cxc floss

Although the image of cross-stitching may be one of “home needlework” and thrift, it can quickly become an expensive hobby so it is always good to discover another way to make your crafting budget go a little further. DMC is an established company that has a quality product and it has also over time become standard in the market with regards to chart designers and kits - pretty much every pattern uses the codes and colors that they define. However, it is becoming more and pricier kitting up a large full-coverage chart, especially if you are in Europe or Australia and many people are not aware that there are other options out there. One increasingly popular option is CXC branded floss that is made in China.

There seems to be a lot of curiosity along with no small amount of scaremongering and misinformation on Facebook groups regarding CXC and other cheaper brands, coincidentally though this often seems to originate from groups associated with stores that sell DMC based kits! However, the people who actually just stitch really seem to love CXC and highly recommend it, so when you hear someone claiming it is not a quality thread, not color-fast or any other “reason” make sure you are aware of their possible motivations.This is a common tactic within the IT industry to spread “FUD” about competitors to put people off using them - fear, uncertainty, and doubt, stick with what you know.

 

But let me be clear, this article is in no way meant to discourage people from using DMC, at the end of the day it is all personal choice and many people will prefer to stick with a tried trusted company such as DMC or Anchor and they are very accessible with distribution channels through many large-name and local stores but it is always good to consider your options and have the extra information especially when on a budget or kitting up a large project. Here I am going to do a comparison of a few brands and a review of my first experience stitching with CXC Floss compared to DMC and I will also document washing a sample show that they are indeed also color-fast 

CXC is a soft poly-cotton mix/blend - it is noticeably thicker and softer to handle than DMC. The CXC uses the same numbering convention as DMC but will sometimes only have one large label with the number on which looks very similar to a DMC number label. In other batches you may find the CXC Branded Floss skein with two labels this is the same thread. I’ve been told the two label skeins are from newer batches.

Color Comparison

With this particular color, I can see a slight variance between the DMC and the other brands but I don’t think it is that significant and as long as you didn’t change brands in the middle of a solid block of color it wouldn’t make much difference at all. The DMC color is brighter more saturated whereas the others are more purplish by comparison. Also, as you’ll see with other images below, you can see this same variation even between different dye-lots of DMC color.

Thread Handling

Stitching with CXC is very nice, it doesn’t tangle or twist much while stitching, although some stitches prefers to use slightly shorter lengths with CXC to prevent thinning towards the end. It is very soft and smooth to handle. It actually slides through the Aida very nicely and I would say it is actually smoother to handle than DMC. The individual strands separate from the group of 6 very easily and didn’t tangle or snag.
The one issue that I had was that it did not come off the skein as easy as DMC does, it tended to bunch up when I pulled from the end, but thanks to the helpful stitchers on Cross Stitch Unlimited I’ve learned that the trick is to pull from the other end that is often buried inside under the label, not the long tail that is obvious like DMC.