FLOSS & FIBERS
SOLID COLOR EMBROIDERY FLOSS
We carry two lines of 6 strand cotton embroidery floss.
DMC
DMC uses long staple cotton in their floss. The cotton is double mercerized for maximum sheen. The 6 strands easily separate so you can control how the thread shows up in your work. It comes in 524 solid colors. We carry them all.
ANCHOR
Anchor started in business in 1866 in Paisley, Scotland. They pride themselves in fine quality. They use 100% Egyptian cotton that has been double mercerized for maximum sheen and richness of colors. There are 444 solid colors in their collection and we carry them all.
DYED AND PAINTED FLOSS
When you want to use more unique cotton floss, we have several lines of hand dyed/painted floss to tickle your fancy. They are still 6 strand floss, but come in many variations from subtle to outrageous.
WEEKS DYE WORKS
Weeks Dye works has been in business since 1994 to provide hand dyed and overdyed threads for the hand embroiderer. The floss is 100% Egyptian cotton. Their floss is variegated enough to be noticeable but subtle enough to blend naturally.
Experimenting with overdyed floss is exciting. Sometimes just one overdyed color can add depth and variety to a piece. In many cases an entire piece looks terrific worked exclusively with overdyed threads. With overdyed threads, you need not worry about constantly changing thread colors in your needle; one strand of our floss takes the place of several individual thread colors.
Since our threads have such subtle color changes, it is possible to cross stitch the Danish method (working a row of half crosses out in one direction, then working the top half of the cross stitches on the return trip). Working an area in this method will give a more mottled appearance. For a “clearer” look, work by crossing each stitch as you go. This second method will tend to leave the thread color variations in a more striped or patched look.
For plants, we recommend working your stitches in vertical rather than horizontal rows. This makes the plant or tree trunk look like it is growing up as nature intended.
GENTLE ARTS
Gentle Arts is located in a small town near Columbus, Ohio. They create hand dyed and over dyed 6 strand cotton floss by subtly shading many colors and blend them with care to provide visual richness. Their aim is to create floss that gives a faded, antique look to your stitching. The colors are lightfast and colorfast with heirloom quality. We carry their full line of colors in both 5 yd and 10 yd skeins.
CLASSIC COLORWORKS (formally Crescent Colors)
Classic Colorworks hand dyes and overdoes their 260 colors especially for the hand embroidery market. Colorways range from very subtle to very bold and fun.
THE CARON COLLECTION
The Caron Collection is a small company started by Lois Caron. The company is dedicated to creating variegated colored threads for the hand stitch industry. All threads are hand dyed. We carry 3 of her lines of threads – WATERCOLOURS, WILDFLOWERS and WATERLILIES. they come in a wide range of colors.
WATERCOLOURS is a 3 ply hand dyed pima cotton with a silky sheen. The plies can be separated to increase the ways the the thread can be used. 1 ply is about the same weight as #5 pearl cotton. Used singly, it is great used in Sashinko.
WILDFLOWERS is a single strand of hand dyed cotton. When stitched, it has more of a matte finish. The site is between a #8 and #12 pearl cotton.
SILK FLOSS
We carry several companies of silk embroidery floss. Some are solid colors and one is hand dyed. Treat yourself to the luxury of stitching with silk.
NEEDLEPOINT INC. SILK
Needlepoint Inc Silk is based out of San Francisco. The silk floss they offer is high quality spun silk in an 8 strand/ 5 yd skein. The colors are consistent and solid. We carry a wide range of their colors.
AU VER A SOIE
Au Ver a Soie is a 7 strand best quality spun silk floss. The threads do not snarl in the needle and are also abrasion resistentt. The skeins are 5 meters long and the strands can be easily separated. The floss is dyed in hanks to assure and consistent color quality. They make 2688 color – we carry a good selection of the line.
BELLE SOIE/CLASSIC COLORWORKS
Classic Color works also has a line of spun silk embroidery floss. It is a 12 strand floss that is loosely plied so the strands separate easily. the colors are hand painted and the colors are subtly chosen. Skeins are 5 yds and we carry a variety of colors. Anything we don’t have in stock can be ordered.
THE CARON COLLECTION
WATERLILIES is a 12 ply spun and hand dyed silk. It creates a subtle sheen when stitched. Strands can be separated for a wide range of effects.
SPECIALTY AND NOVELTY THREADS
We carry a variety of threads to use for embellishments in your work.
EDMAR
Edmar is a leader in the supplies for dimensional embroidery. they are based out of Meridian idaho. They create 100% rayon threads that are both colorfast and machine washable on cool. The threads are hand dyed in over 240 solid and variegated color combinations.
Their different threads are:
GLORY – a fine 2 ply thread. comes with 21 yards per skein, IRIS – a medium size 2 ply thread that comes 16yards per skein, LOLA – a heavy 3 ply thread that has 20 yards per skein.
KREINIK
Kreinik is a family owned company that opened in the early 1970’s. Their specialty is metallic threads that can be used for a wide variety of purposes such as hand embroiderers, crafters, fly fishermen, fiber artists and even the fashion industry. We carry a variety of what they make: Blending filament, #4, #8, #12 , #16 and #24 Braid. Their threads are hand washable but do not iron directly on the threads.
BLENDING FILAMENT is used by itself or stranded with other threads, #4 BRAID is the premiere thread used for cross stitching because it is soft and easy to use, comes on 12 yd spool, #8 BRAID comes on an 11 yd spool and is the weight of 2 strands of floss.
RAINBOW GALLERY
Rainbow Gallery has been in business for over 30 years. they carry over 50 different specialty threads that they found all over the world. If we do not stock a thread, we certainly can order it for you.
Some of the threads we carry are:ALPAPCA, 24 KARATS is a metallic looking thread; FLAIR – a 100% nylon that is a tubular netting the offers a subtle glimmer to a design; FUZZY STUFF is a fuzzy yarn that is great for snow, snowmen and animal fur or anytime you want a fuzzy surface; FYREWORKS, NEON RAYS is 100% rayon, flat ribbon that gives a high sheen to a piece; PANACHE, RAINBOW LINEN, SPLENDOR, TREASURE BRAID is a rayon/polyester soft, metallic ribbon; VERY VELVET is a soft texture thread that resembles velvet; WISPER.
