Cross-Stitch

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Review – Metallic Thread

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One of my friends messaged me on Facebook with a stitchery emergency last night looking for some silver thread – I told her several options were out there in the floss-o-sphere, but that one of my very favorites is Kreinik’s Japan Thread.

In case you are not familiar with this product, Kreinik Japan Threads are synthetic, so they won’t tarnish.  It looks like you are stitching with real metal.  You can either use them for stitching like any other floss or you can couch them down using other flosses or filaments.  Use silver or gold Japan Thread for embellishing wedding seed bags, blinging up ornaments, adding shimmer to needlepoint projects, or to shine up cross stitch samplers – or whatever else you can think of using them for.  And for all of my friends who were waiting for a Firefly reference, Kreinik Japan Threads are SHINY!

 

 

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Have you read?

Everything You Need to Know About Embroidery Hoops

One of the most common supplies for cross stitch, aside from fabric, needles and floss, is an embroidery hoop. A hoop isn’t needed for every project, and indeed there are some stitchers who prefer not to use them at all. I generally don’t use a hoop when I’m working on a small cross stitch project, especially something that’s shape isn’t conducive to using a hoop (like a bookmark). 

But embroidery hoops can be really helpful for cross stitch because they hold your fabric at an even tension, which allows you to stitch more evenly without any more work on your part. It’s great for beginners to use hoops because the tension on the fabric can both help make your stitches more even and make the holes in the fabric a little easier to see. 

I’ll admit to always just buying whatever hoop is available in the right size when I’m ready to start a project without giving it much more thought than that. But there are things you should consider when choosing among the different kinds of hoops, which Caterpillar Cross Stitch covers in their great guide to embroidery hoops. 

The post walks you through wooden, plastic, spring tension and flexi hoops (which I’ll admit to having never heard of; they’re made of vinyl and plastic apparently), as well as Q-Snap frames, which aren’t really hoops because they’re made of plastic tubes that you snap together in the size and shape you need. 

It also covers what size hoop you should use for the project you’re working on and how to actually use a hoop in the right way. 

Whether you’re new to cross stitch or more seasoned, you’re sure to pick up a tip or a product to try in this post, so go check it out over at Caterpillar Cross Stitch. 

Do you have a favorite kind of embroidery hoop to use for cross stitch, or do you go without? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[Photo: Caterpillar Cross Stitch]