DMC 3702 — Medium Salmon

Color family classifications tell interesting stories. DMC 3702 Medium Salmon is filed under "reds" in the DMC color family system, while the lighter salmon threads in the same shading sequence sit under "pinks." At #E86868 — a warm, medium-dark salmon that reads as distinctly red-inflected — this makes sense: the orange-pink of lighter salmon has deepened into something with more red character. It's the transition point where salmon becomes something you might genuinely describe as a warm, peachy red.

A Color That Works Hard

The medium-value salmons do a lot of structural work in projects that use this color family. While light salmon (DMC 3700) provides bright highlights and dark salmon (DMC 3703) handles deep shadows, Medium Salmon fills the body — the large areas that give the gradient its overall identity. In a full-coverage piece, 3702 will often represent the most stitches of any thread in a salmon-toned flower or figure, making it the color that defines the piece's warmth character.

On natural linen, 3702 deepens and warms, taking on a quality reminiscent of terra cotta or baked clay — earthy and warm in a way that can be used intentionally in folk art, Mediterranean, or rustic design contexts. This fabric interaction is worth noting because it opens up applications beyond the obvious floral or skin-tone roles.

Realistic Portraiture and Figure Work

Medium Salmon appears frequently in shading sequences for warm-toned skin in cross-stitch portraiture. For complexions with orange or peachy undertones, 3702 provides the mid-tone shadow that makes faces look dimensional rather than flat. Combined with DMC 3700 (Light Salmon) for mid-tones and DMC 3712 (Medium Salmon — the other one, from a different sub-family) for deeper values, this thread contributes to convincing skin rendering that the pink-only palettes can't achieve.

In full-body figure subjects — cherubs in traditional ecclesiastical-style pieces, folk art figures, historical costume designs — the salmon range provides the warmth that reads as flesh without the clinical quality of purely neutral tones.

Outside portraiture, 3702 works well in autumn-toned palettes alongside DMC 402 (Very Light Mahogany), DMC 3776 (Light Mahogany), and DMC 977 (Light Golden Brown) for warm harvest color stories. The orange-red quality fits naturally with those autumn amber and rust tones, where it serves as the pink component without jarring the overall warmth.