Ways to Organize and Store Cross Stitch Floss

I know getting organized in the new year is a big goal for a lot of crafters, and while I’m doing pretty well in some places, there are definitely things I could improve.

Most notably the way I store cross stitch floss. I’ve talked about this before but I basically have most of my thread in a big plastic bag (some of it has moved to a little basket but there’s no real reason for that other than it’s pretty.

There are a few main ways that people store floss, which Caterpillar Cross Stitch goes into great detail about in this video, but to summarize:

Keep them all in one bag or box without any organization
Organize generally, such as by hundreds in the color numbers or by color family, but still keep together in one box
Use little plastic bags to hold each color and place them on a ring to keep them in order
Use tabs that you attach lengths of floss to and keep in number order
Put all thread on bobbins and store them in a box in numerical order

She lands on the idea that using bobbins — particularly when you pre-cut your thread — is the best way for her to store thread, but admits that it takes a lot of time and buying a system to store the bobbins can be quite expensive (not to mention buying the thread if you want a whole set).

I love the idea of bobbins but I have met me and I know there’s no way I’d keep up with it.

Little Lion Stitchery has a great alternative that I think even I could (maybe) keep track of. They use plastic boxes and organize by color family as shown on a DMC color card (which has little samples of each thread organized by color). Each box is labeled the same number as the column on the chart, so it’s easy to find what you need.

This method also keeps your floss clean and free of animal hair, and saves you time because you don’t have to wind bobbins. It might take up less space, too.

If you have a different method of storing floss or have a tried and true favorite, I’d love to hear about it. This might just be the year I finally get it organized!

[Photo: Little Lion Stitchery]

I was recently approached by Alyssa, the cross stitcher behind the Etsy shop Stitchonomy, to take a look at her cross stitch pattern subscription club, known as The Pattern Club.

I took a look around and there’s a lot of cute stuff and fun options you’ll want to check out, especially if you love themed patterns that are small, easy to stitch and fun to combine.

The Pattern Club combines cross stitching with a social network. When you open the site you’ll see a news feed and have the ability to share updates much like you would on Facebook. You can see who is online, have buddies and post your own updates and photos. The community aspect is a little sparse right now but that should only grow.

The stitch along hub is the place to find the most recent patterns and information on the current stitchalong. As of this writing the Book Lover’s stitchalong was happening, with little designs like Peter Rabbit, a skull for Hamlet and keys for Jane Eyre as well as authors including Arthur Conan Doyle, Charles Dickens and Jane Austen.

Other pattern collections include European designs, Halloween, ocean life, an allotment garden and more. Alyssa tells me there’s a new theme every month that either she picks or members in the community suggest. You can stitch just the patterns you want or put them together to make a larger collage.

The Stitchanomini vault gives you access to all of the previous patterns, and new patterns are released daily through the stitchalong. You can download individual patterns (most of them are 19 by 19 stitches) as PDFs or Pattern Keeper files. The PDFs include a color and black and white chart as well as a floss list.

Another cool thing you can do is build your own pattern collages from all of the squares that have been released. The collage configurator allows you to add patterns of your choosing to a grid ranging from 2×2 patterns up to 4×4. You can scroll through all the current patterns or search by theme and size to make a project that suits your needs. (Above is an example I made kind of at random but you get the idea.)

If you want to check it out, you can grab a three-day free trial and see all the pattern options. Membership is $7.99 a month, or if you pay for a year at a time you’ll get two months free. In addition to the patterns in the club, members receive discounts on patterns and supplies purchased through the shop within the club. Annual members get access to three paid/retired stitchalongs and lifetime members receive all retired patterns.

If you check it out I’d love to hear what you think!

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