sullivans for backgrounds and border stitching where the overdyed variation isn't needed.

The brand was originally known as Crescent Colors and was recently acquired by Millennial Fabrics. You may still see "Crescent Colors" used interchangeably with "Classic Colorworks" at some retailers — they are the same product line.

Related tools

• Classic Colorworks → DMC conversion — Match CCW colors to closest DMC equivalents
• DMC color chart — Browse all 489 DMC embroidery floss colors
• Anchor color chart — Browse all 446 Anchor stranded cotton colors
• Weeks Dye Works color chart — Browse all 358 Weeks Dye Works hand-dyed colors
• Cosmo color chart — Browse all 500 Cosmo embroidery floss colors
• Madeira color chart — Browse all 381 Madeira embroidery thread colors
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