Ordering Floss Over the Internet
First of all, Don't Try to Match Colors!
That's the most important point about buying over the Internet. Don't ever try to match colors! Your computer monitor (unless it's very accurately calibrated) will not show the true floss or thread color. Even if the color shown on your monitor does match the color you want, chances are, when you finally receive your order, you'll be disappointed. The color you receive will most likely not match the color you really wanted.
So, when an online retailer displays those beautiful, full-color images of floss and thread, they're misleading and useless?
No, not entirely. Use online images to get a general idea of what a color looks like. After all, some floss colors don't give a lot of clues about their primary color (red, green, blue, etc.). What's the primary color for "Bejeweled"? Or what color would you get if you ordered "Pixie Dust"? Online images work just fine for indicating the primary color.
Okay, if I can't use the color images, then how do I order floss and thread over the Internet?
Always try to use the color number. It's usually the best way to make sure you get exactly the color you need.
However, some manufacturers do not use color numbers. In that case, you must order by color name. At a minimum, all floss and thread has a color name.
Every online retailer will have an ordering system that lets you select a color name or a color number (if it's available). Only use the color name and color number to identify the floss and thread color, even though you might see an image that matches the color you want.
FYI: At the Keepsakes Stitchery Store, we do not show color images. We use sorted lists of color names and color numbers. One list is sorted by color name; the other list is sorted by color number.
When we designed the website, we thought about showing color images, but decided against doing so. Showing sorted lists of color names and color numbers seemed the clearest method of displaying the hundreds of floss colors currently available.
Most floss and thread manufacturers show color images on their websites, and since we don't use colored images, our images don't compete with their images.