A History of DMC Thread
Alison Owens
My antique DMC chest.
DMC make the thread I use the most for my Redwork. The company was founded an amazing 270 years ago in 1746 as the first organisation to manufacture hand-painted Indian prints in Europe. It wasn’t until the 1800s though that they diversified into threads. At that time it was managed by Jean-Henri Dollfus-Mieg and the
company name was Dollfus-Mieg & Compagnie – DMC.
Dollfus-Mieg was keen to learn more about textile developments around the world and in Leeds he was introduced to the work of chemist John Mercer who had discovered the process of mercerising. This involved passing cotton thread through caustic soda to improve its strength, silky appearance and longevity. Remarkably, this is the same process that DMC uses today to create all their high quality threads suitable for a variety of sewing uses.
Like Quaker families in the UK, Dollfus-Mieg was concerned for his employees’ welfare, and in 1850 built Cities Ouvrieres at Mulhouse in France. These dwellings were purpose built to house DMC employees and their families. Each house came with a small garden and was sold to the worker at cost price giving them 14 to 16 years to pay off the property. He also invested in a school and a hospital.
Don’t you just love this story?
Download the history of DMC here