DMC 3328 — Dark Salmon

The Skin Tone Secret Weapon

Ask a hundred cross-stitchers what DMC 3328 Dark Salmon is for, and you will get a dozen answers: flowers, sunsets, coral reefs, autumn leaves. All valid. But the answer that comes up most often among portrait and figure stitchers is this: cheeks. DMC 3328 is one of the most reliable blush tones in the entire DMC range — the color of flushed skin, of a child's cheeks after running in cold air, of the warmth that spreads across a face in firelight.

The hex (#D86868) explains why. Equal amounts of red and green in the lower registers, minimal blue — this is a warm, muted red-pink that sits naturally in the skin tone spectrum without looking garish or artificial. Too much red in a skin tone reads as sunburn. Too much pink reads as clownish. 3328 threads the gap between the two with a dusty warmth that reads as natural healthy color on pale to medium skin tones.

For darker skin tones, 3328 shifts role from cheek blush to lip color or to the reddish undertone visible on the inner surfaces of hands, soles of feet, and earlobes. In thread painting and needle painting techniques, where single-strand stitching creates painterly blends across the surface, 3328 is the thread that adds warmth to transitions between mid-tone skin and shadow. Without it — or without something in this exact range — skin looks flat and waxen. With it, skin looks alive.

Where 3328 Fits in the Salmon Gradient

DMC's salmon family is one of its most nuanced color progressions, and 3328 anchors the middle-dark position. Here is how the salmon ladder works:

• DMC 3712 (Medium Salmon) — lightest, most pink, almost a dusty rose
• DMC 3328 (Dark Salmon) — the warm, flushed midtone
• DMC 347 (Very Dark Salmon) — deeper, more explicitly red

This three-step gradient covers an enormous range of applications. In florals, it gives you petal shading from highlight to shadow. In skin tones, it moves from blush to flush to exertion. In architectural subjects — terracotta roof tiles, adobe walls, Mediterranean facades — it provides the warm tonal variation that keeps large areas of similar color from looking monotonous.

The relationship between 3328 and its near-twin DMC 3702 (also called Medium Salmon, confusingly) deserves mention. The two threads are extremely close in value and hue — 3702 is a touch more saturated and a touch warmer, while 3328 is slightly dustier and more muted. In side-by-side comparison under good light, you can see the difference. In a finished piece viewed at normal distance, they are virtually interchangeable. If your local shop is out of one, the other will serve.

Practical Notes and Pairings

Coverage is standard — two strands on 14-count Aida, full opacity, no surprises. The thread separates cleanly and behaves well in both the English and Danish methods. At this medium saturation level, fabric choice has a moderate impact: on white, 3328 reads as distinctly pink-red; on cream or ecru, it warms further toward peach; on natural linen, it mellows into something almost terracotta-adjacent.

For fruit and food designs, 3328 captures the flesh of a ripe peach or the interior of a watermelon slice — those places where pink meets orange in soft-fleshed fruits. Paired with DMC 352 (Light Coral) for highlights and DMC 355 (Dark Terra Cotta) for shadows, you can build a convincing fruit palette that avoids the artificial look of using pure reds or pure pinks.

In floral work, 3328 is the petal color of aging roses — not the fresh, vivid red of a newly opened bloom, but the softer, dustier red of a rose three days into its display life, when the petals have relaxed and the color has mellowed. This makes it perfect for vintage and shabby chic designs where the aesthetic is faded beauty rather than bold statement. Pair it with DMC 3859 (Light Rosewood) and DMC 3064 (Desert Sand) for that specific romantic-vintage palette that dominates Etsy cross-stitch pattern shops.

One last context where 3328 shines: Christmas ornaments on natural linen. The dusty salmon tone against the warm gray-tan of linen creates a Scandinavian aesthetic — understated, natural, cozy without being garish. Where DMC 321 or 666 scream "Christmas" in bright primary tones, 3328 whispers it in muted, hygge-inflected warmth.