PrecisionKit

Embroidery Thread Color Converter and Match Finder

Demo — synthetic data

Compare an approximate color against a small, clearly synthetic demonstration thread dataset by color distance — not a real manufacturer color chart.

Approximate screen color — not a measured thread reflectance.

Enter a 6-digit hex color (e.g. #C8102E) to find the closest demonstration thread colors.

Query color: —

Supported datasets and provenance

This page currently ships only a small, fabricated demonstration dataset (brand names like “Demo Brand A” are placeholders, not real manufacturers). It exists to show the comparison method working end to end. Production data will only be added from a licensed, manufacturer-provided, public-domain or independently measured source — this page stays unindexed until that happens.

Color comparison method

Each hex color is converted from sRGB to CIE Lab (D65 white point), then compared using CIEDE2000 — a perceptual color-difference formula. A lower ΔE means the two colors are perceptually closer; ΔE = 0 means the recorded RGB values are identical.

Worked example

Querying #C8102E returns Sample Red (Demo Brand A #1000) first, with ΔE = 0 — an exact recorded-value match in this demonstration dataset — followed by Reference Cherry at ΔE = 0.

Interpreting alternative matches

Results show a distance value, never an invented confidence percentage — ΔE has no fixed pass/fail threshold. As a rough guide, a ΔE under about 2 is often considered barely perceptible to a trained eye under good lighting, but this varies by color and viewing condition, so always compare several alternatives rather than trusting only the first result.

Lighting, material and sheen

Thread sheen (rayon vs. polyester vs. metallic), twist and the spectrum of your viewing light all change how a color looks in person, independent of its recorded hex value. Two colors that match on screen can look different under different lights (metamerism) — always confirm with a physical sample.

Dataset
Entirely synthetic/fabricated for demonstration — not real manufacturer thread colors.
Missing color data
Threads without a recorded color are excluded from matching, never treated as black or zero.

Questions

Are the suggested thread matches exact?

No. Every match is a color-distance estimate (ΔE, CIEDE2000) computed from an approximate screen RGB value converted to Lab color space — never a measured physical thread reflectance. A ΔE of 0 means the two entries share the same recorded RGB value, not that the physical threads are guaranteed identical under any lighting or viewing condition.

Why does the physical thread look different?

Thread color perception depends on material sheen, twist, lighting spectrum and viewing angle — none of which a flat RGB or hex value captures. Rayon and polyester threads with identical dye can look different under different light sources (metamerism). Always compare a physical thread sample under your actual working light before committing to a match.

Sources