What thread to buy?

[MichelleMermaid]

Hi all,

I'm beginning to work on my stash of embroidery threads and wondered if any of you experts...or not so experts :) ...could reccommend some must-haves for me?

I've been working with dmc cotton floss forever and only recently learned about all the silk threads available. I'm waiting on an order of threads that include some ribbon tape, silk ribbon and silk thread...like buttonhole twist, I think. It's not a large order, only a few colors each. I recently purchased some more silk ribbon, too, so I feel like I have a fairly decent supply of that.

I've seen some stitching with jeans stitch thread and thought that looked great. But I kind of get lost in all the different varieties and am not always sure what I am looking for exactly.

If you could give me an idea of a basic "kit" I would appreciate it. I like to work in purples and am getting more interested in improving my embroidery skills and expression through this art. Of course, that's been easy with so much inspiration on this site!

Thanks!

Dakotah

[MichelleMermaid]

Hi,
I have a lot of old rayon thread from DMC. I used to loathe using it, but now I'm finding more uses for it. Maybe I just know HOW to use it better. I add it here and there in my cq work.
I have two skeins of Edmar rayon and I like it okay. It is very shiny and I am not quite used to that, but it seems to sew nicely, similar to buttonhole twist. I want to try some stef francis rayon soon.

[Marihette Fourie]

I live in South-Africa. mostly use dmc and house of embroidery, their 6 strand cotton is lovely. (houseofembroidery.com)

[Violette Severin]

The only thing I can add is a thread that Judith Baker Montano mentioned on her new DVD. She uses a buttonhole twist thread. I had never heard of it before and haven't had time to do an internet search for it. It lays beautifully on crazy quilting.

[MichelleMermaid]

Hi Violette!

You can find Judith's threads here: Treenway.
They are made by a company in Canada called Treenway.
I took a class with Judith in November and she had these available for purchase...and we nearly wiped out her stash! The colors are absolutely fabulous! I bought three skeins and still have some left, as they are pricey and I'm choosy about where I use them.
The only thing I don't like about them is last time I used them the thread kept snagging on the back of my work. As I was using a large loom, I didn't catch the snags and lots of thread got wasted on the back of my work. I was really frustrated! I might have been using too long a length, so in future I am going to use a shorter thread.
I can't afford to use Treenway much, but it is lovely stuff.

[Jody Cull]

I like "Caron Collection" threads/fibers. Check it out: http://www.caron-net.com/threads.html

I use their Wildflowers, Impressions, Waterlilies, and Soie Christail for crazy quilting. I have used Water Colors for some "counted thread" work.
Jody

[Bob Dorr]

I don't know if these have been mentioned or not. But I'm falling in love with sulky rayon thread. I find that I can wet them and add more twist when I want to use them for detached buttonhole, etc. I haven't tried blending colors yet, but I can't imagine that it will be a problem. The color range is good, and the price is pretty good.

I've also found that doing embroidery with sewing thread (100% cotton) and quilting thread is wonderful as well, but again it depends on the stitches I'm using, and the effect I want.