TRADEs e cre t s

Thread and Product Advice Samples of cotton floss on #10 canvas. All samples Embroidery Floss Review stitched with eight strands.

By Stephen Janick

Samples of cotton floss on #12 canvas. All samples Samples of cotton floss on #14 canvas. All samples stitched with seven strands. stitched with six strands. Embroidery floss — love it or hate it, chances are good that you’ve used it and probably used it recently too. In the mind of many stitchers, the ubiquity of embroidery floss is both its greatest strength and its biggest weakness. And let’s be honest — there isn’t anything special about embroidery floss, right? Well, maybe there is. I’ve spent the last few days stitching with many different brands of floss and the differences were more significant than I had expected. Don’t get me wrong. All of the brands were serviceable and, in most cases, more than just “serviceable.” All will likely have their champions, but clear differences exist between brands, Samples of cotton floss on #18 canvas. All samples which behooves us to look more closely at this most stitched with four strands. unappreciated of threads.

Embroidery floss, like all multi-strand threads, offers the great advantage of being completely scalable. Stitchers can use embroidery floss for any mesh canvas. Having said that, let me also say that if you are going to use embroidery floss to stitch on larger mesh canvas, be prepared to buy a great quantity of skeins because the yardage per skein and stitching that requires the use of 6 or more strands will “eat up” floss quickly.

Another advantage of embroidery floss is that it is 100% cotton. Therefore, it is affordable, takes dye well (i.e., is available in many different colors) and is washable. Many Samples of cotton floss on #13 canvas. All samples brands of floss advertise themselves as being either stitched with six strands. “long staple” cotton or Egyptian cotton. Long staple cotton refers to the length of the individual cotton fibers.

9 • March 2019 stitches a larger area, it does become an annoyance. I also found that the thread had a tendency to knot. Both s e cre t s these characteristics (the difficulty in separating and the knotting) might have something to do with the tightness TRADE with which the thread is wound initially. The variegated Madeira Mouline seems slightly thinner than standard embroidery floss, but this may be a Long staple cotton does not pill or tear as much, and it byproduct of the variegation process. Subsequent tests can become softer over time. with solid colors will likely offer clarification. In general, Egypt has traditionally been the source for long staple the thread, while somewhat thin in its coverage, offered cotton. The designation “Egyptian” cotton doesn’t a stitching experience more similar to silk than cotton. however necessarily mean that the cotton is long staple. Straight stitches benefit from using a laying tool, but the I read online that as much as 90% of cotton labeled as thread glided through the canvas smoothly and with a “Egyptian” is fake, having actually been grown in either satisfying whoosh. India or China. Based on the number of floss brands that Our second contender is the ubiquitous DMC claim Egyptian parentage and the fact that Egyptian Embroidery Floss (green in samples). This product is cotton is supposed to represent only the top 1% or so of available literally around the world and so reliable are the world’s cotton, it doesn’t seem possible to me that all the company’s dye lots that their embroidery floss of the thread advertised as Egyptian is in fact the highly color numbers have become a standard of sorts for desirable long staple product that we would prefer it to designating color in the needlepoint world. be. Afterall, if it sounds too good to be true… DMC is available in 489 colors. This frequently cited Another term one hears frequently in relation to number includes the 35 recently introduced. DMC embroidery floss is mercerization. Some brands are advertises its cotton as “long-staple Egyptian” that “mercerized” while others are “double mercerized.” has been “double mercerized”. The size is given as Regardless of the desirability of multiple mercerizations, “25” though what precisely this designation means all cotton embroidery thread is mercerized at least once. (thread width perhaps in mm?) I do not know. DMC, The process is both chemical and physical in nature and like the other manufacturers, says its thread is colorfast strengthens the cotton thread as well as increases its and “fade resistant.” Notice, however, that the chosen receptivity for dye. terminology is “fade resistant” and not “fadeproof.” All Let’s look at some of the available flosses. Our first threads will fade when they are exposed to light. contender is variegated Madeira embroidery floss With DMC, the stitching experience, not surprisingly, (variegated thread in all samples). I selected a variegated is what one has come to expect regarding stitching color because I was unable to locate a supplier for solid with embroidery floss. Generally, there are few issues. color floss. However, I have since learned that there is However, from time to time, one must remove the in fact a supplier in the United States for the solid color thread from the needle and “comb” through the strands Madeira embroidery floss. I intend to contact them, to uncross them. Also, as one experiences when stitching stitch a sample, and report the results in my next article. with multiple strands of any type, there are other things In the meantime, the variegated floss fortunately does that can and do go wrong, including having one strand demonstrate at least two of the strengths of Madeira rise above the others or having the threads gather at the floss offerings, which are its packaging as well as the rear of the canvas into a tangle. The occurrence of these amount of thread per skein. Madeira sells its floss in experiences while using DMC thread was neither more 10-meter skeins, which is two meters more per skein nor less frequent than one would expect when using than the other brands that I tested, and its unique embroidery floss. packaging protects it from both damage and tangling. Our third contender, Presencia Finca Mouline, also Madeira embroidery floss is a six-strand thread, advertises itself as 100% long-staple Egyptian cotton manufactured in Germany, and made from high quality (dark pink in all samples). It is further described as being long staple Egyptian cotton. It is dyed using processes “mercerized for strength, colorfast, bleach-fast (except that do not involve any carcinogens or banned dyes for five particular colors listed on their website), and and yet it is still colorfast and fully washable (to 210˚F). shrink-fast.” The definition of any one of these particular The manufacturer advertises its Mouline (their term for terms likely is open to interpretation. The Finca Mouline the Embroidery Floss) as being “absolutely effortless line offers slightly fewer shades at 321 than DMC or to strand.” This, however, was not my experience. I Madeira. The skeins are 8 meters in length. found the thread was not at all easy to separate, and although this may seem like a minor detail when one

10 • Needle Pointers margin, but for a stitching experience that more closely resembles silk than cotton in my humble opinion, it is s e cre t s more than worth it. TRADE In stark contrast to Cosmo is Sullivans Embroidery Floss (brighter or left yellow in all samples). Available in 454 shades, Sullivans has taken on DMC directly by claiming in its advertisements that it is superior in strength and After having stitched with Presencia embroidery floss, I colorfastness to DMC. It also includes the equivalent concluded that it was ever so slightly thicker than DMC. DMC color number on every skein for easy conversion. However, the difference is quite small. I also felt that Sullivans advertises its floss as 100% Egyptian cotton but the thread stitched up as a typical embroidery floss, makes no mention of staple length. When one handles exhibiting the typical qualities of embroidery floss (i.e., the thread, the reason for this immediately becomes crossing, gathering, etc.) I also noted that in general, it apparent. The thread is rough to the touch, almost separated more easily for me than DMC and Madeira and coarse in feel. that it covered “adequately” and gave me “no problems” on 13 mesh. The stitching experience with Sullivans isn’t much better. It’s a bit like stitching with a wild bronco. The thread is Anchor Embroidery Floss (middle or darker yellow in bucking and fighting every step of the way, refusing samples) is another strong contender describing itself to play nice and lay flat. Bunching is a problem on as “extra long staple” and “100% Egyptian cotton.” The both the front and back side of the canvas. The thread 467 colors come in 8-meter skeins and the thread is feels thicker than the other floss brands and therefore “double mercerized.” In my experience stitching this might be better on larger mesh size canvas. Sullivan’s series of samples, I preferred stitching with Anchor embroidery floss, at the extraordinarily low price of $.49 Embroidery Floss to stitching with DMC. This confirmed a skein, represents a tremendous value and the intensity my long-held opinion that Anchor is a somewhat of its color saturation is also a strength. superior offering to DMC (perhaps because it is “extra- long staple” as opposed to “long staple” cotton). I did, Each the floss brands I tested will work adequately for however, conduct my experiments knowing full well most purposes and possess most of the strengths and which brand I was stitching with at the time and in an weaknesses inherent in stitching with cotton embroidery ideal world I would love to conduct the same tests, but floss namely that it is scalable, affordable, and offers a not know which thread was from which manufacturer. wide range of colors at the same time that it presents some stitching challenges, lacks some of the special Curiously, in my notes, I described Anchor as being both effects available with other threads, and as we have “rougher and smoother” and “noisier but slipperier” seen, sometimes quality can be an issue. than DMC so I am not sure what to make of those rather discordant comments. Certainly, Anchor is equivalent In terms of the brands I tested, two brands stood to DMC and it presented minimal problems as well as a out – one (Lecien Cosmo) above the pack and one good stitching experience. (Sullivans) below. The others (DMC, Anchor, Presencia, and Madeira) run neck and neck with advantages and Lecian’s Cosmo floss (light pink in samples) was clearly disadvantages. My preference is for Anchor, but I enjoy different. Its “hand” was softer and smoother than the Presencia also, and feel that I need to test Madeira’s solid others and its sheen was noticeably higher. Cosmo is colors at a future date. available in 462 colors and is manufactured in Japan from “highest quality extra long staple cotton.” The In Other News cotton is described as being a size 25 and all mention Wiltex Threads, maker of Vineyard Silk, has introduced a of “Egypt” or “Epyptian” cotton is absent, which I metallic thread — Vineyard Jewels. The 100% polyester appreciated and in its place mention is given to “strict thread is sold on cards in 8-yard increments. Vineyard inspection and testing.” Jewels is available in 40 colors, and one strand is suggested for #18 canvas. The result of this attention to detail is a cotton floss that stitches more like a silk floss. Cosmo is exceptionally Leigh Designs has introduced a new collection of polished and it glides through canvas. As I stitched with Historic Crosses. These eye-catching canvases are this thread, having just watched “Tidying Up” on Netflix, painted on #18 black canvas with designs that measure I began to think of this thread as Marie Kondo – neat and 8" x 10". tidy, precise and lovely. It was not without problems – I had a couple of small issues – and then, of course, there is the price. Ah, the price. At $1.29 a skein, it is certainly pricier than any of the other brands by a considerable Continued on page 25.

11 • March 2019