the difference between the color variations and coloris is color theory. color variations are variations on a theme - similar colors. coloris is four complimentary but contrasting colors
Floche is used in padded satin stitches, cut work, maderia embroidery and shadow work embroidery. It makes a very smooth satin stitch like when you are doing a hand stitched monogram.
I once went to a boujee needle shop looking for floche. The owner let me know that I had no idea what I was talking about. That shop is out of business now.
with light effects, metallics, and satin floss, if you’re using multiple strands it REALLY helps to literally tie it to the eye of your needle. it helps keep your stitching lengths even and the fraying/splaying on the tail has to stop at the knot.
I have found that a single, LIGHT, application of wax or Thread Magic keeps metallic thread under control. I also make a lark's head knot around my needle. The Thread Magic will wear off as you stitch, but does keep the metallics under control and does not affect the shine. I use floche for smocking and embroidery on hankies and baby clothes
Oo floche sounds perfect for those items - it's so soft and delicate! I've been wanting to learn smocking, so I'll have to keep floche in mind when that time comes.
On the last big quilt my mother made, she did hand-piecing all around the sides of the quilt. I then took her quilt (which was a gift for my niece), and using size 3 Perl cotton, did simple outline stitching around all her hand-pieced designs. Just all in one color because my goal was to give a finished, high quality look to complement, not really "add" to her design, so I just used a cream color. When I say "WOW", it was the perfect size, texture, and sheen, and you know how a beautiful design can be 110% enhanced by finishing details. Her masterpiece quilt. And mostly because of her talent, but also because of those finishing details, with the size 3 perl cotton in cream. I also think some of those that you unboxed might be used in different types of embroidery than just "embroidery" per se, maybe needlepoint, maybe on clothing, etc.
Aw that sounds like a beautiful way to finish her quilt! I'm sure it was a stunning piece of artwork! And yeah, many of these threads are created with different styles of needlework or fiber arts in mind, but the thing I love about embroidery is that you can technically do it with any type of fiber, as long as your needle and fabric will let you!
I used to cross-stitch a lot. Sometimes a pattern called for a couple strands of regular floss and add in 1 strand of a glittery or metallic floss. I don't remember ever using a metallic on its own with all the threads. The way it intertwined with the regular floss looked very nice. Ahhh, after watching this I am regretting giving away all my floss to my niece when I was decluttering before a move. I didn't think I'd ever do it again. But now you have me wanting to try out embroidery!
Perle cottons are also available in size 8 and 12, they come on a small ball instead of a skein. Size 8 is about the equivalent of 3 strands of cotton floss and size 12 is equivalent to 2 strands of floss.
DMC crochet thread goes all the way to size 80 (I think? Or was it 60?). But basically it's finer than sewing thread and used a lot for bobbin lace. ETA: The amount of thread in a given skein/ball/whatever is generally based off of what it's traditionally used for, and some are very specific and specialized. For example, Coton a Brodor is traditionally used for whitework embroidery like Schwalm. Other types may be used to crewel,
For me, i took 1 or 2 strands of standard thread then mix 1 strand of glitter or metallic thread. Then used as ascents stitches. i loved the satin thread, for bird feathers stunning..
random thoughts - the tapestry wool is aimed at needlepoint and canvaswork, and canvas has large square gaps/holes. i’m a cross stitcher, and i’d probably use it on perforated paper or maybe a burlap fabric. and all the non-slippery threads don’t drag AS much going through the fabric if you use a few sizes larger needle to make a bit bigger hole for it.
Yeah, I would normally use a fabric with a weave that coincides to the size of the floss I'm utilizing, but for this project, I just wanted them all side by side on the same hoop, so I didn't bother.
agreed n the non-slippery threads! im doing large patches of filling with the light effects, and i def have to use a larger needle so i dont go completely insane lol. my fabric also has a slightly larger weave which makes it easier, and tbh you get a good handle on how to work it after a while.
I use to hate using the light effects floss but then I found bees wax!! A really nice bees wax, not the really dry shit that dritz sells. It's so much easier to work with now! Also I only use three strands at a time with my size 5 needles. I don't have the shredding problem cause of the bees wax :3
This is amazing!!!!! Last week I was looking at photos and videos to see the different threads side by side and I wasn't satisfied with my findings lol THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!
With metalic, I pull it through the fabric once then get another needle with the thread you use for invisible top stitching (I can't remember the name but it's almost like very thin fishing line) and use that thread to secure the metalic to the fabric. Some stitches require more than one strand of metalic to fake and some can't be faked at all but I can live without those, if it means I don't have to pull metalic thread through fabric 500K times
So I have inherited my grandmother's sowing + embroidery + lacework + anything crafty that she had and I never know what half of the threads were so this is a really helpful video. My biggest problem is that as it was old threads and she has used it and knew what it was I was left with no packaging for any kind of reference! Thank you so much!
Since this was a year ago, I don’t know if you will see my comment. This video was very helpful. Among my favorite threads you had there is etoile. I use it as two strands in cross stitch. My favorite fabric is 16 count Aida. I don’t know of any reason to use all six strands together. It gives a little bling while behaving almost like two strands of cotton dmc. You probably know the wool would be used in wool appliqué or needlepoint on a mesh canvas.
I use the size 10 threads for tatting. Tatting is sometimes called a poor man's lace. I think DMC Cebelia has a very limiter color range, which is probably why you ended up with white and ecru.
You brought back good and bad memories about DMC. I used to work at Hobby Lobby over the Needlework department. The company had me hang those slippery ones in the plastic sleeves and then I would get in trouble for them being messy when they slid out. I did enjoy the variety of threads and kits.
I haven't tried embroidery yet, I only cross stitch and very basic crochet. This makes me want to try it more though & I think this is a really good tool going in as a beginner to know the differences. Thank you 😀
Me too! I only know how to cross stitch and very basic crocheting…. Ironic! And I , too, am very much leaning towards wanting to try embroidery. It’s looks super interesting.
I hope you both give it a shot! I love the freedom within embroidery, being able to use a variety of stitches and textures to create the final image you want... it's loads of fun! (But I might be biased... XD)
I've been crocheted, knitted and weaved for a while now. I just gotten into embroidery, but it is such a happy coincidence that I have a lot of leftover 800m/100g lace yarn, silk and silk-wool, that I can't really start bigger projects, but perfect for embroidery! I don't use ot for practice, but I tried the texture. I love your videos, happy to find your channel! Thank you!
I did giggle a little when you said something was "more tightly woven" -- that would be the twist level in the PLYING of the thread or yarn. Yup, just like how something "has six plies" or "two plies" etc., when you spin, you "spin singles" first and then you ply any number of plies together. Weaving would be a completely different step, lol, so that threads are intersecting into woven cloth. 😁
as for the etolie texture, i don’t know how they did it, but they did it on purpose - because the cotton strands don’t cling to each other like with the normal floss, it separates smoothly, which means you’re less likely to accidentally separate off the metallic bit
I found on the market here in France vintage Linen Embroidery Floss by DMC. I bought some in black. It's very mat (not shiny at all) and I love it. I sent you a pic of the box I got on Instagram 😊
Wow! So much variety under one brand! Floche is such a strange name isn’t it? That said I really enjoyed your venture into the various properties of DMC threads ! I too don’t get along well with the metallics, I must try that nice smooth one sometime, perhaps I will be converted 🤷♀️. Anyhoo, this was yet another brilliant watch, so entertaining and thought provoking (but not too much) thank you so much 💕
For the metallics the diamant has been the easiest to work with. I’ve spent the last few months working on a denim vest hand sewing the entirety of it in band patches. It can still be a pain to work with long strands as it likes to coil itself up into a knot. It’s still held up together than others metallics I’ve tried, and thicker allowing it to pop a bit. I wish they had more color variations for their diamant and diamant grande.
I recently did the same experiment on a smaller scale using DMC products. It was fun to see someone else having the same experience I did. I would like to better understand how the varieties are categorized (the criteria used) and their intended applications. I also, apparently, will need to learn some basic French if I am going to continue with DMC products. Thank you so much for sharing this video and your adventures in embroidery.
I’m using floche on a small cross stitch project for a pin cushion stitched over 1 on 30 count. A single strand of floss wasn’t enough coverage but 2 strands was too much and horrible to try to stitch. Floche is not stranded and is equivalent to about 1.5 strands of six stranded floss. It’s not as tightly twisted so it can split and shred so use shorter lengths but if you need something between 1 and 2 strands of floss, try floche.
4:06 not that I'm not laughing _so hard_ at "was the sheep a virgin" but actually "virgin wool" means that it was the lamb's first shearing (so, when you think about it, probably the only shearing when a sheep could be called a virgin with any certainty lol), or, in some applications, unprocessed wool.
I decided to make an embroidery with the glow in the dark light effects thread & the gal at Joanns was right about it being difficult to work with. Not impossible but as you mentioned with several of these the strands just dont stay together & it shreds. I paired it with glow in the dark sewing thread & the strands just were slipping past eachother & not tensioning all the same.
Yeah, I find that most of the speciality sort of threads are just much harder to work with for that reason... but then it can be worth it sometimes for that sparkle or shine or glow in the dark look!
Floche is often used in counted cross stitch when you need a thicker thread. Especially white which tends to be thinner than normal six strand cotton floss.
I have bought all the Diamant collection, I found them very nice especially for Christmas design BUT, there is a lot of loss of produce. They tend to detengle very easily and it is hard to put them through the needle eye after ...
When I work with metallics or other rough textured threads I always run them through a thread conditioner. Beeswax is a good alternative. Both will help the thread glide better through the fabric.
My grandma drew a Halloween design on a sweatshirt for my mom. I offered to embroider it on so it won't wash out in the wash. I just got floss from Walmart. It separates so much the project has hung abandoned in its hoop 😅😓
Oh no! That's definitely the downside of cheaper floss packs. But if you only need a few colors of thread, it's worthwhile to stop into a craft store and grab a couple skeins of DMC!
I saw your sashiko video which I loved and I applaud you for your determination or insanity. lol. So would baroque work for sashiko? I remember having a skein years ago.
11:40 because you did a different stitch it's hard to tell, is the size 5 bigger than six strands of floss? Would you say twice as thick? Or is the size 3 about twice the size? I have to buy online so I can't eyeball it and choose which size myself. 💖🌞🌵😷
So I learned something completely unrelated to embroidery during this video. Every time you said variegated I cringed because the prononciation was so off, but then I wondered if I have been pronouncing it wrong my whole life. (I learned I’ve been spelling it wrong.) So you pronounce it vair-ee-uh-gated and I pronounce it vair-uh-gated. You use the British pronunciation and I use the American. Now I know one more word spelled the same and pronounced differently like laboratory and envelope. (And nobody come at me for my terrible phonic spelling.)
Haha that's my reaction every time I hear someone pronounce something differently than me - I'm like wait... I gotta go look this up. XD But that doesn't surprise me that I pronounce it the British way. I've actually had someone ask me if I was British before because I apparently use a lot of their pronunciations and terms!
Have you ever embroidered embellishments on clothing? If so, do you have any tips for durability? My daughter is 13 and loves fancy things on her clothes, but she's such an in-between/ hard to find size that I'm going to need to sew for her a lot
I do bobbin lace and the metallics do not want to stay on a bobbin but weave very prettily. So it looks like metallic thread was created to entice and frustrate all the thread users.
Oh my goodness, after all those French words, it for some reason never occurred to me that "coloris" could be French too! And I have seen people use floche thread to make tassels, so that totally makes sense!
I have used the etoile thread with great success. I embroidered an apron for my sister for Christmas & used the etoile thread throughout the project & found it both easy to work with and much user friendly than regular metallic thread. I would love to see you use this in a project. Do you only use DMC thread in your projects or have you used other thread as well?
I've used some other thread types in the past, but nowadays I generally stick with DMC (or Appleton for wool floss). I haven't found a reason to use etoile in a project, but I'm keeping it in mind for sure!
I agree I hate that a larger number = smaller size, that is not how math brain works, etoile breaks so easily, metallic pearl does not knot so is slips apart,
Oh. You know I thought about it real hard there. In fact, I'm still thinking about it now... maybe not the big piece, but a smaller/simpler one in the same style? Its just such a perfect thread type for the stained glass window look!
@@gettheetothestitchery yeah exactly! Idk if there are any of the stained glass stills that you’ll be making that will be a bit smaller but it would be such a cool effect!
When it comes to metallic... DMC is one of the worst (ok, diamante is usable in very short strand). I much prefer madeira... or even sunbest(bought on aliexpress on huge spools).
My husband is Brazilian! The embroidery piece is the outlines of Texas, where I'm from, and Brazil, where he's from, overlapped so that our home towns line up... a little nod to where we both came from now that we live elsewhere!