An embroidery floss primer, part 1

I know I can't be the only one who's always looking for an alternative binding material. Linen thread is dependable and traditional, but it's so expensive, and the color range is limited. And most colors have to be purchased in bulk, which isn't so great when you just need it for one book!

So, of course, I tried embroidery floss first thing. It's easy to find, it's cheap, and there are millions of colors available. (Well, more like hundreds, but still…) It really is a natural choice.

But working with embroidery floss isn't always so straighforward. For one thing, it isn't tightly twisted, so it can be difficult to work with. (Of course, needle artists need it to be loosely twisted, so they can seperate the strands.) This is one of the reasons I don't use it for traditionally stitched books. It just isn't as strong, for one; tightly twisting fibers adds strength. Plus, it snags; not only is this inconvenient, but by the time you finish sewing, it looks a bit "wooly!" And it doesn't wax easily, either, so no help there.

When I was a Girl Scout, there were a few brands of embroidery floss (mainly DMC and J&P Coats), but only one type: the traditional cotton floss. (There were a lot fewer colors, too…) There were pearl cotton and wool threads for crewel and the like, but just the one type of floss. Now, there are so many choices! DMC alone makes cotton, rayon, metallic, and–their newest!–linen flosses! There's even "fluorescent" floss!

I haven't tried the linen or or fluorescent flosses yet, but I've used the others extensively. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. I'll cover these in separate posts, and add linen once I've given it a spin. (I actually bought some last month, but I haven't had the right project to test it yet.)

Xandria