Colorful Ideas – How To Use Variegated Embroidery Floss
Ever since I started collecting embroidery thread, I’ve always kept a few skeins of variegated floss on hand. The gradients of colors make stitching with it very interesting, and I’ve enjoyed experimenting over the years. But recently, I’ve been thinking more intentionally about how to make the most of this unique thread.
To be clear, I don’t believe that there is a right or wrong way to use this thread, but I’d love to share with you my favorite techniques for working with it so you have more control over the color transitions in your embroidery.

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What Is Variegated Embroidery Floss?

Variegated floss is a multi-colored embroidery thread that’s usually made of cotton. As the name suggests, the color along the skein is inconsistent. The floss usually contains several different shades of a particular hue, but you can also find variegated floss that contains multiple colors in it.
My favorite kind to use is DMC which you can purchase in individual skeins or as a pack on Amazon.
This embroidery floss makes it super easy to add more color variation into your embroidery without having to switch thread colors. It also adds a lot more depth and interest to certain embroidery stitches.

How To Use Variegated Floss
To cut a strand of variegated floss, select a portion of the thread that has a good amount of visible color change in it. This way, you’ll be able to get more of a color gradient effect while you’re stitching.
Decide which end of the variegated floss you want to start stitching with, then thread the other end through the needle.
Helpful Tips
- To achieve a smoother blend of colors, use less strands of thread.
- When starting a new thread, be mindful of which end you thread through the needle to maintain a smooth color transition.
- Fill stitches such as the long and short stitch and the satin stitch use up more thread along the back of the embroidery, so the color change may appear to happen more quickly. On the contrary, the color change will happen more gradually with certain outline stitches.
Embroidery Stitches To Use
From outline stitches, to fill stitches, to decorative stitches, you can use virtually any embroidery stitch with this floss. Here are a few that work really well.
Split Stitch

The split stitch is a great outline or fill stitch using variegated floss. To create a gentle gradient effect, fill the shape with rows of stitches.
For the sock, vertical rows were stitched first from top to bottom, then another row was worked from bottom to top, weaving back and forth along the shape.
The heel and the cuff were stitched with a darker portion of the thread.
Whipped Back Stitch

Lettering is another wonderful thing to stitch, especially if you want to achieve a gradual ombre effect. The example photo is very subtle, but if you embroidered an entire word, you’d see more of an obvious change.
For this example, I made a whipped back stitch along the letter.
Long and Short Stitch


Out of all the stitches in this tutorial, the long and short stitch is by far my favorite to use because it’s great for blending colors together. For this example, I made a row of long and short stitches from left to right, then another row of stitches that overlapped into the first row, working from right to left.
There is more contrast between the two colors along the left side of the rectangle, but I think it still looks decent. If you wanted a more subtle transition in the colors, you could use a portion of the thread that is closer in value to the darker color.
Satin Stitch

Green variegated floss makes it incredibly easy to add natural shading to a leaf. For this example, I started making satin stitches along the right side of the leaf, working from top to bottom.

Along the left side, I worked the stitches from bottom to top so that the lighter area ended up along the tip of the leaf.

For the stem, I used a lighter portion of the thread.
More Stitches and Creative Ideas
This floss would be really fun to use for visible mending.
It would also add an interesting effect to raised embroidery stitches.
I hope you had fun creating with me…until our threads cross again!
Amanda is a hand embroidery teacher and artist. With over 15 years of experience in the craft industry and embroidery, she owns and runs Crewel Ghoul, sharing accessible tutorials and patterns to help inspire fellow crafters to get creative. In addition to running this website, she teaches on Skillshare and Youtube.