DMC 3847 — Dark Teal Green

The Forest at the Water's Edge

Teal exists in that productive tension between blue and green where neither family wants to claim it. DMC 3847 Dark Teal Green resolves that tension by leaning definitively toward the green side while keeping just enough blue to read as teal rather than simply dark green. At #307868, this is the color of deep kelp forest, of lichen-covered stone near a cold stream, of shaded fern fronds in summer. It's earthy and watery at once, which is precisely why it's useful in such a wide range of design contexts.

Within the teal green family — alongside DMC 3848 (Medium Teal Green) and DMC 3849 (Light Teal Green) — 3847 provides the depth and shadow values. It's the darkest stop before you'd need to cross into near-black territory like DMC 500 (Very Dark Blue Green). As a shadow color, it has the advantage of reading unambiguously as teal even in its darkest application, which maintains the color identity of shaded teal elements in ways that very dark greens or very dark blues can't always match.

Teal Green in Historical and Contemporary Design

Teal has a long history in embroidery. Medieval tapestries frequently feature teal-green wools rendered in blue-green plant dyes, and the color was prized for its unusual visual character in an era dominated by red, blue, and brown. In Victorian Berlin woolwork — the predecessor of modern charted cross-stitch — teal shades appeared in naturalistic foliage designs and geometric decorative borders. The DMC teal green family continues this tradition while giving contemporary stitchers a more controlled, predictable range of values.

Today, 3847 appears frequently in designs that celebrate the natural world: fern and botanicals samplers, forest-themed seasonal designs, nautical pieces featuring seaweed and kelp, and any project drawing on the visual vocabulary of cold northern oceans. It's a particular favorite in Scandinavian-inspired cross-stitch, where the cool, slightly blue-shifted greens echo the colors of northern forests and fjord water.

Paired with DMC 3852 (Very Dark Straw) or DMC 3855 (Light Autumn Gold), Dark Teal Green creates a complementary warm-cool contrast that reads as both natural and sophisticated. This combination appears in many Scandinavian folk art-inspired designs and traditional Nordic samplers. Alongside DMC 3857 (Dark Rosewood), it creates a darker, more gothic forest palette that suits Halloween and autumn-themed designs.

Thread behavior is excellent — 3847 is a well-saturated, medium-dark color that covers evenly and reads clearly at all standard stitch counts. On linen and evenweave, the warm ground slightly warms the thread's cool teal, which can be a flattering adjustment in heritage-style botanical designs. On white Aida, it reads as clean and slightly formal, better suited to modern or contemporary design aesthetics.