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Colorful DMC embroidery floss skeins arranged by color family on warm wooden surface with bobbins

By Tracey Kramer • Updated June 2026 • 12 min read

I remember when DMC floss was thirty-three cents a skein. I also remember thinking that was a lot. We laughed about it back then — highway robbery for a little hank of thread, we said. Well. Nobody's laughing now. Depending on where you shop, a single skein of DMC embroidery floss can run close to a dollar or more today, and that number has been climbing steadily for years. If you're only buying five or six skeins for a small project, maybe it doesn't sting too badly. But if you're stitching a large design that calls for forty, fifty, sixty colors? You do the math. The cost adds up fast, and it adds up even faster when you're buying floss regularly to keep a stash current.

Running Sunrays Creations means I don't just buy floss for my own stitching. I buy it to assemble kits for customers, to test new pattern colorways, and to keep a working stash that covers the full DMC palette. Buying smart isn't a nice-to-have for me — it's just part of running the business responsibly. Over the years I've tried just about every avenue there is: craft store sales, bulk packs, online shops, floss subscription programs, and yes, eBay. What I've landed on is a practical system that uses each source for what it does best. I'm going to walk you through exactly what that looks like, because I think a lot of stitchers are still overpaying simply because they haven't discovered a better path yet.

Here's the thing that took me a while to fully accept: DMC is DMC. A skein you buy on eBay stitches exactly the same as a skein you pull off the peg at JoAnn Fabrics. The dye lots, the quality, the feel of the cotton — it's the same product. DMC manufactures to a consistent standard, and that consistency is exactly what makes buying smart possible. You're not sacrificing anything by shopping outside the craft store. You're just paying less for the same thread.

The Rising Cost of DMC Floss (and Why It Matters)

Let me give you a quick history lesson from my own receipt drawer. Thirty-three cents a skein feels like ancient history now, but it really wasn't that long ago. Then it crept up to forty-eight cents. Then fifty-six cents started feeling normal. Then somewhere along the way, sixty, seventy, eighty cents became the going rate at the craft stores I visit, and I've seen individual skeins priced above a dollar at certain retailers — specialty shops, quilt stores, that kind of thing. Every time the price nudged upward I told myself it was a small thing. And individually, each increase was small. But collectively? It has changed the economics of this hobby in a real way, especially for dedicated stitchers who work through floss at a serious pace.

The people this hits hardest are the ones who work on large counted cross stitch projects. Think about a piece that requires sixty-five different DMC colors. Even at the current craft store average, you're looking at forty to sixty dollars just in thread before you've bought fabric, a frame, or a needle. If you're buying for a kit or working on multiple projects at once, multiply that accordingly. I've had months where my floss budget felt more like a grocery run than a craft purchase. That's when I got serious about finding better ways to buy.

What I want you to take away from this section isn't frustration — it's motivation. The price at the craft store is not the only price available to you. It's just the most visible one. Most stitchers walk in, pull skeins off the rack, pay whatever the tag says, and go home. And that's fine if you're buying three skeins. But if you're building a stash, restocking regularly, or working through large projects on a regular basis, you owe it to yourself to shop smarter. The strategies I'm about to share are not complicated. They just require knowing where to look — and once you know, you'll wonder why it took you this long.

I also want to say this clearly: there is nothing wrong with the thread itself. DMC quality has stayed consistent even as prices have climbed. This is not a quality problem — it's a retail pricing problem. And like most retail pricing problems, it has a workaround if you're willing to put in a little extra effort upfront. God willing, the prices will stabilize eventually, but I'm not holding my breath. In the meantime, let's talk about where the smart money goes.

eBay for Individual Colors: The Pick-Your-Color Strategy

Here's where I want to spend some real time, because this is the strategy that changed how I buy floss more than anything else. When you're mid-project and your chart calls for DMC 3750 — that deep navy — and you're out, you have a few options. You can drive to the craft store and hope they have it in stock. You can order from an online needlework shop and pay standard retail plus shipping. Or you can go to eBay, search for DMC floss pick your color (find on eBay), and find a seller who has that exact color listed individually at a Buy It Now price that's often better than what you'd pay at the craft store — sometimes significantly better.

There are sellers on eBay who have built their entire business around this concept. They stock the full DMC palette, list each color individually by number, and fulfill orders quickly. The Buy It Now format means there's no waiting for an auction to close — you see the price, you pay it, it ships. For regular individual color purchases, this approach is genuinely hard to beat. I've used it dozens of times when I needed one or two specific colors to finish a project and didn't want to pay retail or minimum shipping charges from a specialty shop for two skeins.

The search term that unlocks this is simple: DMC floss pick your color. Type that into eBay's search bar, filter for Buy It Now, and you'll find the sellers who specialize in exactly this. Read their feedback ratings before you buy — the good ones have thousands of positive reviews and ship promptly. Once you find a seller you like, save them. Repeat business is easier and you'll know what to expect in terms of shipping time. For me, this has become my go-to for filling in gaps in my stash and for mid-project restocking when I can't make a trip to the store.

One practical tip: keep a running list of DMC numbers you're low on or completely out of. I use a simple notepad app on my phone. When I notice I'm running low on a color I use frequently — certain neutrals, certain greens — I add it to the list. Then once a week or so I check eBay for those colors and order in small batches rather than scrambling when I'm mid-project. This habit alone has saved me more money and frustration than I can quantify. The per-skein price on eBay individual listings is often very competitive with craft store prices, and you're getting exactly the color you need without paying for colors you don't.

Tracey Recommends

DMC Color Card – Thread Selector

This is the reference tool I reach for every time I'm ordering floss by number. Every DMC color has actual thread wrapped around it next to its number, so you can see exactly what you're buying before you spend a cent. Once you own one of these, you will never misorder a color again. I use mine constantly when assembling kits for Sunrays customers — it's one of those tools that pays for itself the first time it saves you from buying the wrong shade.

See on Amazon

Bulk Lots and Clearance: When eBay Really Shines

If individual skeins are eBay's everyday value, bulk lots are where eBay becomes genuinely exciting for a floss-loving stitcher. Here's what happens: stitchers decide to give up the hobby and clear out their sewing rooms. Estates get settled and someone has to deal with thirty years of accumulated thread. Shop owners liquidate inventory. All of it ends up on eBay as lot listings — fifty skeins, a hundred skeins, sometimes more, sold together for a fraction of what you'd pay buying them individually at retail. For a stitcher who is building a stash from scratch or filling in large gaps in an existing collection, a well-chosen DMC floss lot (find on eBay) is one of the best investments you can make.

The key to buying lots well is preparation. Before you even search, know your DMC numbers. Have a list of colors you need or colors that would be useful additions to your stash. When you find a lot listing, read it carefully — does the seller list which colors are included? Can you see the actual skeins in the photos? Good sellers will photograph the lot clearly so you can see the labels and assess the condition of the thread. Look for skeins that still have their paper bands attached, thread that isn't tangled or faded, and sellers who describe the lot as coming from a non-smoking home if that matters to you. Most serious sellers are upfront about condition.

Auction-format lots require a little patience, but the payoff can be significant. I've seen eBay lots sell for what amounts to ten or fifteen cents a skein when the bidding doesn't get competitive. Even when it does get competitive, the final price is often still below retail. The search term to use here is DMC floss lot — you'll see everything from small bundles of ten or twenty skeins to massive estate lot listings with hundreds of colors. Set a budget before you start bidding and stick to it. It's easy to get caught up in the excitement of an auction and overbid on something that was supposed to be a bargain.

One thing I want to mention for newer stitchers: buying a large lot doesn't mean you need to use everything in it immediately. That's the whole point of building a stash. When you buy smart and store well, every skein you acquire at a fraction of retail is money saved on every future project that calls for that color. Think of it as investing in your craft — every skein in your stash at fifteen cents is a skein you don't have to buy at ninety cents later when you're mid-project and need it right now. The embroidery floss organizer box (find on Amazon) becomes your best friend at this stage, and I'll talk about storage a bit more in section five.

Organized DMC floss bobbins sorted by color number in a divided storage box in warm afternoon light

Discontinued DMC Colors: eBay Is Often the Only Place Left

This is the section that I think surprises stitchers the most when they first hear it, but once you've experienced the problem firsthand, you never forget it. DMC has discontinued colors over the years — threads that were part of their palette for decades before being quietly retired. When a color gets discontinued, it disappears from retail shelves almost immediately. Online needlework shops sell through their remaining stock and that's it. Gone. If your vintage pattern calls for a discontinued color, or if you run out of a color mid-project that has since been retired, you're in a very difficult position — unless you know about eBay.

eBay is often the only reliable source for discontinued DMC floss (find on eBay). Stitchers who bought those colors years ago and still have extras list them individually or in small lots. Estate sales surface old stock that has been sitting in a sewing room for twenty years, perfectly preserved in its original paper bands. For anyone working with older patterns — and here at Sunrays I've designed pieces that reference classic colorways — the ability to source a color that no longer exists in production is genuinely invaluable. The search term discontinued DMC floss will surface what's available, and while the prices are sometimes higher than you'd pay for a current color, they're almost always lower than what you'd pay if you could find the thread anywhere else at all. If you want to understand which colors have been retired and what the current substitution recommendations look like, I've written a detailed guide on discontinued DMC colors that's worth bookmarking alongside this article.

My honest advice: if you are a serious stitcher with a large project library that includes older designs, make it a habit to occasionally search eBay for discontinued DMC floss and stock up on any retired colors that appear in your patterns. Buy more than you think you'll need. Once those skeins are gone from the secondary market, they're truly gone, and no amount of money will get you the exact original color. This is one area where I don't hesitate to spend a little more per skein — because the alternative is having a project sit unfinished or making a substitution that doesn't quite look right.

Patterns from the Sunrays Collection Tracey's Picks, designing cross stitch patterns since 2004

Evening Meeting of Fishermen in Naples, RE-1273 RE-1273 $45.00 VIEW PATTERN   Protea on Fire, AF-111 AF-111 $20.00 VIEW PATTERN   My Heart Grows Fonder Everyday, NS-169 NS-169 $12.00 VIEW PATTERN

Browse the full Sunrays collection →

Amazon, Craft Stores, and Walmart: When to Use Each

eBay is my primary recommendation for floss buying, but it's not the only tool in the kit. Amazon earns a regular place in my shopping because it's excellent for things that aren't just individual skeins. Multipack sets — the big boxes of 36 or 50 or 100 skeins — are often well-priced on Amazon, especially if you have Prime. Amazon is also where I go for supplies that complement my floss buying: a good DMC floss color chart (find on Amazon) to reference when I'm shopping by number, plastic floss winding bobbins (find on Amazon) to wind and organize new purchases, a cross stitch thread storage case (find on Amazon) that keeps everything sorted and visible. These are items where Amazon's breadth of selection and Prime shipping are genuinely convenient, and I trust the reviews there for non-thread products in a way that helps me make quick decisions.

Craft stores — JoAnn Fabrics, Michaels, Hobby Lobby — still have a place in my rotation, and here's why: sometimes you need to see the color in person. A DMC color chart is a great reference tool, but there are times when I'm choosing colors for a new pattern design and I want to hold the actual skeins side by side in natural light to compare values and tones. For that, nothing replaces walking the floss aisle. Craft stores are also worth using when the coupons are good. JoAnn has been known to run sales like five skeins for two dollars, and their percentage-off coupons for the entire floss purchase can bring the price down to something competitive with eBay individual listings. Michaels has been known to honor competitor coupons if you ask at checkout — I've had success with that more than once. Just ask politely and see what they say.

Walmart is worth a mention because many locations carry DMC floss at a competitive in-store price, and for basic, high-use colors — your whites, your blacks, your common neutrals — checking Walmart before a craft store run can save you a few cents per skein that adds up over time. The color selection at Walmart has narrowed over the years, so I wouldn't rely on it as your only source, but it's a legitimate option for the staples, especially if a Walmart is more convenient to your regular errands than a dedicated craft store.

The summary I'd give any stitcher is this: use each source for what it does best. eBay for individual color picks, bulk lots, and discontinued threads — that's where the real savings and the hard-to-find inventory live. Amazon for multipacks, reference tools like a DMC floss color chart, and storage supplies like plastic floss winding bobbins. Craft stores when you want to see the color in person or when a good coupon makes the price competitive. Walmart for common colors when it's convenient. No single source wins every category, but eBay wins the most categories for the dedicated stitcher who's serious about managing their floss budget. Once you have a system that combines all of these, you'll look back at your old receipt totals and shake your head a little — because there really was a better way the whole time.

Also Worth Having

DMC Floss Storage Bobbins and Box Set

When you start buying floss in bulk from eBay, you need a system — and this is it. Wind each skein onto a labeled plastic bobbin, sort by number in a divided storage box, and suddenly you can see at a glance exactly what you have and what you need. An organized floss collection means no more duplicate purchases because you forgot you already had a color. This is the foundation of any serious stitcher's stash management, and it makes building that stash through smart buying actually sustainable.

See on Amazon

Thirty-plus years of buying floss has taught me that the stitchers who enjoy this hobby most are the ones who spend their energy on the actual stitching — not on stressing about supply costs. Once you have a smart buying system in place, floss is just something you have, not something you scramble for. If you're looking for your next project to put all that well-priced thread to work, come browse the pattern collection at Sunrays Creations — there's always something new in the shop, and every pattern is hand-charted with love right here in Marysville, Ohio.

Cross stitch project in wooden hoop surrounded by DMC floss skeins and bobbins in warm lamplight

-- Tracey Kramer
Founder & Designer, Sunrays Creations Needlearts
Hand-charted designs since 2004 • Marysville, Ohio