Anchor offers a diverse selection of the highest-quality embroidery threads for both hand and machine embroidery. Regardless of your experience level, Anchor has a selection of threads with different compositions, purposes and thicknesses for executing key embroidery techniques. Embroidery threads are produced from Egyptian cotton, linen, wool, metallic polyester and viscose. The rich color palette includes vibrant and pastel shades with excellent contrast.
Embroidering with Anchor embroidery threads
Anchor’s selection of threads for hand embroidery includes:
Anchor Stranded Cotton is a classic 6-ply high-quality mouliné made from long 100% Egyptian Giza cotton fibers. Double mercerization (a technique in which fabric or yarn is treated with a sodium hydroxide solution) ensures a brilliant shine and intensely deep color. Available in 444 solid colors, 16 ombre and 24 multicolored tones in 8 meter skeins. Anchor’s most popular stranded cotton is versatile and ideal for cross-stitch and free-style embroidery techniques.
Anchor Pearl Cotton is a 2-ply, softly twisted mercerized embroidery thread made from 100% Egyptian Giza cotton, known for its silky softness. It is suitable for hardanger, cross-stitch and freestyle embroidery and is also commonly used for crocheting. Pearl Cotton is available in solid, ombre, multicolored and metallic shades, and in different thicknesses (no. 5, 8 and 12). In larger 45 gram hanks and 250 gram skeins, you can get the Pearl Cotton Ritorto Fiorentino with a thickness of no. 8 or 12. This truly versatile embroidery thread is well-suited for a variety of creative crafts projects. Put your embroidery skills to the test!
Anchor Coton a’ Broder is a 4-ply, tightly twisted mercerized embroidery thread made from 100% Egyptian Giza cotton, known for its glossy finish. Depending on the thickness (16, 20, 25 and 30), there are 82 solid color shades to choose from. Coton a’ Broder is universal embroidery thread, although it is especially popular in Blackwork, Whitework, Drawn Thread and freestyle embroidery techniques. In larger 6.95 and 50 gram hanks, you can get the Maglieria with a thickness of no. 20, 25 or 30.
Anchor Lace is a strong and shiny embroidery thread made from mercerized 100% Egyptian Giza cotton, available in 2-ply and 3-ply varieties. Anchor Lace is available in popular pastel tones in various thicknesses of 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50. It is ideal for unique and refined embroidery techniques – especially for lace making.
Anchor Soft Embroidery is a 5-ply, tightly twisted embroidery thread (yarn) made from 100% Egyptian Giza cotton, known for its soft and matte finish. It comes in a selection of 255 solid colors in 10 m skeins. Due to its thickness, it is ideal for children and beginners alike. Anchor Soft Embroidery is often used for quick and easy projects as well as canvas work or tapestry.
Anchor Marlitt is a 100% viscose mouliné with a smooth 4-ply twist, providing luxurious shine to embroidery. Available in 90 solid colors in 10 m skeins, Anchor Marlitt is suitable for both freestyle and counted thread embroidery, where separating the mouliné twists from one another may be necessary. If the embroidery needs some additional shine, Anchor Marlitt is an alternative to traditional Anchor stranded cotton.
Anchor Lamé is composed of 65% viscose and 35% metallized polyester, with the latter giving the thread a strong glossy and metallic appeareance. Each skein consists of 12 softly twisted threads that can be separated to adjust thickness as needed. It is available in 5 metallic shades in 8 m skeins. Seasoned crafters now give some valuable advice – Anchor Lamé works beautifully when combined with Anchor mouliné in a cross-stitch pattern and is perfect for freestyle and Goldwork embroidery. Lamé retains its natural color, shine, and doesn’t oxidize.
Anchor Metallic is a fine embroidery thread with a metallic sheen, suitable for both hand embroidery and crocheting. It is a very durable, elastic craft thread with a chain-like structure, composed of 58% polyester and 42% textured polyamide. Available in 8 colors on 50 m spools, it is ideal for various embroidery projects, tassels, cords, and projects requiring more yardage than typical metallic stranded cotton (8m skeins).
Anchor Tapisserie Wool is a classic 4-ply, evenly twisted and durable 100% Pure New Wool embroidery yarn. Due to its strong structure, it produces fewer loose fibers when used for embroidery, resulting in a more uniform finish. The selection includes 475 colors in 10 m skeins, and 19 primary colors in 20 gram hanks for stitching canvas backgrounds. Anchor Tapisserie Wool is specially developed for canvas, needlepoint and tapestry embroidery.
Anchor Linen is made from 100% linen and dyed with natural plant-based dyes. It comes in 36 colors on 15 meter card. The embroidery thread consists of 6 strands that can be separated, allowing for more versatile use. It is perfect for delicate embroidery work; using only 1 or 2 strands yields a very fine result. It’s suitable for embellishing linen garments, various household items, creating beautiful patterns, and crafting enduring heirloom embroideries across generations. Anchor Linen embroidery thread is suitable for various techniques, including free-style and cross-stitch embroidery.
Here’s how linen thread differs from cotton:
- Anchor cotton embroidery thread is mercerized, meaning it undergoes an additional finishing process that gives it a sheen and a smoother surface, enhancing its strength.
- In contrast, Anchor Linen thread is spun without additional mercerization processes, preserving its natural finish. Because of this, the thread retains a more natural linen feel, which might appear slightly more rustic and textured. It’s normal to find thicker spots in the thread occasionally, and the fibers may be more visible compared to mercerized cotton thread.
Due to these differences in fiber type and finishing processes, linen embroidery thread behaves somewhat differently than Anchor cotton embroidery thread. Therefore, it’s advisable to practice before starting a new project to get accustomed to the characteristics of the thread.
The selection of threads for machine embroidery is as follows:
Anchor Cotton is a 100% mercerized cotton machine embroidery thread. It is the fuel for all modern embroidery machines. Anchor Cotton is a strong and versatile thread that enriches various embroidery projects with its strong luster and beautiful natural smoothness. It is available in two different thicknesses, no. 30 and no. 50. The largest color selection of 160 shades is available for thickness no. 50, in 10 gram 454 m rolls.
Anchor Alcazar is a 100% viscose machine embroidery thread for embroidery projects with a fantastic sheen. It is also suitable for sewing silk and viscose fabrics or making button holes. Anchor Alcazar is available in thickness no. 40, in 10 gram rolls of 370 m and 5,4 gram rolls of 200 m. Depending on the size of the roll there are so many colors to choose from that your vision might go blurry – up to 223 colours.
Anchor Metallic is the perfect thread to achieve a glamorous metallic effect and enhance your machine embroidery designs. It comes in two different compositions, primarily using 63% viscose and 37% metallic polyester. Depending on the size of the spool and the thickness of the thread there are up to 30 different colors to choose from.
Would you like to expand your store’s selection with Anchor embroidery threads? Contact us and we will find the best solution for you.
Or are you looking for the right embroidery thread for your next project? Check out our list of retailers and find the nearest one to you.
