I have purchased all the colors of the #5 perle cotton threads and embroidery floss organizer. The organizer is small ziploc bags that fit onto a ring. I want to label each bag with BOTH the color # and the description of that color. I have not been able to find a color chart that gives the names of the colors. I wrote DMC and asked and they say there isn't one. I find that hard to believe that there is no color description. I'm guessing maybe there is, but not available to the public. Anyway, I'm wanting to get to work labeling my bags. Does anyone have a chart?
Hi there! DMC is correct -- there are no official colour names as it's a global company (and based in France, so you sure wouldn't want all the colours to be in French if that's not a language you speak). Several design softwares have given their own names to the colours, but that's not an official DMC colour name -- they only use numbers. So assuming the Ziploc bags are clear, there's no real reason for needing the colour name anyway, you can see the colour through the bag. 😊
I swear my local joanns hasn't gotten in a new shipment of embroidery floss since the beginning of the pandemic so I ended up having to buy some perle cotton to finish up a project and this video helped so much! Thank you for sharing!
Yeah it's very possible they haven't -- a lot of the big manufacturers themselves went into lockdown, so their production timelines were messed up by months. I know my local shop was having a heck of a time getting anything in, and they never knew what would actually arrive until it was in their shop. Plus the manufacturers having to work in safer ways, that's not always possible the way factories are laid out (especially if they're using older equipment that either can't be moved or has to be used by multiple people in a certain way), it's so hard for everyone. At least you figured out an alternative in the meantime! 🙂
Thank you! I accidentally ordered a set of greens in pearl cotton instead of 6 stranded floss. I did not fully read the description, and I'm new to buying fancy floss. Unfortunately, I don't think what I ordered will look appropriate on 28 count and the pattern would end up gigantic over 2. Oh well, guess I'll find another project to use them in.
Loved your video. I have worked with yarns for years but never knew about pearl cottons and the difference in wts. I found a vintage bible cover pattern for plastic canvas ( which I am just recently learning.) It calls for a number 3 anchor pearl cotton. If I understand you correctly I can substitute 4 regular strains of DMC that I have leftover from doing multiple cross stitch projects for a #3 pearl cottons.
You'll have to experiment with that Judy, four strands of DMC is quite thick, and it may or may not be appropriate for your project. Just test it out and see if four strands is too thick for the density of the plastic canvas. Glad the video was helpful! 🙂
Thank you - great video. I am just starting to use Perle Cotton - am doing cross stitch on 14 count Aida with Perle 5 but my over 1 looks absolutely awful - it doesn't look neat like yours - it is so bulky and raised and you can't see the crosses - it just looks messy - what am I doing wrong as yours looks so neat and tidy with Perle 5 over 1
Hi Florence! I'm sorry but I don't know what might be going wrong (and I haven't used perle cotton in a long time so I'm not sure where the issue could be). In mine you can't really see the crosses either in over 1, and it is quite raised, so maybe it's just the angle of the camera but it's very possible yours actually does look really similar to mine. 😊
Thank you! I've always seen the pearl floss when getting my standard skiens and wondered if I could use. I needed help finding out if these pearl floss would work for my 22ct Hardanger project. I think I'll try out the #8, would you agree? I don't want to have to buy 38 skiens of the standard floss if I don't have too.
Hi there, I am trying to learn how to do a chain detached stitch. The dmc embroidery floss seems to split a lot with all 6 strings together.Would Pearl Cotton work well? Or is there a thread you would suggest?
Simple, you don't use all six strands at once for some embroidery stitches, you're meant to separate it into single strands (which is why it's stranded, and not twisted like the Pearl Cotton). If your stitch is too thick, use fewer strands (like for really smooth satin stitch you'd use one strand at a time. 🙂
can i use both perle cotton and regular floss in a project? lol the only white i have here is perle cotton and not normal floss. hopefully it looks normal when im done
Absolutely, but the weight of the pearl cotton may not match the regular floss thickness. It will look different up close as pearl cotton is twisted, but it won't be super noticeable at normally viewing distance. 😊
Thanks so much Tony, appreciate it, it's become a running joke now with me and my followers. Sometimes I'll even match my nail polish with the project I'm teaching, just to annoy the trolls a bit more... 😂
Thank you for the 'you don't pull these ones apart' thing; that was exactly what I was trying to figure out about this thread to start a beginner's tutorial; I couldn't get this to pull apart nice at all, and now I know why!
You're very welcome! Yeah, pearl cotton is used for many different needlecrafts and such, so has different uses than regular six strand embroidery cotton. 😊
@@peacockandfig Now how the heck do I get this through an embroidery needle though, lol! Apparently my first foray out was with a darning needle. I'll have to keep researching! Have a good evening!
D Hi there! I have a whole tutorial on how to store your floss, I do use bobbins so that's what my storage area looks like (I have two plastic boxes made for the bobbins). You can also use floss away bags (little zip lock baggies for floss), but they can be a pain to sort. Some people put them onto the rings in binders and sort them that way. 😊
great video I want to say thank you. Can you tell me since I am a crocheter, how to unwind and roll up the pearlized cotton? The one that is twisted that you showed last.
You just have to do it very carefully and slowly so it doesn't get tangled. For hanks of wool or dyed silk, you can get a special gadget you'd put the circular hank onto, and you'd "unwind" the hank by spinning the gadget (I can't remember what it's called). But twisted skeins of floss are much shorter, if you can find something that's the right size to put the skein around (like a small book) and then start unwinding the skein from one end to roll it into a ball, that will prevent it from getting tangled as you unwind it. If you look for my video about floss and bobbin storage, you'll see me put the skein of embroidery floss around my hand to prevent it from tangling as I wind it onto the bobbin, you likely could do the same with the skeins of pearl cotton. 🙂
Hi Alondra! The video shows what each thread looks like on 14 count Aida. Embroidery floss is six strands, so size 5 is equivalent to around 2-3 strands of embroidery floss. It's not the same as embroidery floss though, it's got a much more distinct twist and texture, so you can see in the sample of the video that it seems to take up more space than the regular 2 strands of embroidery floss on 14 count fabric would. :)
Hi Robin! Sorry all the info I have is in that video -- I haven't used pearl cotton since then so I don't remember the various weights. So it might be worth getting a few different weights of it and just seeing what might work for you, as some people like more coverage, some less. 😊
Not a clue Vivianne, all my needles are in a pincushion all mixed up. Just try some and see what works best for you (or get a variety pack of sizes if you don't have a collection of needles already). 😊
Hi Naniksunari! I don't know -- anywhere near you that sells DMC embroidery floss should be able to order it in for you. There are many shops around the world that sell it (like sewandso.co.uk in the UK, 123stitch.com in the US), but it does depend on where you are and whether there are any limitations on where you can order from. 🙂
If you don't have a local store that sells DMC, you can buy it online (maybe from Amazon, but make sure it's real DMC and not fake versions). Many online needlework shops will have it too, like 123stitch.com or lovecrafts.com 😊
I do appreciate the breakdown, when I bought a pearl ball I didnt realize there were different sizes. I did however get a size 12 pearl cotton ball and I had a hard time threading it. Would I need to get a bigger needle for this thread? Also, I am using 14 count aida usually, would the size 12 count as 1 thread or 2 threads?
Hi Kathleen! Yes, get a bigger needle if you're having a hard time threading it, and as for coverage on 14 count, you'll have to play and see what you like. Some people like a denser coverage, some like to be able to clearly see the X of the stitch. So just experiment and see what you like. 🙂
@@peacockandfig Thanks for the advice! The hole on my needle is smaller then I have ever seen, I usually cross stitch, but still. Not sure why it's so small if they want 3 threads. Lol
Hi Christine! I'm not sure, the last time I used crochet thread was in high school. You'd have to play and see how it looks, it would depend on the thread count of the fabric you're using. 🙂
Brenda Jefferson Hi Brenda, it depends on which weight you're using. I'm not 100% sure what I was using as all my needles are all mixed up, but I'm pretty sure I was using a 22 for the #3, and a 24 for the #5 and #8 weights. I'd just have a play and see what you like using best. 😊
I've used nr 8 for all my projects so far, but we cannot get the pearle in South African anymore, so had to switch the normal floss. I loved the pearle. pretty shine and so easy to stitch with.
Peacock & Fig, unfortunately they dont ship to SA. i do find the normal floss here, so have switched over. getting used to it now, so not that bad at all.