Just watched your supplies storage video and decided to check out your channel. Realized that when I started cross stitching two years ago, yours was one of the "prepping floss" videos I watched and is for the most part the method I now use. As you noted in the storage video, I too found an acrylic floss drop to hold the prepped skeins and like that I can then move the floss to a ring for each project. Also getting ready to watch your vintage Singer video and subscribing now!
I keep my DMC in Flossaway bags. I buy the DMC number stickers and put it on the outside of the bag. Then I put a piece of clear tape on top of the sticker number because they are known to fall off easily. Then inside of the bag, I cut down an index card to fit the bag and I’ll also write the DMC number in the top right hand corner of the index card. Then I put my floss in the bag, keeping the DMC skein packaging with it’s number in the bag. The index card helps the bags stand up when you store them in a box or drawer.
I do the same thing with a few minor differences. Like, I don't use the DMC stickers. Instead, I just write the number in with a Sharpie. I also use heavyweight 3x5 cards by Oxford, putting the number in the top right corner and the color in the left. I put the main color first, such as Lavender, dark; Lavender, medium; Lavender, light, etc. Then, I divide them using plain, white (Advantus Cropper Hopper) dividers and store them in plastic shoe boxes. Easy peasy!
See i was watching the beginning sure that I didn't want bobbins because I hate the winding and unwinding method. But then you showed the trick to pulling off a strand and I'm sold! So cool!
This is amazing- what an enormous time saver to have everything precut & easy pull! More time STITCHING and less time messing with thread sounds like a HUGE WIN for me! *runs to get floss holders in Etsy cart* 🎉😘 thank you!
your comment about hoping your cat wouldn’t come over and attack the thread is _so_ relatable. i’ve lost track on how many times my cat has gotten my floss and yarn all tangled up.
Thank you for sharing! My mother taught me to stitch years ago and she put her floss on bobbins as she was one-handed, so that is what I do. I cannot wait to try this method as it looks amazing!! I have been looking for another way to make life easier.
I dont know if you will see my post. But, this video has changed my crosstitch game for sure. I love the way you do the string. I no longer do bobbins and its so much easier to get my string out. Thank you
Wow, I love this! I've been winding my floss around & around the bobbin, which is fine & relaxing, but this way is quicker. Also, like you said, you have even lengths of all the floss so you don't end up with random short pieces you can't do anything with. I appreciate this so much, I immediately subscribed to your channel! I will definitely try this method out. Thanks for sharing this with us!
Only thing different that I do is write the number on the floss drop with wet erase marker. I use wet erase rather than dry erase because they are harder to smudge or wear off. Then I put the flosses I am currently using on a ring so I don't have to take them in and out while using. After the project is done I put them in bags to store. Thanks for a great video.
The easiest way to thread a needle is to fold thread over needle..take all thread and pull down between thumb and forefinger .having fingers on thread on needle. Slide thread off..holding tight to thread. Slowly open fingers until you just about see thread then slide eye of needle over thread. Pull through needle.
If you hold tight to thread when slipping it off needle then open finger and thumb carefully just until you just about see the thread . Place needle over thread. It should work. Also I use DMC needles number 22.
Hi I love this method. It takes time but I enjoy taking my time to organize. My flossbitties are on its way. I purchased a index binder. The front card has my project name, floss thread color for certain part of pattern and continue on labeling each card page with floss color and pattern part. Flossbitties are so cute. Thank you, tried to find this video watched before but wanted to review.
Oh my word, thank you so much! I have been trying to figure out how to remove my thread off the holders without tangles, or removing the whole thing individually!
Yes, the whitish thread is harder to see, you could have used the green for better results. Instead of pulling out TWO strands of thread, why not pull ONE out and use the loop method to begin your stitch? You would doble your one strand, thread thru the eye of the needle, and have a loop at the very end. Still two strands. Extra work to pull out two, and the loop method to start the stich actually saves thread. There is less bulk on the back of your work, and you don't have to worry about weaving stitches over to anchor your thread. The loop method actually saves time, thread and bulk on the back.
Personally, I want my work to be as perfect as I can possibly make it. I use the loop method when stitching lone crosses, ie when there are few stitches to run the ends underneath (or no stitches at all), however I find that the stitches do not lie as neatly on the fabric using this method. If you think about it, one strand has been folded in half, so the fibres of that strand can become problematic and lie in all different directions. I find that although it is more fiddly and takes longer (only a few seconds, though!) the outcome is much neater with two strands.
Interesting how we all find our own ways of managing our tools. I tried thread drops but i get tangles. I bobbinate and tape the number on the bobbin then i use floss bags with an index card. I enlarge the symbols and color number from the pattern. Cut that out and tape it to the card and it goes in the bag. The card makes the bag stand up and I file them numerically in a photo box for large projects. Smaller projects they may go on a ring. Snippets go in the bag. I sometimes will use a bobbin box but I don’t like the mess of extra thread snips i want to use. Thats why i love the bags. It really depends on how many colors/size of the project on which method I will use. Thank you for sharing!
WOW!!!! Pulling 1 tread at a time is the best!!!!! Save so much time and threads stay so neat!!! Thank you so much for sharing!! God bless you and your family
I'm new to all this but I quickly bought the baggies and I can't imagine winding all my thread on thise cute lil bobbins. I like the baggies because the original thread and the lil label fit in the bag but also if I used only a small amount of thread , I can then put the remaining thread on my needle in the same bag I, quite silly, put a lil piece if paper in each bag , putting info from instructions on it. I keep all the bags in 2 clear plastic rectangular boxes. I have extra threads ice bought simply because they were so beautiful or because I wanted to change the color or shade in the instructions.
Oh my word, thank you for sharing this tip, I couldn’t figure out why in the world would anyone want to go thru all the work of taking the tread off and putting it back on, lol now I know.
This video just popped up on my feed. I have a couple more I learned through floss tube that I have implemented besides the pulling a strand off the floss drops. 1. After you remove the small band from the DMC floss leave the longer band on, and pull from that end...it's supposed to never tangle. So far so good for me. 2. I thought that since you used long strands of floss that your reasoning was to use the loop method to start your stitches. I also like long strands. Take care and thanks for showing your method.
Yes, I often pull on the end with the long band (with DMC) as well to remove from the skein, it does still occasionally tangle as well but works a lot of the time. Cosmo floss is the opposite, pull from the short band side. On this day it kept tangling for filming, so I gave up and re-filmed with the alternate way. But thank you for sharing. 👍. I forgot to at least mention it when I did the film over. I do not use the loop method, I just like long strands and less stopping to add more thread. But you certainly could do the loop method if you like and this length thread would be perfect for that for many stitchers. The reason I don’t like the loop method is that if I don’t use the full length of thread when I have to cut the thread at the end of a section and have thread left over the thread is now two cut pieces and they are each too short to use the loop method on next. So you either have to use it traditional methods when next needing it anyway (to use it up), or toss it if you only want to use the loop method and waste thread. I’d also have to cut thread even longer, as I like to sew with a longer length. But many people do like and use the loop method and you should try it and see for yourself if it is for you. I always recommend trying lots of things and settling into what works for you. I have a video on this very subject in my list of future ideas for my flosstube. Thanks for your thoughts. Sharing ideas is how we evolve as stitchers.
I binged watched your videos this afternoon. It was fun to see how someone else keeps up with this hobby! I used floss bags to store my floss as well. Thanks
I loved your idea of pulling one thread at a time. My only problem is that I've noticed that if I don't have both threads going in the same direction, I tangle. So I continue to pull one thread at a time from the strand, making sure that the second thread is pulled from the same direction.
I always lay the pulled thread just as it came out and then lay the next exactly as well. That way I can always tell which ends were going the same. It can be done. You just have to lay them carefully off the needle. 😉
The floss bags are from hobby lobby but they are the same as Floss Away bags if you don’t have a hobby lobby near. Floss Away bags can be purchased online from various sources, including amazon.
In quilting you pull the thread off the spool and thread the needle so the thread is being sewn in the direction it was pulled from the spool. Do you need to do this in cross stitch?
I just make sure the two strands of floss are put together and threaded in the same direction as each other was pulled off the ‘hank’. I get less twisting that way, so it seems.
How do you store the threads when you have dozens of symbols in a pattern that use more than one color. Do you store them by symbol or pull one of each as needed?
It’s personal preference mostly. If you are using over-dyed floss (fancy floss) you are not supposed to use the ‘loop method’ of one strand folded over as it diminishes the variegation in the floss. DMC and other non-variegated brands, like Cosmo, it’s fine. You do get much less twisting if you keep your strands the same direction they were in the skein. The manufacturer ’twist ’of fiber in each strand is going the same direction. When folded over, one side of the strand is going up and the other side is going down, against the other strands twist. This can cause the whole thing to twist up together as you stitch much more often. This doesn’t bother many people though. They just dangle the threads to untwist when it gets too much as they go. It still happens with right going strands, just not nearly as much. It’s not a big deal either way. Loop or traditional, it’s what is good for you. Happy stitching! 😀
@@SimplyThirdStreet Thank you for the reply. I hadn't considered these points before. I'm both a new and old cross stitcher, first picked it up when I was 12, did a few pieces and am looking at doing it more now. I like the range of patterns now available and the idea of decorating my walls with pieces that I have made myself. Do you have any tips on changing colours in a piece? I am looking at doing something with a dragon. The pattern has the dragon in red and I want it in blues and greens. I was thinking of laying out the red threads then finding equivalents in the colours I want but not sure how well that would work.
@@KerryWhitbread Sounds nice! I would recommend doing a floss toss. Gather all the floss for the project and lay them out together on the fabric. Pull out the ones to replace and add what you think you’d like to use. See how they look on the fabric and with the other threads. Do they blend? Do they stand out? Which do you want to achieve? Do they clash with the other colors or fabric? If so then you may need to adjust one or two of those as well. Once satisfied, take a picture and think about it for a day or so. If you feel good about it after a day and still like the changes…your good to go! If not then start again. Good luck!
What do you do with the remaining strand if you only need to use a quarter or half of it? Do you throw it away? I try to rewind on bobbin but ends up messy.
I use floss drops and floss bags. I can either just pop the leftover strand into the floss bag loose along with the original skein still on the floss drop or loop it onto the floss drop (usually on the second hole on the drop). If you use bobbins and wind your floss you could loop it onto the hole on the bobbin. The strand would be hanging though and might not be tidy unless you then wind the tail on the bobbin as well. Perhaps some here who use bobbins could answer what they do. I’d never throw away that much floss personally. Hope that helps a little.
im sorry if this is a dumb question but where do you buy the dmc floss? i cant seem to find any website that just orders them by number and the whole thing just confuses me :(
So far that hasn’t been an issue for me. I can look at the pattern and know just where I am. I have a stitching friend who does mark off though. She uses a highlighter. It’s also easier when the pattern is in color, as this one is.
I have a few small stack and store’s from sterilite that I use. It fits my tiny space well and is very easy to work with. I’ll do a short video if you like.
@@patschaffter4980 These are a little smaller than a shoebox but a similar idea. I really like the size an storable-ness of them but they do slide a little too, though not too bad. I’ll make a video soon and you can get an idea.
