What DMC floss matches a Paternayan shade?
Type the Paternayan number into the converter. It shows the closest DMC shade, from a published conversion table where one exists and an approximate chart match otherwise.
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An old needlepoint or crewel kit lists Paternayan numbers, the wool is hard to find, and you want to know which DMC floss or other wool will stand in.
Enter a Paternayan shade number and see the closest DMC floss and the closest shade in six other brands, each labeled exact-chart or approximate.

It opens on Paternayan 220 (Black). Type any Persian wool number to see its closest DMC floss and matches in the other brands.
Paternayan Persian wool is a three-ply wool: three strands loosely twisted together that you can pull apart and use one, two or all three at a time. That makes it adaptable for needlepoint on different canvas sizes, crewel embroidery and other wool work.
Shades are known by three-digit numbers, and color families sit together in the numbering. The numbers are what you need for conversion; names vary between suppliers.
A match means the colors look alike. Wool is matte and fuzzy while stranded cotton has a sheen, so the stitched result will look different.
A single Persian strand is thicker than one strand of six-strand floss; you will typically need several strands of floss to cover the same area. Test first.
Paternayan publishes no color values, so each shade borrows its DMC equivalent’s color. Matches top out at Excellent for exact chart equivalents and Great for approximate ones.
Shade numbers come from Florilegium and names from Colonial Needle’s Colonial Persian line. DMC equivalents come first from a published Anchor Wool / Paternayan / DMC conversion table and, where it has no row, from The Stitchers Village chart read in reverse.
The converter has 367 Paternayan shades with a DMC equivalent: 279 come straight from the published table, and 88 are approximate. Some shades have no name in our data. The number is what matters, so search by number. Shades with no known DMC equivalent are left out rather than guessed.
Select Paternayan as the brand and type the three-digit number from your kit or chart.
The closest DMC floss appears with its % match and tier, plus a runner-up.
Need wool to stay wool? Check the Appletons match alongside Anchor, Cosmo and the rest.
Upload a CSV of the kit’s shades and download a spreadsheet of matches.
Starting something new? Make a hand embroidery pattern from your photo and pick Paternayan as the thread brand, or browse the full floss converter for cotton brands.
Type the Paternayan number into the converter. It shows the closest DMC shade, from a published conversion table where one exists and an approximate chart match otherwise.
Paternayan has become hard to find. Needlework shops carry other Persian wools, such as Colonial Needle’s Colonial Persian, but stock varies, so use the converter to find a substitute in a brand you can buy.
Yes. It is three-ply, so you can pull out one strand at a time and stitch with one, two or three strands.
Some shades have no name in the sources we use. Shade numbers are what conversion charts list, so the match is unaffected.
No conversion between wool and cotton is exact. Shades from a published table show as Excellent at best, approximate ones as Great.
Yes. The converter lists the closest Appletons crewel wool for every Paternayan shade; both borrow DMC colors, so treat it as approximate and compare skeins.
Making and editing a pattern is free with a StitchThis account. Saving it or downloading the PDF uses a pattern credit ($5.99 per pattern, or 5 for $20). Embroidery is included in Maker ($5.99/month) and in Craft Unlimited, with unlimited patterns.