I’ve been cleaning and tidying in my craft room lately. Somehow I work much better when there is some order! I have a lot of supplies in there so I need some kind of system for knowing where things are when I change projects and materials so often.
Lately I’ve been doing a lot of sewing, but I used to mostly stitch by hand. I have a collection of embroidery and cross stitch projects that I made before I had kids. All those projects required a collection of threads so I thought I’d share how I store those.
Embroidery threads come in little bunches called skeins. Each one has a number to identify the colour. Patterns usually include a list of numbers for the colours required in that project.
At some point I decided to buy all DMC threads. At the time most patterns came with a list of thread colours in DMC or Anchor threads. By sticking with one type of thread, I could easily check which threads I already had when I started a new pattern and only buy the ones I didn’t have already.
The skeins quickly get messy once you start using the threads, so I transfer my threads onto small cards. I wrote the number for each one on the cards too. Then I stored them in a couple of boxes. I would have bought mine at Lincraft or Spotlight, and I have still seen them around. I think mine came with some cards but I also bought extras as I needed them.
Now I have two boxes of threads in just about any colour I could ever want! Storing them this way makes them easy to find and easy to put away.
How do you store threads? Any tips?
Tonya is the voice behind TheCraftyMummy.com. She dabbles in lots of different crafts – patchwork, quilting, cross-stitch, scrapbooking, knitting, crochet and sewing. She also writes about blogging and social media.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
19 Responses to Crafty Storage – Embroidery Threads
Leave a Reply
Find us here also:
Follow us via Networked Blogs
Want to learn some new skills?
Latest Pins on Pinterest
-
Cuzco Jelly Roll Race Quilt
-
Button and Burlap Clock
-
Roasted Lemon Garlic Herb Shrimp
-
Stuffed Mushrooms via The Girl Who Ate Everything
-
How to Sew a Simple Pencil Case
Bookmarks for Mother's Day
DIY: Sewing Machine Extension Table
Christmas Trees on Pinterest
Big Blue Tote
{Guest Post} Crochet Bike Seat Cover Tutorial
Tutorial: Baby Doll Sling
Stars on Pinterest
How to Spray Baste a Quilt
Tutorial: Easy Girl's Skirt
[...] do you store your embroidery threads? And Sew We Craft shows us how she stores hers. Check out her method and let us know about your own in the comments section [...]
I have always stored mine in a box on the cards like shown here. I, too, have 2 boxes and have almost all the colors I could ever need or want. =)
Thanks for visiting, Deborah. I feel like my two boxes is lots too, but it sounds like some of our other visitors have twice that – wow!
CraftyMummy recently posted..Pressing Matters
I’ve always stored mine in the small Ziploc bags on a d-ring, but now I’ve got 4-5 rings jammed full. They take up a lot of space and even though they’re numerically ordered, it takes a good amount of time to find anything. Your boxes look so small and tidy. Does it take a lot of effort to get them all wrapped around the cards?
I think I’m going to have to try this.
Michelle recently posted..I Wandered Off, but I’m Wandering Still…
It did take some time at first, Michelle. A good job for in front of the TV!
But now I put all new threads around a card before I even start stitching. It makes it so much easier to find them and carry them around. Plus it stops me buying a second skein of colours I already have – I used to do that a lot!
CraftyMummy recently posted..January Photo a Day Challenge – Week 1
I also use these bobbins in platic I put a tiny label on to write the numbers on
then use the same boxes as you so far I have 4 large boxesthe last about 1/2 full.
I also have 2 smaller ones that I put my cottons in when doing a design then I have them all together & dont need to keep going to individual boxes when I want a colour.
When winding them onto the bobbins I use a hand rolling machine much quicker & easier than hand rolling
I’ve seen those rolling machines, Eileen. They look much quicker! And 4 boxes!! Wow!! I suppose these days I use my threads less than I used to but they are certainly the sort of craft item I would never get rid of. Thanks for sharing your tips.
CraftyMummy recently posted..January Photo a Day Challenge – Week 1
Eileen, I too have 4 boxes full of thread. In the last box, where I have extra room, I put other essentials you need when you cross stitch, such as needles and any extra threads you may have. Some times I work on more than 1 project at a time. In that case, I put the needed colors for each project in separate smaller boxes. Sure makes life easier!!
Sounds like you’re a cross stitch pro, Judy! Thanks for adding your tips.
CraftyMummy recently posted..January Photo a Day Challenge – Week 1
This is how I store mine two however, I’m disappointed that they all have “crimps” in the thread where it bends around the card shuttle. Wonder if this becomes a stress point…
I wonder too, Mummsie. Some of mine have crimps but they seem to be ok once I start stitching with them.
CraftyMummy recently posted..Boy’s Car Pouch
I also use the white cards and number them. I store them in one of those toolbox storage containers with all the little drawers. I have the 100′s in one row, 200′s, etc. If I haven’t wrapped the skeins yet. I just wrap them up and put them in the drawer anyway. There was a sale a few years back at Joann’s crafts where the DMC skeins were 10 cents a piece so I bought them all!
I’m jealous, Lara! You bought ALL of them!! Wow! You’re set for life now I imagine
CraftyMummy recently posted..New Quilt Book
I use the white cards, my boxes were made to hold match box cars. I pull thread for a project and use the smaller clear thread boxes. The floss is stored by numbers, and there are three boxes!
I’m not sure my son would let me have a matchbox car box in the house and not have matchbox cars in it, so I’d have to buy two if I wanted one for me as well! Great idea, Liz.
CraftyMummy recently posted..Christmas books for kids
I use the plastic bags, and always will…until I finally get moved over to the plastic/or cardboard bobbins. The bags are getting a little old and sticky! Right know I use a plastic storage box for the plastic bobbins, and keep the box with the project. I LOVE big projects. Consequently I have about ten 10×7 boxes with those projects and will probably never finish them…but I have a better chance if everything is in the right spot to work. The skeins I’m not using are still in their plastic bags inside closed cotton covered shoe boxes. I think I have 6 full ones yet, even with the projects in the plastic boxes. I’m a threadaholic!
Sounds like you’re not the only threadaholic here, Fox!
CraftyMummy recently posted..Top 20 Posts on my Blog
I also use the spool-shaped cards, but I don’t have such a variety of colors, so I use a large key-ring that is about 4 inches across and store them on that. It snaps open fairly easily, which isn’t so good for keys–it was forever coming open in my purse and all the keys would fall off, so I got another key-ring, but I kept it and it’s great for keeping the thread cards organized and in one place. I also use the floss for darning, all 6 strands at a time. It’s strong and soft and wears well and has the right consistency for socks, kind of bulky for T-shirts, though. I love all kinds of hand work.
I do the same with my floss. I started collecting the floss when I learned how to cross-stitch and how I use it for hand sewing and on my scrapbook pages/cards.